For one reason or another, too many people don’t exercise enough. In fact, the CDC/NHIS reports that roughly half of American adults do not meet the recommended amount of weekly exercise, and 26% of adults 18 and over do not exercise at all. Yet, many studies highlight the importance and benefits of regular exercise.
Who wouldn’t want to be fit, healthy, and strong for their age? Because the benefits of regular exercise outweigh the potential health risks of not exercising, it’s important to pinpoint what’s getting in the way of your workouts. Let’s explore some reasons why you may not be exercising enough and how to fix it.
You’re Too Busy To Exercise
It may seem that you have no time to exercise compared to all the other things you have to do. Exercise doesn’t need to take a lot of time. For example, a 30-minute walk, five days a week, is sufficient to meet the recommended amount of weekly exercise.
You may even think 30 minutes is too much time to take out of your day. However, if you look more closely at how you spend your time, you may have more time to set aside for exercise than you thought. Even if your days are packed with back-to-back TO-DOs, there are some steps you can take to prioritize exercise.
- Add exercise to your schedule. If you keep a schedule, add a block of time for exercise on most days of the week. Not only will it help break up your schedule, but it will also help you tackle the rest of your day.
- Break up your workouts. Maybe you can’t find a 30-minute slot to exercise. That doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. Instead, schedule two 15-minute or three 10-minute sessions on your calendar. It’s all the same whether you do one session or three sessions to hit 30 minutes for the day.
- Find ways to move more. If you can’t find time for one reason or another to exercise, then there are other things you can do to get more movement in your day. For example, take five to ten minutes of your lunch or wake up a little earlier to fit in a brisk walk. You could also park farther away or take the stairs instead of an elevator. Every little bit counts, and it adds up over time.
- Turn chores into exercise. Everyday chores like cleaning your home or outdoor activities like gardening, raking, mowing, or shoveling are exercises. They burn calories. You can make them more challenging, like using a push mower instead of a ride mower. Be creative, and you’ll rack up more minutes of exercise in no time.
You’re Too Tired Or Stressed
After a long day of taking care of your TO-DOs, you want nothing more than to relax and do nothing. You may even procrastinate on some outstanding things because you’re just too tired or stressed out from the day. It seems like a reasonable excuse not to exercise.
Ironically, some of the benefits of regular exercise include increased energy levels, reduced stress, and improved mental health. Yet, if you only had the energy to exercise, you might not feel so tired and stressed.
If you don’t exercise now, starting slow and building consistency is more important than exercising the recommended amount per week. For example, a five-minute daily walk can become a 30-minute run in a few months by slowly increasing your workload. Even the busiest people can find the time to fit in a few minutes of exercise. In fact, a brisk walk can do wonders to increase your energy and reduce your stress.
You Don’t Enjoy Exercise
Exercise should be enjoyable. If your reason for not exercising is because you don’t like it, you may be doing the wrong exercises. If you don’t like running or lifting weights, then don’t force yourself to do them. You may have chosen those exercises because you were told they might burn the most calories or increase your muscle mass quickly. However, if you do these exercises without trying to bulk up or lose weight, you’ll get frustrated and quit.
You should only do exercises you find fun because it’s your best chance to form an exercise habit and stay consistent. You’ll find it much easier to stay healthy when you enjoy exercise. In fact, you should find more than one activity you enjoy. That way, you can mix things up to keep things fresh and reduce your risks of burnout and injury.
You Can’t Afford A Gym Membership
Good news! You don’t need to go to the gym to exercise. Staying fit without a gym is not only possible but can also be enjoyable and cost-effective. You can focus on increasing your strength, aerobic fitness, and flexibility.
Body-weight exercises are a great way to improve your strength. You can do them anywhere at any time. Squats, push-ups, planks, lunges, and burpees work several muscle groups, including your core, to give you a full-body workout without any special equipment.
Aerobic activities such as Jumping jacks, high knees, and jump rope can provide a heart-pumping cardio workout even when space is limited. Dancing is a fun and effective way to exercise. Stretching, yoga, and Pilates are great ways to stay flexible without special equipment or a gym. Workout apps, online fitness videos, and DVDs are available if you prefer a structured workout.
Let’s not forget the outside. You can take advantage of outdoor activities. Getting outside lets you get some fresh air and exposure to the sun. As a result, your body produces vitamin D, essential for bone health and overall well-being. In fact, outdoor physical activity has been linked to reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
You’re Not Seeing Results
You likely started exercising to get in shape or lose weight. In fact, these are common New Year’s resolutions. Therefore, you might be inclined to do exercises to burn as many calories as possible and change your diet to reach your goals.
Unfortunately, when you focus on these broad goals, you want to reach the end as fast as possible. As a result, you may weigh yourself more often, engage in exercises you don’t enjoy, and deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Under these circumstances, you’ll be miserable most of the time, and any progress you make will seem slow, no matter how much it is.
Fortunately, your health will improve when you’re exercising consistently and eating a reasonable diet that lets you occasionally eat some of your favorite foods. Weight control and improvements in fitness level are consolation prizes. All you have to do is find the time to exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet, which allows for your favorite treats occasionally, and you’ll reach your goal. Depending on your goal, it may take some time, but you can do it as long as it is reasonable and achievable. Patience is a virtue, but it’s much easier when you’re having fun along the way.
You Can’t Stay Consistent
Staying consistent is hard. Life can derail your fitness goals at any time. Even people with complete control over their schedule can stop exercising because of boredom or injury. However, you can overcome this reason for not exercising.
You can fix this problem by prioritizing exercise, setting SMART goals, and avoiding common mistakes that can make it harder to stay consistent, such as doing too much too fast, making radical lifestyle changes, and expecting too much too soon.
Going slow and making steady improvements will help build consistency, which can help you navigate when life gets in the way. It’s okay to skip a few workouts without losing any hard-earned gains, but it’s important to jump back into it when you can maintain your momentum. Consistency doesn’t mean you have to exercise at the same time every day. It means you exercise most days of the week at a time convenient for you.
The Takeaway
Many people know exercise is vital for their overall health but don’t exercise for one reason or another. Fortunately, you can overcome these challenges by adjusting your daily activities, doing exercises you enjoy, and finding the time to work out consistently. It may be challenging at first, but with a bit of patience and trial and error, you can consistently exercise and reap its benefits.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your activities and workouts. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect certain smartwatches and trackers to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
