Today at the coffee shop the conversation turned to exercise. Well, the truth is, we really shared the reasons we don’t like to exercise. Uncle Bud, you know about Uncle Bud, he is the guy everyone calls uncle but he is none of our uncle. He got our attention when he said, “exercise scares me”. That statement gave us a chuckle but we all knew what he meant.
When some people take about exercise the picture that comes to mind is a gym with a lot of people who are already in shape. Who wants to walk into the gym filled with shapely ladies and buffed up guys when they are overweight and will be out of breath after the walk from the parking lot? It is “scary”. Even if they do not admit it no one likes to feel out of place and intimated. The good news is you can exercise without ever going to the gym.
While we had fun teasing Uncle Bud we realize the truth of the matter is we all can come up with excuses not to exercise. His “exercise scares me” held as much water as the other excuses we came up with. The fact is an excuse is just that, an excuse. We can get exercise without a workout. Think about your daily life and the things you do. You will be surprised as how much exercise you can work into your day with a little organizing.
Anything you do that requires movement is helpful. Vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, mopping floors, (Uncle Bud pointed out if you are watching your wife or housekeeper do these chores they do not count.) climbing stairs, walking leisurely, gardening, washing your car, (by hand). Other things you can do are walk instead of driving, ride a bicycle to work, if you do drive park as far as you can from your destination, take the stairs instead of the elevator, when you get home from a shopping trip, carry one bag at a time into the house, shop at a grocery store where you are required to sack your own items.
Remember if you will keep track of your activities it will help you see what you are doing right and what you need to do to increase your daily exercise. Create a daily plan. As time go by you will feel better and begin to look for ways to increase your movements. You may come to the point you want to add a workout to your list, increase the speed of your walk, or even join a group.
Our coffee group came to the conclusion that for most people there is no excuse not to fit exercise into their lives. The benefits of exercise so outweigh any reason we could come up with not to excise. It was pointed out that we do need to take a close look at the food we eat too. Remember, you cannot out run your fork. But that is a conversation for another day. Got to leave the coffee shop and walk to work.