Make Time, Not Excuses, For Working Out
Finding Time To Work Out In Your Busy Everyday Life
- I just don’t have time to exercise with my new baby.
- I’m in college and don’t have time to exercise.
- I’ve got all these kids I have to carpool—I don’t have time to exercise.
- My time-management skills suck and I never find the time to get to the gym.
Sound familiar? Of course it does. Not having time to exercise is the number one excuse people give for not working out.
However, there’s nothing better than exercise to improve your health, mood, stress level, brain fitness, memory, learning skills, attention and concentration, weight management, sleep, energy, productivity, self-esteem, relationships, and even your sex life. Want some motivation? When inactive people increase physical activity just 15 minutes a day, they reduce the risk of premature death by 14% and increase life expectancy by three years. Fifteen minute bursts of exercise every day for three years of life is not a bad trade off!
Optimizing your life to be balanced and healthy requires that you make time for exercise and physical activity. Motivation often starts for an external reason and quickly moves into something deeply internal — “I want to fit into that dress for our daughter’s wedding” turns into “I want to see my grandchildren someday.” So, another way to have more time is to reconsider how you think about your time, and what you consider to be exercise.