Ask any fitness professional who’s been in the industry for a few years and they will tell you the one thing they dislike hearing more than anything else is an excuse. After running my business for seven years I’ve heard quite a few. I can’t do any exercise because I’m recovering from a cold; I’m too busy; I have a weak back/shoulder/ankle/middle toe. There are many more but the painful truth is there are no excuses.
Only the most extreme of medical conditions can prevent you from doing any exercise at all. If you have a muscle weakness, it will always be there without exercise. Regular exercise builds up your immunity to colds and other viruses, and as for the ‘I’m too busy’ excuse, all I hear there is, ‘It’s not important to me so I’d rather fill my time sitting down’.
Regular exercise is as vital for your body as eating and why would anyone come up with an excuse to prevent them from doing that? Our bodies were designed to run, jump, lift and carry. They were not designed to sit down and this is partly the reason why over a quarter of UK adults are now clinically obese.
If you still think you have an excuse, how about taking a look at the athletes competing at this year’s Paralympics? I regard paralympians as more inspirational than their able-bodied counterparts because they have decided that their disability is merely an obstacle to exercise rather than an excuse. For example, take British rower Tom Aggar who won gold in Beijing just four years after an accident left him with a spinal injury and paralysis of his legs. Or how about David Roberts who will be hoping to add to his collection of 11 gold medals this year in swimming, despite being diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 11. If they can do it, what excuse excludes anyone else from exercise? Maybe you think that an Olympic athlete is way out of your league? Nicole Evans isn’t one. She’s just a regular 25-year-old woman from Essex who has cerebral palsy and the degenerative muscle disease proximal myopathy. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Nicole started walking and managed to finish this year’s London Marathon with the help of a frame; she now has her sights set on competing in a triathlon. Now there’s someone who can truly put an end to any excuse you could come up with.
If you’re reading this, the chances are you already exercise regularly or are thinking that it’s about time you started. So, I’m partly preaching to the converted here. However, if you know someone who relies on one of the excuses I’ve mentioned, or has their own unique way of justifying why they don’t incorporate exercise into their lives, then show them this article and see if they can find an excuse not to read it. Even a regular exerciser like me needs a little inspiration now and then. There are some days when I don’t really feel like exercising but I get up and do it when I think about the things Nicole and the paralympians have achieved. So there really are no excuses.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Fitness Professionals Ltd or Virtual Magazine. Consult a qualified health or fitness professional before making changes to your diet or exercise.
