Getting Past “I Don’t Have Time for Exercise”

As an ACE certified personal trainer, the most common excuse I hear for not exercising is, “I don’t have time!”

The excuse of not having enough time initially seems valid when a client begins to describe his/her busy schedule and multiple life demands. To be real, our lives today can seem more like juggling acts and sometimes feel overwhelming to manage. There are more single parent and dual working parent households than ever before and, children have more extracurricular activities requiring more parent time than ever before.  Between working, household demands, taxiing their kids, and taking care of dependent family members, it seems that there really is no time to exercise.

Altering how you view “exercise”

In order to get rid of this excuse, one must change the way he or she defines exercise.

Exercise is traditionally defined as at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity 5-7 days a week.  You don’t have to define exercise that way! Studies have shown that three 10 minute exercise sessions are just as effective as one 30-minute bout of exercise. This is just one alternative way to think about exercise.  Get creative and re-define exercise in a way that will fit YOUR lifestyle and needs.

Therefore, if you are short on long chunks of times:

• Commitment to making regular physical activity a part of your lifestyle.
• GET FLEXIBLE! I don’t mean physically (although that will likely come). I mean, start thinking outside the box when it comes to the type and time of your physical activity.
• Take an honest look at your schedule, be creative, and be open to trying something new!

Mix and match the following suggestions to keep yourself from getting bored:

• Wake up 10 minutes early just 3 days a week and go up and down your stairs for 10 minutes.
• Walk 10 minutes at lunch.
• HAVE FUN with your family:
  • Beach ball relay up and down the stairs.
  • Have your kids come up with exercises for you to do (they will love this)!
  • Freeze dance.
  • Plank, push up, sit-up challenges (work up to outlasting your kids, friends or spouse)!
• Exercise while watching your favorite show at night or the news in the morning. Try the following intervals:
  • 1-minute arm raises, 30 seconds rest
  • 1-minute squats, 30 seconds rest
  • 1-minute stand up/sit down, 30 seconds rest
  • 1-iminute run in place, 30 seconds rest
  • 1-minute plank, 30 seconds rest
  • 1-minute shadow boxing, 30 seconds rest

Run through the above intervals once and work your way up to running through twice… add new exercises to avoid boredom.

Most importantly, find what works for you and be consistent. Redefine the way you think about exercise, and you will not only enjoy the health benefits from exercise, but you may even find you have a little fun.

Sharon Craddock, Ph.D.
Health Educator, Inova Bariatric Surgery