Are you an exercise-phob?

So, as I was working out today during my lunch hour, I was thinking about how easy it is for me to skip my needed exercise routine. Then I started thinking about the excuse I give for not exercising: I don’t have enough time, I don’t like any exercise, I don’t want to go to the gym and exercise in front of a bunch of strangers.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realize that those excuses are just that: EXCUSES. You can always make time to exercise. I have the advantage of a small workout room in my office building so I can go down there and workout during my lunch hour (plus we have an added advantage because they just replaced all of the 15 year old equipment with brand new stuff last month!!). I can also get up a little earlier and squeeze in 30 more minutes of exercise. I can take a “smoke break” and walk around the parking lot at the office for 15 minutes. And, now that the time changed and it’s lighter an hour later when I get off work, I could probably squeeze something in after work.

Ok, so much for the “I don’t have time” excuse. Now let’s tackle the “I don’t like any exercise” excuse. I am sure that when you were younger you preferred one activity over all others. I’ve always really enjoyed being in the water so swimming was always a lot of fun for me. About three years ago I also discovered triathlons and really love going out there with a bunch of other athletes and enjoy a swim, bike, run race (ok, I don’t enjoy the run so much but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the swim and the bike). And, while I won’t win any age group categories, it is a great thing to keep me motivated to exercise during the weeks leading up to the race as well. There are a ton of options out there as far as what to when it comes to exercising. In one of my weight watchers meetings, the leader had us do a very informative exercise: list at least one activity for every letter of the alphabet, from A to Z.

Finally, if you don’t like going to the gym, I have found a great alternative with exercise DVDs, there are so many choices on the market, you are sure to find one you like. My favorites include the Slim in 6 series done by beach body and any of the Jari Love DVDs (great strength training). Right now I’m doing the P90X DVDs (bought them on ebay and saved about $75). Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve got about 80 pounds to lose still and I am by NO means ripped and what I would call “fit” but I can do most of the P90X workouts. I am not as intense as the goofy trainer on the DVDs but at least I am moving. Another thing that I’ve found that I love, love, love is the EA sports active for the Wii. The Wii active lets you do some serious cardio and even gives you a pretty good estimate of how many calories you burn while doing the workout. Another added bonus is that you can set up your own workouts and time it for the amount of time you have.

So, get out there, get moving and find something that you enjoy!!