experiencelifemag.com Print › | Back › Giving Excuses the Slip There’s an old saying that excuses are like noses: Everyone has one. When workouts feel like a drag, though, you may suddenly find you have not just one excuse, but a nearly endless supply. Here are a few of the most common ones and some ways to help you steer around them. July-August 2009 I’m sick. Sure, you might not feel like working out if your nose is running and your throat is sore but, medically, unless you have a fever, body aches or dizziness, you’re still good to go, according to Richard Thirlby, MD, a physician at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. In fact, light aerobic exercise may help your sinuses and lymphatic system drain by increasing your circulation. Of course, working yourself to exhaustion when you’re already depleted is a bad idea. And if you have a cold, flu or infection, keep in mind that during the first two to three days you have symptoms, you may be highly contagious. If you go to the club, be kind to your fellow gym members and disinfect all equipment you touch. It’s raining (or snowing or hot). Getting soaked — whether it’s from running from your car to the gym or around the track — might not seem like fun. Yet, if you think back to when you were a child, you’ll probably remember how much fun it was splashing in puddles and trying to catch raindrops or snowflakes on your tongue. As long as you dress for the weather, you can enjoy working out no matter what. There is one caveat: You should always be cautious when exercising in extreme temperatures. Your body keeps cool by sweating. If it’s too hot — above 90 degrees — and humid, your sweat doesn’t evaporate and cool your body as quickly as it normally does, leaving you at risk for heat stroke. If it is super hot, exercise outside in the morning or after sunset. You might also spray yourself with water or stick your head under the faucet before you leave (wet hair makes a big difference). Likewise, if the weather is below zero or there’s a nasty wind chill, hit the gym or power-walk the mall. You risk frostbite or hypothermia when working out in extreme cold. I don’t have enough time. Ask yourself this: How much time do you spend in front of the television? If you’re like most Americans, it’s nearly four hours a day, according to A.C. Nielsen Co., the company that compiles television ratings. If you devote even 20 minutes of that time to working out, you’re well ahead of the game. Most importantly, remember that the time and energy you spend working out typically pays you back double — or triple — in increased energy, stamina, vitality and health. You’ll have a clearer, faster, more productive mind, better motivation, and a sunnier mood if you do your workout instead of putting it off. Make a real effort to set an exercise schedule and stick with it. Write it into your daily planner or mark it on your calendar. If you can’t do your normal workout on a given day, still do something. And think of your exercise time as sacred — your mental and emotional break from the rhythm of the day, your gift to yourself — and you’ll be more likely to embrace it as a deep priority, as opposed to just another to-do item. I don’t know how to get started. Thankfully, this is one of the easiest excuses to debunk. Almost every health club has personal trainers and fitness experts on call for you at all hours of the day and night. Most provide free introductory services to members so you can walk into the club clueless and walk out with a solid exercise plan. They can also show you how to use fitness equipment and do body-weight exercises. If you don’t belong to a gym, you can try talking to an instructor of an adult-education class or coaches at your local college or high school. Pick up a good fitness book (forgo magazines until you have a basic program in place; you’re likely to get lost in details and distracted by the pretty pictures). And don’t forget to consult fit friends and family: Most people who are passionate about exercise are usually happy to help. I’m too tired. As a rule, this excuse resolves itself once you start moving. Research shows that exercise produces endorphins that boost energy levels and make us feel happy, relaxed and pain-free. Thankfully, you don’t have to run a marathon to get this so-called runner’s high. Start slowly — even 10-minute bursts of exercise during the day can get you hooked. I don’t have a babysitter. Most health clubs have childcare facilities that are staffed with qualified, experienced personnel. If yours doesn’t, consider starting a childcare cooperative with a friend. By trading off days, you’ll get time alone, as will your friend. And, of course, you can always bring your kids into your workout — use toddlers as weights or play with them in the yard. I’m sore from yesterday’s workout. If you’re extremely sore — even pressing on the muscle results in serious pain — you may want to take it easy for a day or two. In most cases, however, being sore doesn’t mean that you should just stay home and do nothing, says Thirlby. Walking, bicycling, or a low-impact exercise or stretching class will actually assist your muscles’ recovery by increasing circulation and moving out the biochemical byproducts of muscle strain. You can help the process along by drinking plenty of water, doing some self-massage and getting some extra sleep (i.e., muscle-repair time).

Giving Excuses the Slip

There’s an old saying that excuses are like noses: Everyone has one. When workouts feel like a drag, though, you may suddenly find you have not just one excuse, but a nearly endless supply. Here are a few of the most common ones and some ways to help you steer around them.

I’m sick.
Sure, you might not feel like working out if your nose is running and your throat is sore but, medically, unless you have a fever, body aches or dizziness, you’re still good to go, according to Richard Thirlby, MD, a physician at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. In fact, light aerobic exercise may help your sinuses and lymphatic system drain by increasing your circulation.

Of course, working yourself to exhaustion when you’re already depleted is a bad idea. And if you have a cold, flu or infection, keep in mind that during the first two to three days you have symptoms, you may be highly contagious. If you go to the club, be kind to your fellow gym members and disinfect all equipment you touch.

It’s raining (or snowing or hot).
Getting soaked — whether it’s from running from your car to the gym or around the track — might not seem like fun. Yet, if you think back to when you were a child, you’ll probably remember how much fun it was splashing in puddles and trying to catch raindrops or snowflakes on your tongue. As long as you dress for the weather, you can enjoy working out no matter what.

There is one caveat: You should always be cautious when exercising in extreme temperatures. Your body keeps cool by sweating. If it’s too hot — above 90 degrees — and humid, your sweat doesn’t evaporate and cool your body as quickly as it normally does, leaving you at risk for heat stroke. If it is super hot, exercise outside in the morning or after sunset. You might also spray yourself with water or stick your head under the faucet before you leave (wet hair makes a big difference).

Likewise, if the weather is below zero or there’s a nasty wind chill, hit the gym or power-walk the mall. You risk frostbite or hypothermia when working out in extreme cold.

I don’t have enough time.
Ask yourself this: How much time do you spend in front of the television? If you’re like most Americans, it’s nearly four hours a day, according to A.C. Nielsen Co., the company that compiles television ratings. If you devote even 20 minutes of that time to working out, you’re well ahead of the game.

Most importantly, remember that the time and energy you spend working out typically pays you back double — or triple — in increased energy, stamina, vitality and health. You’ll have a clearer, faster, more productive mind, better motivation, and a sunnier mood if you do your workout instead of putting it off.

Make a real effort to set an exercise schedule and stick with it. Write it into your daily planner or mark it on your calendar. If you can’t do your normal workout on a given day, still do something. And think of your exercise time as sacred — your mental and emotional break from the rhythm of the day, your gift to yourself — and you’ll be more likely to embrace it as a deep priority, as opposed to just another to-do item.

I don’t know how to get started.
Thankfully, this is one of the easiest excuses to debunk. Almost every health club has personal trainers and fitness experts on call for you at all hours of the day and night. Most provide free introductory services to members so you can walk into the club clueless and walk out with a solid exercise plan. They can also show you how to use fitness equipment and do body-weight exercises.

If you don’t belong to a gym, you can try talking to an instructor of an adult-education class or coaches at your local college or high school. Pick up a good fitness book (forgo magazines until you have a basic program in place; you’re likely to get lost in details and distracted by the pretty pictures). And don’t forget to consult fit friends and family: Most people who are passionate about exercise are usually happy to help.

I’m too tired.
As a rule, this excuse resolves itself once you start moving. Research shows that exercise produces endorphins that boost energy levels and make us feel happy, relaxed and pain-free. Thankfully, you don’t have to run a marathon to get this so-called runner’s high. Start slowly — even 10-minute bursts of exercise during the day can get you hooked.

I don’t have a babysitter.
Most health clubs have childcare facilities that are staffed with qualified, experienced personnel. If yours doesn’t, consider starting a childcare cooperative with a friend. By trading off days, you’ll get time alone, as will your friend. And, of course, you can always bring your kids into your workout — use toddlers as weights or play with them in the yard.

I’m sore from yesterday’s workout.
If you’re extremely sore — even pressing on the muscle results in serious pain — you may want to take it easy for a day or two. In most cases, however, being sore doesn’t mean that you should just stay home and do nothing, says Thirlby. Walking, bicycling, or a low-impact exercise or stretching class will actually assist your muscles’ recovery by increasing circulation and moving out the biochemical byproducts of muscle strain. You can help the process along by drinking plenty of water, doing some self-massage and getting some extra sleep (i.e., muscle-repair time).

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