Deep down we know we should exercise because there are so many benefits

including health, increased self-esteem and being a great role model for your kids. However

there are 5 main reasons why people don’t exercise and in this article I discuss what stops

you from exercising and actionable ideas on how you can fit exercise into your life.

1. You don’t have enough time to exercise

We are all really busy juggling work, home life and family but self-care is so important and

we never seem to fit it into the mix and spend time on ourselves. This is really important to

create a balanced life so we can be happier, healthier Mum’s.  I’ve recently taken on this

advice and added meditation, reading and developing fitness videos for my work. How I

managed to do this are simple tricks that you can use to give yourself more time to fit

exercise into your life.

• Decrease the amount of time you spend watching TV.
• Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier.
• Spend less time on social media.
• Delegate tasks to family or staff.
• Multi-tasking i.e. walking the dog while doing a meditation exercise.

2. You can’t afford the cost of exercise

Exercise does not have to be an expensive commitment and if you really want something there’s always a way to reduce every day costs. I wanted to buy a new car and I had to find an extra $40 a week to get it. The tactics I used can be applied to anything and here’s how:

• I stopped buying books to read and joined the library.
• Cancel magazine subscriptions.
• Reduce your coffees and buy less (better for you too!)
• Eat lunch at home rather than buying out, or take it with you.
• Stop buying junk food. You don’t it and it’s expensive!

TIP: Do you know the benefits of exercising outdoors and that you can attend my group fitness for as little as $33 each week for unlimited classes.

3. You have kids so you can’t get to exercise class

Kids definitely take up a lot of our time and especially when they’re babies and you’re

juggling sleep routines. Our kids are one of the main reasons why we should exercise

because you’re a role model to them and you can show them that exercise should be

something that should fit into our life easily.  Tips to get to exercise when you’re juggling kids

include:

• Bring them to a mums and bubs fitness class.
• When they are sleeping, do a workout video – you only need 10 minutes.
• Use the crèche at the gym.
• Take them for a walk and add some other exercises you can do around the pram.
• Get a family member or buddy to take turns watching the kids.

4. You’re not motivated to exercise and won’t stick with it

When you first start an exercise routine you’re super keen and hit the ground running but over time you find yourself less motivated and doing less of it, to the point where you stop. Staying motivated to continue to exercise is such an important step and I’ve got some tips for you to keep your fitness regime on track:

• Use visualisation and hang an old favourite dress up, visualising yourself to fit into it.
• Get yourself a work out buddy to commit to every week and get you to class on time.
• Get yourself new workout gear so you can feel good about exercising.
• Put your exercise gear out the night before so that you don’t have to think about it when the alarm goes off.
• Set yourself a reward chart so if you exercise every week at the end of the month you can reward yourself with a manicure.

5. You’re suffering pain so you can’t exercise

This excuse can be a valid one but did you know that exercise can relieve pain? Recently I

worked with a client and her doctor to create an exercise program to improve her strength

and assist her with ongoing back pain. After training with me, her pain reduced and she is

now fitter and stronger. Give yourself some self-care and see a medical professional or a

physiologist that can assess your pain and recommend what exercise you can do.

You only have one body, let’s look after it

When you consider all of these excuses, there are solutions for all of them and given the health benefits of exercise why wouldn’t you introduce it into your life.  Whether it be personal training or group fitness or a team sport like soccer or tennis, even a bike ride with friends or family, exercise can easily fit into your life, contact me and I’d love to find a solution to help you.

See you in the great outdoors, Cathy.