The most common excuse I hear for not exercising is 'no time'. I know that we have busy lives and YES adding kids and work and day to day jobs makes it difficult to find an extra hour in your day. Difficult, but not impossible. Here's the thing. I think of 'no time' as something deeper. It could be lack of motivation or even fear of exercising and where to begin. At the end of the day, if we want something, we make time for it. Finding time to watch an episode of your favourite netflix show (mine is Santa Clarita Diet right now and if you haven't seen it, get on it!!) seems to be relatively easy because there are no psychological barriers to that activity. You can't fall over or fail at an exercise and feel silly. Get where I'm going with this? Sometimes the best way to weigh up a decision like this is to think about the outcome if you don't do it. What will happen to you as you get older if you don't exercise now? Will you have time for doctors appointments or worst case, treatment? Will you have the money to pay for medications and specialist appointments? I know it's a bit dramatic but the hard truth of it is that the risk of these things is legitimate if you don't get active now. Ok so you've looked at this and thought... 'Crap. Maybe I should start exercising' (right? RIGHT?) but you don't need to start with a 90 minute heavy weightlifting routine. How about 20 minutes? Could you take 20 minutes out of your day to exercise? Or better yet, could you replace 20 minutes of your day that you would normally be using for something else....? Hello multitasking!
Watch and move. If you love watching a bit of netflix before bed (guilty) then why not do some planking and wall sitting while watching the TV?
Delegate. Is there something you can delegate to a kid or spouse? Hanging out the washing or doing the dishes? That would give you at least 15 minutes to do a lap or two around the block?
Socialise on the go. Meeting a friend for coffee? How about a walk instead?
Grab an exercise DVD. It may seem a little 80s but there are some great online programs you can follow (Jillian Michaels for example) This also means reducing the amount of time you need because you can do it in the comfort of your own lounge room.
Put your money on the line. It may seem a little crazy but do you need to pay a little extra for something to feel accountable? I have a client training one on one with me who swears she wouldn't be exercising if she didn't have to meet me every week. Keeping an appointment with a trainer is important because you don't want to lose the money you've paid AND if you like your trainer (which you totally should by the way) then you don't want to let them down.
Walk instead of drive. It doesn't have to be every day and it doesn't have to be everywhere but that five minute car trip to grab a coffee could be a 15 minute walk added to your day... Bam! Exercise done!
I have a client who does 10 squats every time she goes to the toilet at work. It may not seem like much but it all adds up by the end of the day. So next time you use 'no time' as an excuse I want you to think about what that really means to you and consider that finding time now could save you a lot of time later. Here's to a happy, healthy and active you!
Alyssa x