One of the most significant hurdles towards improving our wellness and sending us on the way to a better, longer life is overcoming objections that our minds create. When I say, “Let’s get up and get fit” what immediately comes to mind? Do you have a built-in excuse for avoiding exercise? It is true that most of us have one or more reasons that on the surface sound very reasonable for not working out. I have compiled a few of these excuses below and I have also offered responses or hopefully better reasons for overcoming objections.
I’m simply too tired
Exercise is the best method to alter feelings of fatigue. Research indicates that exercise is able to melt away tiredness since it fortifies circulation. Gradually, energy levels start to become higher and your heart becomes stronger so that you can to do more things without feeling easily tired. In the long run, exercise will let you accomplish many more daily activities than if you didn’t keep in shape.
I’m just not ready to make that commitment
Procrastination is the thief of time, and at this point in life you’re running out of time the longer you postpone change. If not now, when?
Exercise is hard on my joints
Sorry, joint pain still isn’t an excuse because exercise is actually a great way to ease and avoid joint pain. Yes, it’s a challenge, but you can’t sit and do nothing about it because joint pain will only get worse. Exercise will strengthen muscles surrounding your aching joints and take a great deal of the pressure off them.
I have arthritis and I’m too stiff
Exercise eases joint pain, strengthens the muscles around joints, helps control weight, and gives you more energy. Did you know that not exercising will worsen your arthritis?
My back (legs, arms, shoulder, etc.) hurts.
Okay, we feel your pain; now get up, get off the couch and stop whining. You’re a senior, it’s normal. I’m sorry, but we all feel pain somewhere. Deal with it. Adjust, modify, and figure out what you can do instead of focusing on what you can’t.
I’m too old to start
Your age means nothing; we tend to use age as an excuse to limit our possibilities. The good news is that sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, can be prevented―and even reversed―through physical activity and exercise. In addition, exercise keeps metabolic levels higher, prevents reductions in bone density, improves aerobic capacity, and better manages insulin sensitivity. In other words, although exercise is important for all people, it’s especially important for seniors.
Exercise is tedious and boring
Indeed it may be even more boring to wait for your time to die in a retirement home, bound to a bed, with no future, unable to move, probably in pain, perhaps not even able to remember the things you have done in your life. Remember that exercise is not exclusive to aerobics or gym training (if you believe these activities to be boring). The good thing about exercise is that there are many physical activities that are loveable! For example, do you love to swim? Then do 30 minutes of moderate swimming and burn around 140 calories. Other fun activities that would effectively burn a lot of calories include tennis, yoga, dancing, hiking, bicycling, and playing with your grandkids. Even golf can fall into this realm, provided you carry your own clubs and avoid the golf cart at all cost.
I don’t want to deal with the soreness that is certain to follow
Start slowly and build over time. No matter how diligent we are, we seem to mess this up sometimes. Depending upon how much you went overboard, you can be back at full strength within a few days. Occasionally—at least if you’re like me—you’ll go way beyond what you should have done. In such cases, you can be out a couple more days.
I have a bad heart
This is one of the areas that I can speak of with some experience. I had a major attack at age 65, leaving me with less than 40% effectiveness of my heart. Exercise has actually made my heart muscle stronger. For eleven years I have been extremely active without chest pain or other symptoms.
Exercise can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Furthermore, if you have diabetes, exercise helps control blood sugar. Regular exercise helps weight loss and keeps bones strong. Plus, you will feel a whole lot better.
It’s too expensive to buy healthy food or to join a gym
Wow! This excuse is so wrong on so many levels that we have written several chapters to deal with why healthy food and exercise are the best bargains known to humankind.
I have so many other things to do with my time
How much time do you spend watching TV, reading trashy novels, or playing video games? These couch-bound activities are interesting and moderately entertaining, for sure, but beware: you speed up the decaying process when you spend too much time sitting.
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