When you talk to people who don’t exercise, you will find a common trend among them. Do you know what that trend is…? They all have excuses!! Everyone has an excuse for something they don’t want to do; just most likely not a good excuse. Here are a few of the most common excuses for not exercising:

Injuries

You commonly hear that someone isn’t working out because of an injury. “I can’t run because my knees are bad.” “I have high blood pressure, and exercise puts strain on the heart.” “I have tendonitis.” Any of these sound familiar? The good news about exercise is that there is pretty much something for everyone in every circumstance. If you can’t run due to your bad knees, you can use an elliptical, swim, or lift weights for your upper body. If you have high blood pressure, do low intensity workouts and watch that blood pressure number drop. If you have tendonitis, there is nothing better than working out because it breaks up the inflammation.

Lack of Motivation

For many, it’s very difficult to get motivated to exercise. Again, exercising comes in many forms. You may not like lifting weights, but you might like to dance. Put on an instructional dance video and dance your butt off. Find something you enjoy and you’ll be much more motivated to break a sweat.

No Energy

This is one of the funnier excuses because it’s been proven that people who work out frequently have much more energy than those living sedentary lifestyles. If you want more energy, some form of exercise should be put into your daily routine.

Unfamiliar with the Exercise Equipment

The magical thing about the internet is its ability to give us useful information at the click of a mouse. If you are unsure how to use a piece of exercise equipment, there are videos all over YouTube and other sites that will give you a detailed tutorial. Better yet, if you can afford it, hire a personal trainer. They will be right by your side making sure you are using proper form. Just make sure you hire a good one. There are cheap personal trainers out there, but you get what you pay for.

Don’t Have Time

This is the absolutely most common excuse for not exercising. It’s also one of the worst excuses. You can exercise anywhere. You work during the day, so you don’t have time. Guess what…you can use your lunch break to take a walk. After work, you have to go grocery shopping. What do you do now? Park your car farther away from the shopping center so you have to walk a longer distance. You have to watch the kids when you get home. How will you find the time to exercise? Well, you can play sports with them, or if you have a dog, take it for a walk or run around your backyard with it.

We all have excuses for why we aren’t exercising, but most of them aren’t good excuses. Realize that exercising is important for your health and can increase the longevity of your life. If you knew now that exercising would add an additional 8 years to your life, do you think you’d have less excuses? Thought so:)

-Tom