It’s 3pm on a Friday afternoon. It’s been a long few days and the weekend is finally in sight. Then you remember and the horror begins to dawn on you. You’ve signed up to do a spin class at 7:30 tonight. In a moment of madness last week, you and your best friend decided that you were going on a new quest of self-improvement which meant Friday night would be gym night and not gin night. To go or not to go? That’s the question. You’re ill? Working late? What other excuse could you possibly come up with as a valid reason for not wanting to exercise on a Friday night?!
A study came out this week with some of the top excuses people use to get out of exercising. You think you've heard them all, but there's always someone with something new...
Here in the UK, it’s recommended that we do at least 10,000 steps a day, but the study found that the majority of people do less than 1000 steps a day with many choosing to drive to work and find the closest parking spaces in an effort to lessen their walking distance. In this day and age, there really is very little reason for people not to be exercising. Get off a tube stop earlier, go for a lunch time stroll with colleagues or even doing some star jumps whilst you're waiting for the water to boil when you're making dinner. There's plenty of gym options and outdoor gyms in local parks - there's really no excuse!
Alas, people will always find something. Here is just a few of those excuses and exactly why they shouldn't be stopping you from getting your sweat on!
I’m too cold
Yes its winter and yes its cold outside, but just use that as an excuse to move a bit quicker and a bit faster! You’’ soon warm up and exercising in the cold has umpteen benefits- you’ll burn more calories, take on more water, strengthen your heart and you’ll soon get used to the colder conditions.
I’ve got the start of a cold so I don’t want to make it worse
Okay, so it’s probably not wise to do a full on, hard core workout as this won’t bode well with the stress factor that gets released when we exercise. When we’re healthy, this stress factor makes us stronger, but it can have the opposite effect when ill however this doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your workout and head for the comfort of your bed. Just because you should avoid a full routine, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get your body moving. Light exercise; a walk, a light cycle or even some tai chi has been found to boost your immunity and make you feel better as it isn’t enough to release the stress factor! Generally, if the symptoms are above the neck (i.e. sneezing, coughing) then you’re fine to exercise, but below the neck (i.e aches and fatigue of the limbs), then it may be best to sit this one out.
Its winter so nobody sees my body anyway
Nobody may see your body, but you still need it to be healthy inside! Winter will soon be over and summer beach bodies aren’t made overnight –you can’t have let yourself go over winter and expect to bounce back into shape in time for the warmer days!
Christmas is around the corner so there’s little point
There is every point. All eating should be guilt – free, we need it to live and survive but if you’re someone who feels bad when you’ve indulged in one too many mince pies over the festive season, then getting in some exercise before the holiday period can deminish your worries if you fancy an extra slice of yule log!
I want to be thinner before I go to the gym
… And how exactly do you suppose this is going to happen without some exercise? Yes, you can change what you're eating but the two go hand in hand. If you’re worried about other people at the gym judging you for how you currently look, I can promise you that those same people (if they exist) are too consumed in themselves to worry about you!
I look great anyway, so I don’t need to go
Your body may look great on the outside, but it may not be the same story on the inside! You may be blessed with a quick metabolism and good genes, it doesn’t mean your arteries aren’t clogged with fatty deposits. Visceral fat lives between your organs and if you don’t know it’s there, too much saturated fats and not enough exercise can cause a build-up. Think of it like a car. Cleaning the outside will make it look good, but you need to get in the bonnet if you really want to keep it in tip top condition!
I don’t want to get too ripped
Now I’m the first person to try and make any excuse when I’m not in the mood for the gym, but not going because you don’t want to be too shredded? That’s something else!
These are just a few of the crazy excuses people have used to avoid getting their heartbeat up… but if you still need a laugh, then have a read of a few more..!
‘The dog can’t stay home alone’
‘I need to be rested for a big night out’
‘Its happy hour in the pub’
‘My gym gear is too tight’’
‘My friends in worse shape so it’s okay’
‘I can’t find my headphones and I can’t do it without music’
‘I’m too hungry’
‘I ran for the bus so that’s my exercise done for the day’
‘There’s no point going cause I’ve eaten so much today’
This study was commissioned to help raise funds to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – a muscle wasting disease that effects just 1 in 3,500 boys worldwide, with most boys who have it only living until their mid- twenties. The disease can rarely affect girls with about 1 in 50 million being diagnosed. I’m sure the majority of those with this awful disease would do anything to be able to get up and do a workout regardless of the weather, if they’re hungry or its the wrong time of day but unfortunately it just isn’t the case for them. So next time you’re putting off another gym session, get up and do it because you can. Do it for those that can’t.
If you want to cut the excuses and sign up for a gym membership, why not become an activeNewham member anytime from now until midnight on Sunday 26th November and you'll pay NOTHING until 1st January 2018! That's right- you'll get 5 weeks of membership for absolutely free- simply click HERE for more details.
