“I don’t have any time.”
“It’s not any fun.”
“I’m exhausted.”
“I look bad in shorts.”
“It’s boring.”
“It’s too hot out.”
“It’s too cold out.”
We’ve all heard these excuses and probably used any number of them ourselves. I know that I have. The critical importance of physical activity has been recognized for centuries as one of the cornerstones of health.
We all know the many benefits, but here’s a list anyway:
- Tone muscles
- Improve figure and posture
- Increase energy
- Strengthen the heart and lungs
- Prevent heart disease
- Prevent bone loss
- Help reduce pain
- Reduce stress
- Lose weight (and keep it off)
- etc., etc., etc.
If there was a medication or procedure that could do all of this it would be the greatest wonder drug ever devised. It would also probably be exorbitantly expensive.
So we know the benefits and we know the excuses. How do we get ourselves to get out and do something?
See if this has a familiar ring to it. You get excited about exercise. Maybe it’s your New Year’s Resolution. Maybe you’ve just found out that your blood sugar or cholesterol is too high.
Whatever the reason–you are motivated. You go out and buy some equipment. Maybe an exercise bike or a treadmill. You get some workout clothes, a heart monitor and some fitness DVDs. You buy a kettlebell and a jump rope.
And now it’s a year later and you’ve used those things only once or twice. You’re doing spring cleaning and finally you decide it’s probably hopeless and you put them up at your annual garage sale.
Don’t let this happen! You don’t have to do much and you don’t need any special equipment or gear. Just a pair of shoes and your feet.
Walking is ideal. You can get a good workout, there’s little risk of injury and you can do it anytime, anywhere. Just go for 20 minutes. That’s only one-seventy second of your day. See if you can just go on a walk two days this week. Then increase by a day or two every week until you are getting in a walk 6 days. Soon it will become a habit and you really won’t have to think about it anymore.
You can’t negotiate around this. It’s just something you’ve got to do. Start today.
