Everyone is busy – too busy! Working full time, taking care of your family, finding time to enjoy activities with friends – with all these priorities, no wonder daily physical activity can get pushed to the back burner.
Even though there are known health benefits of regular physical activity, many of us don’t take the time to exercise daily.
There are common barriers to physical activity that everyone fights – finding time and motivation, overcoming fear of injury or discomfort and just being too tired to work out.
Below find some practical tips to overcome these common obstacles and help you create strategies to make physical activity a part of your daily life.
“I Don’t Have Time.”
Most likely, you do have time, you just haven’t Identified your available time slots yet.
Practical Tips:
- Observe your daily activities for one week and write out your schedule. Doing this will help you see the gaps. See if you can find 20-30-minute gaps of time – that is enough for a strength training session, a walk outside, a cardio workout, or some stretching and core strengthening exercises.
- Move every day. For example, walk or ride your bike to work or shopping, organize school activities around a physical activity, walk the dog, take the stairs, exercise while you watch TV, park farther away from your destination, etc.
- Categorize activities you like to do into appropriate time slots. For example: 5 minutes = core strengthening, 10 minutes = strength training/stretching, 20 minutes = cardio or something that gets your heartrate up
- Make movement a part of your workday. Walk during virtual meetings and conference calls, if possible. Every hour, stand, stretch, or walk around some, if possible.
“I’m Too Tired to Work Out.”
Fatigue is real, and it can be hard to overcome. But studies show that regular physical activity will boost your energy, even if that seems counterintuitive.
Practical Tips:
- Schedule your physical activity when you feel energetic, whether that is early in the morning, in the evenings or on the weekends.
- Let the evidence that regular activity boosts both your energy level and mood as motivation, and even if you don’t feel energetic, give it a try.
For example:
5 minutes = core strengthening
10 minutes = strength training/stretching
20 minutes = cardio or something that gets your heartrate up
“I Can’t Get Motivated to Exercise.”
We are social creatures, and many people struggle to find the motivation to work out alone.
Practical Tips:
- Explain your interest in becoming more active to your friends and family. Ask them to support your efforts and see if one of them would like to be your workout buddy. Studies show that people who commit to a goal in front of another person are 65% more likely to achieve it.
- Plan social activities involving physical activity, like a hike, neighborhood walk, friendly game of softball, or a round of mini golf.
- Seek out new connections and develop new friendships with physically active people. Join a gym or group, such as a hiking club. Or seek out volunteer activities that are physical, like trail restoration or dog-walking.
- Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule and write it in your calendar.
“I’m Afraid of Getting Injured or Feeling Uncomfortable”
When you don’t have much experience exercising, many questions will come up – “What if I get hurt? What do I wear? I don’t want to look silly.” It is natural to have these concerns.
Practical Tips:
- Learn proper technique when performing exercises and how to properly warm up and cool down to prevent injury. Most gyms and rec centers offer a free session with their trainers to learn how to safely exercise and use the machines. Or ask an experienced friend to teach you how to be safe. Finally, there are many online resources that can help you get started.
- Make sure you understand how to exercise appropriately for your age, fitness level, skill level, and health status. Check with your doctor or the Amaze medical team to help you get started.
- Choose activities you feel you can do safely and slowly increase the length of time and difficulty as your confidence and strength grow.
“I Don’t Know How.”
While it can be daunting to begin something new, there are many resources to help you get started.
Practical Tips:
- Select activities that don’t require new skills, such as walking, climbing stairs, or jogging.
- Take a class to develop new skills.
- Search online for resources or ask your friends and family who are experienced exercises to help you get started.
“It’s Too Expensive.”
While you can pay expensive gym fees or $20+ for a yoga class, you can also exercise for free.
Practical Tips:
- Select activities that you can do anywhere and require minimal equipment, such as walking, jogging, jumping rope, or calisthenics.
- Identify inexpensive, convenient resources available in your community, like community education programs, park and recreation programs, worksite programs, etc.
“It’s Too (Cold, Hot, Windy, Rainy) to Exercise.”
You can exercise anywhere – inside, outside, at the gym, at home, in your office, on the stairs.
Practical Tips:
- Develop a set of regular activities that you can do regardless of the weather
- Have a set of inside activities – aerobic dance, indoor swimming, stair climbing, rope skipping, , exercise videos, etc.
- Develop a seasonal pattern. If you live in an area with distinct seasons, let the changes motivate you. Look forward to winter for snow activities and summer for outdoor sunny activities – changing up your exercise routine is important and easy to do by following the seasons.
