Get Moving: Common Exercise Excuses and Solutions

There are people who cannot get enough of exercising and spend their days (and even nights) working out and prattling about new ways to get fit. But judging from the growing number of people who are obese and overweight, a rather larger percentage of the population seems to prefer procrastinating about exercising rather than do it. Get done with procrastinating and get moving with these solutions to your common exercise excuses:

Excuse 1: There's not enough time.

Being fit does not have to take a lot of time. In fact, you can get started on exercising whether you are in the office or in the middle of doing your errands.

• Squeeze in 10-minute exercise breaks into your day. Taking the stairs when you only need to get a few floors up or down is a good way to squeeze in 10 minutes' worth of exercise into your day. The same goes for doing a bit of stretching and walking around the block during breaks. Shorter spurts of exercise spaced throughout the day offer benefits similar to those of full-time workouts.
• Rework habits. If you are used to staying in with your family and watching movies during weekends, why not turn this weekend habit into a hiking or biking trip? This way, your whole family benefits from the exercise.

Excuse 2: Exercise is a bore.

A lot of people find working out a boring activity. Admittedly, not everyone wants to be sweaty and end up with sore muscles. But with the right motivation, exercise can be a lot of fun.

• Stop thinking of exercise as a chore. A lot of people abhor exercise because they think of it as something they have to do. Instead of doing so, think of exercise as something you want to do. It's all starts in the mind anyway.
• Vary your fitness activities. Exercise does not have to permanently take the form of your morning jog or lifting weights in the gym. Biking, swimming, playing badminton, and even getting a group of friends to play football or Frisbee are considered as exercise.
• Get a group of friends to do exercises together. Misery loves company, isn't it? But this time, get your friends or family members to join you during your workout to drive misery out.

Excuse 3: You feel self-conscious during exercising.

It's normal to feel a bit shy or self-conscious when you are exercising – especially if you always start the workout thinking about how horrible you must look in your outfit. But if you take a bit of positive thinking, then you'll see that there is nothing to be conscious about exercising.

• Concentrate on the end results. Natural athletic ability isn't a prerequisite to physical activity. And so is an excellent figure. But it won't be so bad if you think about how you'll have these two things down after exercising regularly for some time, would it? Focus on the benefits and how you'll look and feel after the workout instead of dwelling on how your butt or arms look.