Top excuses for avoiding exercise?

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Replies

  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Hmmm my kids are grown and out of the house. No husband. I haven't got any excuses. I work long days and I'm tired when I get home but I power through it. There are excuses!!!
  • pants77
    pants77 Posts: 185 Member
    Pretty sure I have a sinus infection coming on, so that's the excuse I'm going with today...

    ...probably shouldn't have lifted yesterday either...
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    There are 2 big ones I hear:

    Not having time - Yes you do: Park farther away at work, take the stairs, do squats or lunges during the commercials, take a walk at lunch, (you should be able to fit something in somewhere)

    I can't exercise - EVERYONE can exercise. Even if you have medical problems, there is something that you can do. It may not be much (walking to the mailbox and back to start, 10 arms curls a day with half filled water bottles), but everyone can do a little something.


    For me I don't even bother to make excuses. I hate to exercise plain and simple. If I didn't do it, its because I didn't want to. Let's just be honest about it! :tongue:

    Jillian Michaels says "just take the stairs" is a "false message of lethargy." :wink: Every time I take the stairs I run up them, unless it's too crowded. I used to avoid stairs at all costs, but now I enjoy running up them!
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    1. I hurt my knee (legit excuse)
    2. I hurt my hip (legit excuse)
    3. I hurt my back (legit excuse)
    4. I'm too tired (I work 64 hours a week so I think it's legit but others disagree)
    5. Headache (legit excuse - I think anyway)
    6. I started working out and ended up puking (legit excuse)
    7. I twisted my ankle (legit excuse)

    :P Those are all my excuses!

    Edited to Add the ankle, forgot about that injury.
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
    My biggest excuse is the kids. Like last week..every intention of going running..but got home..daughter dropped a bomshell saying the school has not given her "track" for graduation..meaning they arent sure if she will graduate. We sat down..and spent an hour going over the classes she took and what she needs.

    This is very different...but my children will always come first..but mind you ..I did work out the day before and the day after. I get one rest day a week.

    I do wish I could get up in the AM..but doc is still working on my thyroid..so still a bit tired in the morning...
  • LifestyleChange33
    LifestyleChange33 Posts: 169 Member
    Sigh, time. Realistically lack of motivation as well. I've come to the point where I'm honest with myself about it- gotta make time, and just freakin go, with the understanding that I am always glad I worked out.

    The time excuse is half way valid- I work full time and attend school full time, plus I'm a single parent, plus I'm in love with a man who I will NOT lose for lack of giving time and attention to him... making time for exercise is not easy!

    I like the comment on here that said "I hate working out, but do I hate it more than being fat?" I may replace the words "being fat" with "risking my health" and post it on the fridge...
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    My typical excuse tends to be with time. For a while, trying to catch up on sleep combined with my commute and work, left me with very little time. Now that I am caught up, I naturally wake up perfectly in time for the gym! Yay me.

    Another excuse I use has been simply being too sore. I prefer full body work outs, so if I overdo it (like I did yesterday) I do not think it reasonable to go to the gym (tomorrow for example) if by then I am still waddling around like a little old man. Definitely should have eased my way back into the gym! If not Friday, then I am going Monday (starting Strong Lifts 5X5... read the whole thing this time! lol).

    Apart from me the most often excuses I see are...

    1. Not enough time - This one has varying levels of validity and deals more with time management than simple time. It is also a case of priorities, where many will go ahead and place driving little Timmy to Soccer practice above getting their own exercise.

    2. Money - Valid. Gyms cause money. Home weights cost money. There are exercises you can do at home for strength, but they can only go so far. Cardio though, is free and BETTER outside of the gym.

    3. I HATE cardio - do strength training.

    4. I HATE lifting weights - do cardio.

    5. I HATE lifting weights and cardio - Do you hate them more than being fat? :P

    There are tons of excuses, but I tend to prefer to look at the reasoning behind it. I will NEVER EVER place exercise over personal health and safety.

    I just gotta say I enjoy your posts.

    Money is *NOT* a valid excuse. I'm broke as a joke and started off doing calisthenics and jogging in place because I didn't know what else to do. You are your own gym! There's no need to buy fancy equipment to get in shape.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    My 2 biggest excuses: 1) Time and 2) I'm beyond tired ALL the time. I really just need to suck it up. I'll never have time and I'll always be tired. Those two things will probably never change.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    I don't have time.... that seems to be the one I heare the most. Of course, it is also the one I used for a LONG time. But when I decided it was time for a change, I MADE the time. It's all about how bad you want it.
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
    PMT and Hangover!
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
    the kids....(the biggest excuse for everything in the world)

    That as well!!
  • Mandino788
    Mandino788 Posts: 226 Member
    I have a back injury. It hurts everyday but some days I'll say that it hurts too much to exercise even when it doesn't.

    No more of that. I'm so done with excuses!
  • maggie2731
    maggie2731 Posts: 51
    My number one excuse... It's clousy outside. If it's sunny then i want to move. Two: I'll go tomorrow, I have a headache vut as of tomorrow.... then tomorrow i repeat the excuse that i have a headache or it's cloudy. Now i just go. Like it or not i push myself and go!
  • Bethypfy
    Bethypfy Posts: 10
    my biggest excuse is that i just don't feel like it. or why? it doesn't make a difference. I deal with these thoughts everyday but i still do my workouts and every time i finish my workout the excuses mean less and less.and i feel better and better. I'm trying to train my mind to not believe in them excuses) and so far it is working :)
  • galaxiasmama
    galaxiasmama Posts: 18
    It's funny, because I have used the excuse of having no time in the past or the excuse of me being too self conscious to work out in front of others (back when I lived with my mom and was literally NEVER alone except in the bathroom...lots of family :/) but one excuse I have never used is my mostly paralyzed arm, from Erbs Palsy.

    Nope, I am still doing Insanity anyway!

    Now I am starting a new job though...and I know I'll be tempted to use the no time excuse again....since I'll have to wake up at like 4 to work out...hopefully I survive month 2 lol I start my job on the 2nd day of it !
  • stephdeeable
    stephdeeable Posts: 1,407 Member
    Mine is always "My knees/back hurt too much" which is true, but I always conveniently block out the fact that they hurt less not more after I exercise!
  • tomcat941
    tomcat941 Posts: 47 Member
    My most valid excuse was knee injury, because that affected not only my exercise, but also my daily life.
    My weirdest excuse was because i was home alone, and the house seemed rather creepy, and i thought it might be haunted, so i couldn't exercise, because the ghost's were upstairs so i had to be downstairs, where i can't exercise. Yep, that's me, haha.

    My mum has some annoying ones;
    I'm not ready to lose weight yet (WTF?)
    I need some time to myself! (Yeah, to watch tv and stuff your face with food)
    Too stressed/tired
    Or my personal favorite- I don't want to exercise yet, because I'm too big.
  • Seabring17
    Seabring17 Posts: 19 Member
    My excuse has been lack of time. I am at my desk 8-9 hours 5 days a week, 20-30 minutes walking to and from my office and in my car an additional 3-4 hours each of those days commuting. That leaves me 1 hour in the morning to get ready and 2-3 hours when I get home to fix dinner, eat, do any other things that need to be done and get ready for bed and maybe 7-6 hours for sleep. This all varies a little if I run errands on the way home.

    But I have now made some small changes to how I manage a little of that time...I now park a couple levels up at the parking ramp and take a longer route from my car to the office, it adds a few minutes to my commute time but they are well worth it. I also do my best to walk at least 20-45 minutes at lunch. Sometimes if I don't think it will interfere with my ability to go to sleep I walk up and down my stairs at home before I go to bed. Doing all of this along with tracking my eating on MFP I have lost 15 pounds since the end of June this year.

    I tried adding time at the gym to the formula but just couldn't make it work. I was not eating or sleeping well in the 4 weeks I did it so I am now back to what I know works for me.
  • QuietLegs
    QuietLegs Posts: 42
    Hmm. Excuses I've actually used for myself:

    1) Last minute change of lunch plans at work. Yay, team building lunches >_> (I run during lunch; if I know ahead of time that I can't, I adjust my workout schedule.)
    2) Forgot my running shoes. I will *not* run without my running shoes. Seriously. Ouch. (Started leaving a pair at work; no more of that excuse!)
    3) Really eff-ing cold out. ... Yeah, I'm a bit of a wuss that way. Only applies to running; I just bundle up more for a bike ride. But that's how much I love riding my bike :P
    4) Raining like whoa. See above.
    5) It's Saturday, and I'm feeling lazy. Yep. Beautiful, gorgeous day out, and I'll sit around all morning eating Ramen and watching episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Might still go for a walk, but it's still bailing on a run or ride, lol.
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
    Claiming to be tired or "forgetting" a crucial piece of gym gear used to be my two biggest excuses. Now I drag my *kitten* to the gym no matter what because it increases the quality and efficiency of my life. Period. I grab a strong coffee and go.

    Last night I forgot my t-shirt, so i ran in my undershirt (kind of tight but who gives a f***) and threw on my hoody for the weight room.

    Now there are no excuses. If I feel uncomfortable I push past it and get my butt there regardless.

    Besides the standard time and energy excuses, this was my 3rd. I used it a week or two ago. No excuse now because I now keep an extra set of gym clothes in my desk at work. As for energy, I just have to get past the inertia by starting. Even if I'm "too tired" :yawn: to start, or I'm "in too much pain/discomfort" :sad: :sick: to continue, if I push myself through to completion I always feels better having done my workout... 100% of the time without fail!

    "Ain't nuttin' to it... but to do it!" :bigsmile:
  • Leanne3552000
    Leanne3552000 Posts: 395 Member
    My biggest excuse is that my studies are more important at the moment and need to be my number 1 priority.

    I used to use my workouts as another form of procrastination during Grad School "Hey, I really should go to the Library to write the next 5 pages of my thesis...but I want to log 5 miles first " :-)


    Yep I used to do that too and then my grades really paid the price so now it's the other way around. "I want to go to the gym but I should study/work on my assignment". I've learnt that 15 - 30 mins high intensity on the tredmil is better than nothing and doesn't dip too much into study time.
  • feast4thebeast
    feast4thebeast Posts: 210 Member
    I have a back injury. It hurts everyday but some days I'll say that it hurts too much to exercise even when it doesn't.

    No more of that. I'm so done with excuses!

    I managed to train when I was out long term with a serious back injury. I had to get my spine realigned. My solution - bike with full back support nout wrong with my legs
  • inlovewiththeideas
    inlovewiththeideas Posts: 12
    "I worked out really hard yesterday, so I have leftover calories..." (100 odd calories spare.)

    "I should probably do work instead, that is more important after all..." (Never gets done.)

    "Oh God, it's ~insert national occasion here~! I best not go out..." (Oh... right.)

    There's probably maaany, many more. :blushing:
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
    Flannel p.j.s, comfy bed, and a good book. Oh wait, that's three. :blushing:
  • Mandino788
    Mandino788 Posts: 226 Member
    I have a back injury. It hurts everyday but some days I'll say that it hurts too much to exercise even when it doesn't.

    No more of that. I'm so done with excuses!

    I managed to train when I was out long term with a serious back injury. I had to get my spine realigned. My solution - bike with full back support nout wrong with my legs

    That's a good part of what I plan on doing, the problem is that I have such short legs it's hard to adjust it properly Oh well, I'll deal lol

    I plan on starting with cardio and some light weights to get going.
  • OspreyVista
    OspreyVista Posts: 464 Member
    The only excuse I've had recently is that I need to take a rest day so my muscles can heal. I get so agitated on days where I don't exercise, it's frustrating anymore NOT to exercise because I love the burn so much! ~ dunno if that counts anyways :) Just thought I'd share.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I donwanna.
  • WeekndOVOXO
    WeekndOVOXO Posts: 779 Member
    School. My program consists of 7-9 classes. I'm not books smart. It takes time for me to get **** and I have to put in a lot more effort just to get a GPA of like 2.8. I used that as an excuse to give up last time. This is why I really want to get to my ideal goal weight by the time my program starts again so I can put little time in my workout routines.
  • sbilyeu75
    sbilyeu75 Posts: 567 Member
    The one I use a lot is, "I'm too damn tired after waking up with a baby 2-3 times a night".
  • bullriderswife08
    bullriderswife08 Posts: 207 Member
    My BIG FAT HUGE excuse!!

    For the past year, I have been a working, school going, full time mommy and wife. I live 15 miles away from the gym and my husband dropped my treadmill out of the back of his truck while trying to transport it to the storage unit during our almost move! My commute to work sucked, and have you seen winter in Northern NV!?! Its a joke. So here is to no more excuses, to being a stay at home mom again and getting my priorities in order. This is MY body!!! I am inn CONTROL! and I CAN DO THIS!!!! We can all make any excuse we like, we can try to justify it, but honestly what I have been going through is a case of the lazies!!! Time to stop that! And now accepting friends who are in the same boat as me and who need motivation and inspiration!

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