The 5 Most Common Excuses We Make and How to Conquer Them

Excuses are like gateway drugs. As each excuse piles up and your most recent day at the gym gets further and further away, it becomes easier to justify pushing it off. This is what some folks call the “Law of Diminishing Intent”, and it becomes enacted the first time you say "nah, not today".  

It’s human to avoid the things that make us uncomfortable, and exercise happens to be at the top of that list. But if we anticipate these excuses ahead of time before they happen, it’s more likely we’ll be able to talk ourselves into ignoring them. Here are the most common ones we make, and how we can help you defeat them.
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1. I don’t have the time!
Working out sure is time consuming, but it’s likely that if we break down our days hour-by-hour, we’ll find a bit of lounging around/scrolling through facebook comment sections/spending a half hour too long lost in the aisles of the new Target on Fruitville Pike. We can carve out time by prioritizing our health, remembering that we have folks who care about us that would like to see us live long, happy lives. And our coaches can help you build an efficient routine, too- all it takes is a few days a week.

2. I don’t have the money!
We can apply the same practice in the previous step, here. If we track and add up (for just a week) the money we spend on alcohol, eating out, coffee, and clothes we wear for one night, we’ll probably find money to spare. This is a matter of valuing our physical health enough to invest in it. Sometimes, this means sacrificing a “going out meal” during the week.

3. I don’t know what I’m doing!
Nobody starts a fitness routine as an expert. There are millions of people, just like you, starting a fitness routine right now with absolutely zero knowledge about how anything works. That’s why trainers are here to help! We understand the difficulty of getting started, and our staff is highly trained to optimize a plan that works best for you. Let us know your concerns before making this excuse.

4. I'm too embarrassed to workout in front of people.
This is a sentiment ironically echoed by many, many people. The only way to overcome this is to just do it anyway. Most people are too absorbed in their own workouts to watch what you are doing, and everybody has started at the bottom at one point. So even if they are, they may just be remembering how much effort it took to get to the gym in the first place and admiring your tenacity.

5. I can't commit- I wasn't able to stay motivated in the past.
When you last tried, were you setting realistic goals for yourself? Check out this article we wrote about setting fitness goals here. Did you give up because you had unrealistic expectations that were never met? There was a reason you last failed, and figuring out what it is will give you a better idea on how to conquer it this time around. It wasn’t that you were incapable- something happened. What was it?

The main takeaway is that in order to stop making excuses, we must prioritize our health. Excuses are easier to make when other things in our life take precedence, so if we want to get in shape, we have to make sure it’s close to the top of our list of things we find important. Most importantly, we must be prepared to reason with ourselves when these excuses arise. When you’re ready, don’t forget to reach out.