Why you should workout when you don't want to

The rain over the past day or so is making me think about what kind of things influence our exercise habits. What are some reasons we may not want to workout?

• The weather is too cold
• The weather is too hot
• It’s a lovely day and you’d rather be having fun or relaxing
• You’re sick
• You’re on holiday
• You’re injured
• Hormones
• You don’t know what to do or how to workout
• You have no time (and the list goes on!)

​Let’s go over some of these reasons…

Weather. If you’re a person who prefers to train outside, it can be hard to find the perfect weather when it comes to training. Depending on where you live, a good part of the year could be wiped out due to extremes in weather. Let’s face  it, we need to be sensible and look after ourselves. There’s no point in exercising in bad circumstances if it brings on injury or sickness. The whole point of exercising is to increase our fitness levels / health / wellness. Getting injured, heatstroke or hypothermia is not going to help us with that. But, if we have a gym membership or train indoors, we have no excuse. We have an all-weather venue to use.

Is it a lovely day outside? Awesome! There are so many ways we can get creative and take advantage of a spectacularly sunshiney day. One of my favourites is Stand Up Paddleboarding. Put on your beach gear, lather up with some sunscreen, soak up the sunshine and cool off in the water as necessary. What could be better? If it’s one of those awesome days where it’s rainy outside and cosy inside, that’s great too! You can still do something fun like Dance Central on X Box, Wii Sport, or if you’re feeling flexible, Twister!

You’re sick / injured / hormones. Ok fair enough. Depending on what’s going on, something light might still be ok. Listen to your doctor / physio, and pace yourself. A nice walk outside or on the treadmill might be appropriate. However, if you’re coughing and sneezing all over the place, stay at home. When it comes to germs, sharing is not caring!

You’re on holiday. Well, hopefully you’re making the most of your trip and exploring! There’s nothing better than an adventure! You might be staying somewhere with a gym, or you might be camping. There’s no reason why you can’t do something while you’re away. Bush walking, the motel gym, skiing…

You don’t know what to do or how to workout. Fair call. Everyone starts somewhere, and even the best athletes and trainers were beginners once. I have one piece of advice for you: ask for help! Whether it’s a friend who goes exercising regularly or a trainer, someone can give you ideas and guidance. But, keep it simple. There’s no sense in starting with a 5 day weights split if you’ve never done any exercise before. Go for a walk, a swim, a bike ride, or (as mentioned above), ask someone to guide you through some exercise. Knowledge is power, so give yourself the power to change your life by asking for help.

You have no time. This is one I struggle with. Everybody is blessed with the same hours per week, some of us just struggle with priorities. Granted, there are a lot of hard working people who truly struggle with time. But even they need to take time out for themselves so they don’t burn out. Remember – unless you decide to do the work, you won’t get the results you want. This is your responsibility.

There is one other thing that can influence our exercise habits. Mentality. The mind is a powerful tool, and sometimes we struggle to drag ourselves out of our mental pit. This is a real problem, not something that people just make up. While exercise can be a huge benefit to people struggling with anxiety, depression and grief, sometimes these people have a real issue just getting out of bed. These situations need to be handled with sensitivity and compassion. To everyone struggling with this kind of situation, if you need help with exercise, don’t let people (trainers or other) put you off because they don’t believe your struggle. Search for someone helpful and reliable to help you in your journey.

Exercise benefits everybody. Get moving and (most importantly) have fun!