Too busy to work out? Doubtful. The truth: Finding moments to move is entirely within your grasp.
Most common excuse for not exercising? Survey says: “No time.” But examine that excuse at close range and you’ll see it’s usually about something deeper, says Lavinia Rodriguez, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of Mind Over Fat Matters: Conquering Psychological Barriers to Weight Management (iUniverse, 2008). “Typically, it’s lack of motivation, lack of enjoyment, negative associations, fear or maybe low self-esteem,” she says.Busy as we may be, we have less trouble finding time for television, social networking or even dull household tasks, Rodriguez observes, because there simply aren’t the same steep psychological barriers to those activities.“Most people are in denial about their health,” says fitness-industry icon Richard Simmons. “We all have reasons for not exercising, but it all comes down to time management and fear. Fear you’ll get hurt. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of failure.”
But what we’d be better off being afraid of, he says, is what will happen if we don’t exercise. How will a sedentary lifestyle be affecting you next year? In five or 10 years?
“Will you have time for multiple doctors appointments?” he asks. “Will you have the time and money to take medication every day to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes?” Just as important, what do you stand to gain by finally taking your health off the back burner?
If you want to exercise, you’ll make the time. We interviewed psychologists, exercise scientists, celebrity trainers, authors and busy everyday people to get a handle on the 25 most promising strategies.
1. Make a Plan.
“The best way to make time for exercise is to have a written plan,” says Chris Evert, 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion. “Decide on the best time for exercise in your schedule and actually enter it into your computer or cell-phone calendar as a repeat event. This way it shows up daily and there’s less chance of you scheduling something during that time. Also, when you check your schedule in the morning, you’ll see it there and form a mental picture of when and how you’ll be exercising that day, which helps you stay motivated.”
2. Subdivide Your to-do list.
Rather than making one long to-do list you’ll never complete, divide your list into three categories, advises Lisa Druxman, MA, exercise counselor and founder of the Stroller Strides and Mama Wants Her Body Back (www.mamawants.com) programs. “It’s not enough to get things done,” she says. “You need to get the right things done. It’s OK to have dirty clothes in your hamper. It’s OK if you don’t read every email the moment you receive it. It’s not OK to cheat your health.” Druxman suggests the following to-do list makeover:
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- Take out a sheet of paper and create three boxes that represent the most important parts of your life (e.g., family, work, yourself).
- List the top three to-dos that would make the most difference in each category. For family, it might be cooking or helping with homework. For work, it might be returning phone calls or completing a presentation. For yourself, include exercise, plus something else nurturing, like calling a friend or having a healthy lunch.
