You have either heard these excuses, or have uttered them yourself…
“If I only had a personal trainer”, “If I was rich, I could afford a personal chef”, or my favorite, “If I only had more time”.
There’s no more room for excuses. YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME!
fancy equipment
Just before my 8th grade school season started, my mom moved us from Nashville, TN to Altamonte Springs, FL. A new state, a new neighborhood, and a new apartment. Suddenly, I went from playing two sports (football and wrestling), to no sports. I was either too big for Pop Warner football or I missed the registration period, I can’t remember which. I found my self with no source of organized activity. I watched a lot of T.V. that year, a lot. There was an infomercial that spoke to my desire to be physically active. Chuck Norris would pop up on the screen on this slidey cable table that used your body weight for physical exertion. Oh, it was so collapsible that it would “fit under your bed”. In our new apartment I had my own room, so this would be perfect. I just had to get me one! I told myself If I only had the Total Gym, I could be more in shape.
Somehow, I convinced my mom to get me one for my birthday—likely a guilt trip for making us move. I may have “worked out” on that thing a handful of times. It eventually became a resting place for my clothes.
If you are waiting on the perfect time, the perfect weather, it will never come.
ACTIVE-DAD
This wasn’t the first time I created terms and condition around my initiative to become more physically active. In Middle School I wanted Six Pack abs. Once again, much like social media today (but to a lesser extent) the T.V. knew my desires and commercials for the Abflex would play at night. Once I was convinced that If I only had this Abflex, I could have abs, I bought this apparatus with my allowance. Before I knew it, I was JAMMING this hard-plastic contraption into my stomach on my way to Rock, Hard Abs. That lasted for about a month. I never achieved that washboard midsection.
The following year I got back into sports. I broke this habit of letting myself get off easy with excuses.
plenty of time
Don’t let your preconceptions about a gold standard of exercise keep you from actually doing it.
Unknown
My question to you is, what are you hung up on? How do you fill in the blank for “If I only had ___, I could be more physically active.”? There are no true terms and conditions to physical activity. You don’t need a gym membership, a treadmill, a bicycle, an Abflex or a Total Gym.
If you are waiting on the perfect time, the perfect weather, it will never come. You have legs, so go for a walk. If you like to dance, go dancing. If you have been meaning to start a garden, get to it! Find an activity that you love, that makes you feel good, and that you will stick with. You don’t need the next shiny new object, Fitbit or Apple watch to get you track and monitor your every movement (or none movement).
If you would only take the FIRST step, the second one will follow!