July 2008 – Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…I Have heard Them All!
Here are the top 5 excuses I most commonly hear:
Excuse 5 – Age: I am too old to workout.
No one is ever too old to exercise. The sad thing is I have heard this excuse from people in their 30s and 40s! Remember, you are only as old as you think and feel. There are countless stories of people over 80 years of age completing all sorts of amazing feats. The famous juicing king, Jack LaLanne is now well into his 90’s and he can still do things that many people 60 – 70 years younger cannot do. What an inspiration!
“I know, I know…but he has good genetics.”
Excuse 4 – Genetics: I have bad genetics; there is no point in exercising.
There is no doubt that some people have a higher genetic potential than others. However, this is no excuse not to exercise. That is like saying there are people who are born with more intelligence than I, so there is no point in education. Sounds ridiculous right? If you educated yourself on a daily basis would you not increase your intelligence? Remember, when anyone begins to exercise properly and move toward their genetic potential, they will begin to transform their body shape for the better.
“Ok…but I am just too tired to work toward my genetic potential.”
Excuse 3 – Energy: I have no energy to exercise.
For many people this is an excuse for laziness. However, sometimes this excuse is true. It takes energy to exercise. So what does one do if they have no energy? There are many factors that can be contributing to the depletion of your energy. You need to identify and reduce the stressors in your life that are zapping your energy. This is not always easy to do so I recommend getting some professional help (lifestyle coach, stress management, etc.).
As for exercise, I would suggest doing parasympathetic exercises that emphasize on very slow movements, meditation, and breathing. The purpose of these exercises is to build up or increase your energy. An example of this type of exercise is Tai Chi, Qi Gong or the Zone exercises taught by a CHEK practitioner and CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach. Once you have reduced the amount of stress in your life, and built up enough energy, you could slowly begin to introduce sympathetic (regular) exercise.
“Sounds like a great idea...but I don’t have the money to hire professional help.”
Excuse 2 – Money: It is too expensive to stay fit.
For many people this is not true. Their priorities are backwards. They are willing to spend more on the accumulation of material goods than on their health and well-being. One of my mentors Paul Chek, often gives the example of people claiming that organic foods are too expensive, yet he sees these same people waiting at a fast-food drive-thru with a $100,000 car.
Now, what if you really do not have money to hire professional help? It can cost thousands of dollars a year to have a professional with you at all times. However, there are many strategies to choose from to make it more affordable. You could begin by doing some research on the internet for some beginner programs (written by professionals). Since there are so many more strategies, I will dedicate next month’s article to listing some of the best strategies you can use to make professional help more affordable.
And finally, the excuse I hear the most…“I have NO TIME”.
Excuse 1 – Time: I just don’t have the time to exercise.
We all have the same amount of time in a day - 24 hours! If the average person sleeps 7 - 8 hours per day they have 16 - 17 hours per day of wakefulness. Multiply this by 7 and you get 112 - 119 hours per week of wakefulness. Subtract this by the average work week of 40 hours and you are left with 72 – 79 hours per week. Now, I know there are plenty of other things that take up your time, however, it only takes a minimum of 2 - 4 hours a week of exercise to begin changing your body shape!
Many of my clients have family responsibilities, demanding careers, school obligations, etc. and they still have the time to stay fit. ‘No time’ is just another excuse which indicates poor self-management (a neglect of self for others), poor time management and probably too much television. (Americans are watching over 30 hours a week of television according to Nielson media, and Canadians are watching over 25 hours according to BBM Canada.)
“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.” ~ Brian Tracy ~
If one or more of these excuses is preventing you from a hard and lean body I hope this article will motivate you to overcome them.
By: Sal Crispo
Vaughan Personal Trainer
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