Don’t Make Excuses – Just Excercise

Here are some of the excuses I’ve heard from my patients and some tips for dealing with them.

1. “I don’t have the time.”
It’s the most common excuse, and it’s a real problem for many of us. Life is busy, and you’ll never find the time to exercise. But you can make the time. You can climb stairs, walk from point A to point B, and find many other physically active ways to accomplish your daily tasks. You can divide up your stretching and strength training so it takes just a few minutes a day. And you can also make time for designated exercise.

Give up some sleep; exercise will make you more energetic, and it will help you sleep better, so you won’t miss the shut-eye. Walk with your friends instead of meeting them for coffee or lunch. Spend some of your lunch hour walking. Do more on weekends, holidays and vacations, but do something important for your body and your health nearly every day.

Be creative and crafty: you can make exercise happen. For perspective, remember that 30 to 45 minutes represents just two to three per cent of your day. And in the final analysis, it’s a remarkable bargain, since you’ll gain about an hour of life expectancy for every 30 minutes of regular exercise. In a sense, exercise will allow you to turn energy into time. You don’t have to be an Einstein to see that exercise matters — not relatively, but absolutely.

2. “I don’t like to exercise.”
Give it time. The first steps are hardest, but if you stick with exercise for three months, it’s likely you’ll come to enjoy it. Remember that you don’t have to walk, much less run. Everybody likes some form of physical activity — and the more you do, the more you’ll like.

3. “It’s boring.”
This is an easy one. See “I don’t like to exercise” to understand that many interesting options are available. And there’s much more you can do to stay amused.

• If you like company, exercise with a friend. Moderate exercise will allow you to chat to your heart’s content.

• If you like to watch TV or movies, put a treadmill or stationary bike in front of your TV and DVD player.

• If you like to read, try newspapers, magazines or books while pedalling a stationary bike; if you find it hard to focus, buy large-print publications.

• If you like music, hook yourself up to headphones and a portable player. You can also “read” with your ears: rent, buy, or borrow a book on tape and turn it on while you exercise. For extra motivation, listen to the book only during exercise; there’s nothing like an engrossing tale to make the time fly.

• If you like pets, walk a dog.

• And if all else fails, just remind yourself that convalescing from a heart attack or colon cancer surgery is significantly more boring than the exercise that will keep you healthy.

4. “I’m too fat.”
It’s true that exercise is harder for people who are obese than for the svelte set. But it’s also more important, and it’s an essential activity for sustained weight loss. Pick a low-impact activity, start out easy, and build up gradually. One caveat: although swimming has many advantages for people who are overweight, it does not promote weight loss as well as land exercise does.

5. “I’m embarrassed.”
Get an appropriate machine and exercise in the privacy of your home. Chances are you’ll gain the confidence to go public as you get in shape. To speed that up, take a look at the runners in a local road race. They come in all shapes and sizes, and some of the most awkward looking are mighty speedy. Think of the clumsiest exercisers that you’ve seen; if they can exercise, so can you. If you don’t know any athletes who qualify, feel free to think of me!

Excerpted from The No Sweat Exercise Plan: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, and Live Longer by Harvey B. Simon, M.D. Copyright 2006 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.