Excuses I Used To Avoid Exercising

Funny how there are a thousand excuses if you really want to back out of something.

One of them could be that you’re too busy or too poor to afford gym membership. Another one is that it’s raining outside, the sun is too darn hot, and you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

Well I regularly used ALL those excuses and more, until my boyfriend took me hiking at Tun Fuad Park over 4 hours smack in the middle of noon. I initially thought it was only going to be a 1 hour lap-run and when we went as far as the trail took us uphill, I felt like I wanted to kill him or die, whichever came first.

Okay maybe not that bad, but it FELT that bad! I was so upset about my fitness level I cried. I felt like a cross between Humpty Dumpty and the Incredible Sulk… clumsy, heavy, and whiny.

When I went to Korea in July this year, things began to make more sense why the boyfriend was by default so insanely fit. The majority of Koreans do not pay for gym membership, but they’re all sleek and slim. That’s partly because they have these outdoor gyms provided by the government by the Han River, but mostly because of their attitude toward health and wellness regardless of how poor or old they were.

At 10pm, there are families walking and jogging around the parks. Young kids and old grandmas, they’re out there getting their heart working. That’s right around the time most of us kick back and eat a tub of ice cream or go for supper.

One day, my boyfriend took two empty 2 liter mineral water bottles, filled them up with water and showed me how to use them as free weights. I thought it was cheap, but it removed yet another excuse I have yet to use. It worked fine! They were 2kg weights each and great for grip and toning.

Then one evening in Seoul, I saw this T.V. program featuring a fulltime housewife and new mother, who showed the cameras how she knocked off all the baby weight with nothing else but a rice cooker, feeding bottles, stockings, and some wiping cloth. Some day I’ll tell you all about it (if I can find the woman’s name and story). TRULY INSPIRING!

It was so inspiring it shifted my paradigm, and I began to think of the excuses people made to escape exercising.

Today, no matter how busy I get, I whip out my RM25 skipping rope and do about 30 minutes of intensive cardio rain or shine. Why? Because I can do it right in my bedroom, living room, garage, anywhere that has 4mx4m space.

I also take all the stuff I learn about Crossfit from the gym and do the ones that require no equipment.

You don’t need to fork out RM100 to do squats, situps, and pushups do you?

So there. If you have a reason why you’re not putting in the work, I’d like to challenge you to stop making excuses, and really just face the truth. Most of the time it’s not that you’re too poor, tired, hot and afraid of getting the flu that makes you remain on your seat.

You’re mostly likely being lazy, scared, and just plain don’t want it bad enough.

Because if you did, you’d assemble a home gym with RM200 (see above), and go out for that run that you’ve been making excuses for not doing RIGHT NOW.

So the first step to losing weight is BEING HONEST with yourself. Once you realize what you’re doing to yourself, you can begin to start saying things that help you reach your goals.

I’m going to go for my 8:30am dance class this morning. What are you going to do today for your body?

Comments

4 responses to “Excuses I Used To Avoid Exercising”

  1. Elliott Chua Avatar
    Elliott Chua

    Jackie, what you are doing is a good thing. Well done! In KK you guys should head out to do some running. Not so lucky for me here, I do my training on the treadmill 10 – 13km, extremely boring!

    I’ve found running to be by far the best way to lose weight (if that’s what you are after), and a good way to get fit. However, running is a funny thing, it seems to be different from swimming or cycling, the beginning always feels hard. If you commit to running for 1 week, then rest up for a couple of days, and start the 2nd week, you’ll feel that the 2nd week becomes much easier. Funny how quickly our body adapts. Start small, like 10 – 15min, that’s 2 – 3km only, and then add 5min every 2 days, but make sure you push it a bit, rather than just keeping a slow pace. Since you start off with 10 – 15min a day, make it count. In the longer term, I’ve found that once i get past about 20min-ish, it then becomes mechanical, your breathing stabilises, and your body gets used to the “load” and you can keep going for a while.

    I’m committing to a 1-month swimming programme at the moment, the goal is to get my 400m down to under 6min. I’ve basically been swimming about 2km everyday, Only 2 more weeks to go!

  2. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Thanks Elliott. Happy birthday by the way! There are running groups out there, but I tend to run by myself as I’m not really trying to prep for an event… I take pictures during runs so would make a horrible pacing buddy. 😀

    I think at this point after having lost over 33 lbs, I’m not looking to lose the next few kilos through pure cardio. Because I lost it all so fast, I’m a little flaccid and need a whole lot of toning. So now I am mixing my workout out and making sure I include strength training too.

    That’s a really good tip about how it gets easier when you just keep running. Your insight about how the body functions when you run is really valuable information to me and I’m sure to many others who are reading and looking to start.
    The 2km a day swimming is admirable. I could only pack in 2 x 1km swims a week, and that was a real challenge! 🙂

  3. elisiapaul Avatar
    elisiapaul

    My fav excuses is I didn’t get enuf sleep..hahaha..funny right when u wanted to avoid something u created lots of excuses.

    1. Jackie Avatar
      Jackie

      Yes definitely! Hope you’re not making excuses for today 🙂

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