“I don’t have the time…..or the money….or I’d be too embarrassed to work out in front of all those strangers!” These are some of the biggest excuses a person will give for not exercising. In today’s technology driven world we think we have to have gadgets and equipment to accomplish anything. If we don’t have the right computer, phone, car, TV, elliptical or treadmill, we can’t do ANYTHING!! Oh my! Whatever will we do?
I say…..GET OVER IT!!! 🙂
All of that stuff is relatively new to society. For those of you who are my age….did we have all that stuff when we were kids? No! We went outside and….oh my goodness….PLAYED!!!! We used our bodies! We ran, we played ball, we climbed trees, we played with dolls (and even that was active because we had to push the Barbie Corvette around by hand!). My point is……you don’t have to have all that “stuff” to exercise!
If I have a client who hasn’t ever worked out or it’s been a long time, I tell them to start small. When you are watching TV, get up during commercials and walk in place, do some squats, have some small free weights by your chair and do some curls or overhead presses. The key is to move. There are all kinds of ways to fit movement into your daily schedule. Sometimes you just have to be a bit creative!
I work in an office where I sit at a computer all day. It can be a challenge for me to fit working out into my schedule. I have a 45 minute commute each way so all in all from the time I leave home until the time I get back it’s about 10 1/2 hours out of my day and that’s not including having my devotional time, getting ready for work or if I don’t have to make any stops on the way home. When I get home, I work on my blog or call clients (I’m a health coach, too), helping with dinner (sometimes) or clean up (which my wonderful husband usually does both! Yes ladies, I am spoiled!), so needless to say…..I’m a bit busy! Now I’m a morning person so it’s best if I can work out before I go to work….for me that means getting up at 4:30 am…OUCH!! I’ve tried an experiment lately of getting up at 5:00 am and trying to workout when I get home…and that hasn’t worked! But what I’ve done is incorporate a little throughout my day. Sometimes at work, I’ll do a few squats at my desk….or when I’m having to wait for my fax to go through!! I’ll do some push ups off my desk. I park way out in the parking lot and then walk fast to and from the store. I’ll do bicycle crunches (my favorite!) and push ups in the morning because that doesn’t take but a minute!! My point is….we are all busy but if your health is important to you, you’ll make a way to get exercise in. Here are some things you can do at home without any weights and using your own body as resistance.
- Crunches
- Bicycle Crunches (my FAVORITE!! Works all your abs!!)
- Jumping jacks (or walk in place if your joints can’t handle jumping jacks)
- Squats
- Push ups (start with doing them off the wall if you have to, then move to girl style , then regular)
- Planks (looks easy but it’s a tough one but one that is VERY effective)
- Donkey kicks
- Fire hydrant
- Wall sit
- Lunge
And these are just a few!! The internet is FULL of all kinds of other ideas and I will cover more in later posts and if I get my nerve up, maybe even do a video demonstrating some of them!
Another thing to think about is how can you incorporate moving into your normal, daily activities. I’ve already mentioned parking further out in the parking lot but what about turning some music on at home and dancing! Did you know that research has found that you can burn up to 100 calories just dancing around for 20 minutes, by cleaning your bathroom for 30 minutes, or walking around while you are on the phone for 35 minutes? Just by tapping your foot to the beat of a song or fidgeting burns calories. The key is to move, move, move!! Use your imagination! Go outside and play! Let the little kid inside of you out! You’ll smile more and feel better! Your body was meant to move. When you don’t, it creates sickness….but that’s for another post!
I hope this has helped. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. I’d love to know what you think or hear what you do to stay moving.
