Exercise, Part 2

Last week, I talked about all the tools I used to help me get in shape. This week, I'm going to talk about how I changed my outlook on exercise to make those tools work.

In my experience, there's one single, simple obstacle to getting your workouts done, and that's excuses. In this post, I'm going to go down the list of my excuses, and how I tore them down.

Disclaimer: I'm not terribly nice when I give myself these little pep talks. Don't feel like I'm screaming at you as you read; this is all from me to me with love. Further disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so all that stuff about pain is my own personal feeling, and not medical advice.

1. I'm really tired, and I just exercised yesterday... Well, you just slept yesterday, too, so you shouldn't be tired. And you ate yesterday, so I guess we won't be doing that today, either. New day. Get up and get out there.

2. But I'm so sore! Suck it up, princess. There's a difference between muscle soreness and actual pain, as you know full well. Muscle soreness isn't something to flinch from; it's something to revel in. That pain you think you're feeling is actually the sensation of new muscles growing. Stop training them, and they'll stop growing. Pop a couple of ibuprofen and lace up your shoes.

3. I just don't have time today. You make time to eat, to sleep, to shower and to brush your teeth. Exercise is just as essential to your health as any of these things. Sure, you might not have as much time as usual, but I think you can find twenty minutes to squeeze in a kickbox workout. The more consistent you are with it in your daily routine, the easier it will be to keep up with it.

4. This isn't working. Try something else, then, dumbass! You're a weirdo, which means that the stuff that works for everyone else probably isn't going to work for you. Hell, the stuff that worked yesterday might not work today. There's no law that says you must do exactly the same thing over and over again. Tweak it till it works.

5. Argh, I'm bored. See #4.

6. I did a lot of work around the house/yard! That counts as exercise. Well, of course it does, sweetie. Poor baby. Why don't you just lay down on the couch and take it easy!
Or you could stop being a whiny, underachieving baby, handle your shit like a grownup, and then at the end of the day, when your house is clean and your yard is neat and you've run two miles, you can sit back and relax and actually deserve it.

Six excuses, six smackdowns. Your excuses may be different than mine. If you like, leave them in the comments and I'll be happy to yell at you like I do myself. ;-) Honestly, though, it's fairly easy to do yourself--just treat your own excuses like they're someone else's.

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