Monday, August 15, 2011

Getting the New You Off the Couch

In case you've missed the first three parts to creating a new you, you can find them here (Part I, Part II, Part III)  As a quick refresher, in Part I you were implored to make the decision for yourself to become a healthier person.  In Part II, we looked at how important it is that you cook the majority of your own meals.  And Part III looked at how to navigate the grocery store shopping for the healthiest items.  Today, Part 4 is going to contradict the excuses you use to not get off the couch and get active. 

The first excuse to look at is the most tired and overused excuse in the book.  Ask most people that don't exercise why they are not active, and the majority will tell you that they just don't have time.  Can anyone say "Shenanigans"?  If you are super busy for a day or two, this excuse might work.  But to say that you are always too busy is a load of crap.  If you were to take a look at how you use your time, you may find that you have more time to exercise than you think.  For example, how much time do you spend on Facebook and Twitter?  Checking e-mail?  Playing Farmville?  While all of these things may SEEM important, none of them are more important than taking positive steps towards improving your health.  Other time wasters that we are notorious for include playing video games and watching TV.  If we are honest with ourselves, playing that game of Madden or watching another re-run of Seinfeld or the Kardashians really isn't a good reason for not exercising. 

Another reason that many people like to give for not exercising is that they are too tired.  On the surface, this sounds like a semi-legitimate reason.  Exercising requires exerting physical energy, and if you are tired you are already running low on energy.  The funny thing about exercise, though, is that the physiologic effects of exercise actually make you more alert and give you more energy.  I don't know how many times at work I'd be struggling to stay awake no matter how much coffee I've had.  However, if I walk around for a few minutes, maybe do a few squats or push-ups, I usually am focused and alert for hours afterward.  So when you get home from work, don't let yourself get sucked in to the "I'm too tired" routine, change clothes and do something.  Even if you only have a few minutes to jog around the block, you'd be surprised how much more energy you'll have and how much better you'll feel than if you don't do anything at all.

The last of the most common excuses that I get for why people don't exercise is that they are sore after they are done.  This excuse is funny to me, because when you talk to people that work out a lot they love that feeling of sore muscles and dead legs.  When you haven't done much physical activity in a while, any big change in exercise habits cause microscopic damage to your muscles.  Even when you've been active for years, if you stress the muscles enough, this damage occurs.  The soreness that you get after the workout comes from the process of your body repairing the tissue.  Ultimately, this soreness that you feel is the actual process of your body getting stronger.  The more consistently you exercise, the better your body will be at repairing itself, and the shorter the duration of your discomfort. 

These are just three of the most common excuses that I've heard from people trying to explain why they don't exercise.  There are dozens of others, and none of them are good enough reasons to not be doing something to improve your health.  While modern medicine has gotten increasingly better and solving medical issues, there is nothing better at improving your health than preventing whatever injury or illness to begin with.  So get moving!

Got a good excuse for why you aren't getting enough exercise on a regular basis?  Leave me a comment with the best you've got and I'll give you a better reason to start exercising today.

Need help determining what you need to do to improve your health and take control of your fitness?  Visit www.dkfitsolutions.com for more information on how I can help, or e-mail me at denny@dkfitsolutions.com and I'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have. 

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