Excuse-proof Your Exercise
Plan
By Michele Stanten
We all do it. We blow off working out. We don't have time. We don't
like doing it. We're intimidated. Or it just doesn't seem worth
all the effort.
Well, here are tricks for getting past
those common excuses. Exercise can be simpler (and feel easier)
than you ever imagined.
Excuse: It doesn't
feel good.
Solution: Do a cool-down. Finishing your workout
with 5 minutes of easy activity can make it more enjoyable, according
to a study by Britton W. Brewer, PhD, of Springfield College in
Massachusetts. "People's last impression of exercise is the
one that lingers," he says. "With a cooldown, you leave
feeling the exercise was easier, so you're more likely to do it
again."
Excuse: I'll look
silly.
Solution: Forget perfection. Exercise is not a
Broadway performance. "Women put such pressure on themselves,"
says Carol Gallagher, PhD, author of Going to the Top (Penguin,
2001). "Learning to feel okay with and laugh at little mistakes
is good for you." Walk, dance, enjoy yourself—without worrying
about how you look. Bonus: You burn more calories when you're not
very good at something!
Excuse: I don't have
time.
Solution: Count the small stuff. "Life is
never all or nothing, especially in exercise," says Dr. Gallagher.
A 10-minute walk is always better than nothing. After I had my baby
last year, I had to tell myself this over and over again. Now my
workouts are more casual. Forget changing into exercise clothes;
I just slip on my sneakers for a quick walk around the block with
1-year-old Jacob on my shoulders. And lifting him overhead 10 to
12 times when he's cranky is a great arm workout—and it always gets
him smiling!
Excuse: I'm not getting
results.
Solution: Try an activity that works both your
upper and lower body at the same time: step aerobics, swimming,
pole walking. You'll boost your calorie burn without feeling like
you're working any harder.
Excuse: I've tried
it before.
Solution: Shift your thinking. "You achieve
what you focus on," explains Dr. Gallagher. "So instead
of focusing on what you didn't do, concentrate on the times you
did exercise. It's more empowering and proof that you can succeed."
Number
One Me is the perfect solution to all of your exercise excuses!
