Fitting Exercise In

Exercise is one of those things that we love. Exercise is also one of those things that we hate. Actually, I don’t know too many people that had exercise. I know a few, but most just hate trying to get exercise in. They hate the idea of changing the routine or the thoughts that come to mind when they think about the possibility
of squeezing exercise into their schedule.

Most people are talking about trying to fit in exercise, but very few are actually trying to fitting it in. What’s worse is that most people that are trying to fit it in are not even getting it. They are “trying” and not doing, so it doesn’t make a difference what they want to do until they do it, there is no exercise being fit in.

That is a problem for their health, their mood, their confidence, their sleep, their work, you name it and exercise (or lack of) is impacting the ability to perform. Let’s take a look at some of the positive impact that exercise has on your day to day life. Exercise gives us:

1. Weight Control

In case you’ve been living under a rock, I have a breaking story for you: Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight. When you burn calories, you lose weight. When you don’t burn them, you gain weight. It’s simple and we all know it.

2. Long-term Health

Exercise prevents many chronic conditions and helps you live a longer life. When you exercise, there are certain risk factors (like heart disease, diabetes to name a few) that you can dramatically reduce. This means longer life and more healthy and enjoyable years throughout your life.

3. Mood Boosting

Have you ever tried working out to start your day? If you have, you likely swear by it and even feel off if you haven’t had your workout. What about the afternoon or evening? Have you ever felt tired and cranky? We have all been there. Exercise is proven to boost mood and is even being used by therapists to treat depression.

4. Energy

Those that workout in the morning know this to be true: Exercise gives you more energy. Not only will you have more stamina throughout each day, but after a workout you will actually have more immediate energy. It wakes the body up and helps you get going. It works at any time of the day, so get moving for more energy.

5. Sleep Improvement

Can’t sleep at night? Try exercising the next day and you will sleep like a baby the next night. Exercise helps us regulate sleep patterns. By moving more during the day, we are better able to shut down at night. It sounds too simple to be true, but it is. Burn more energy during the day and you will sleep better at night.

This is just 5 items on a list as long as your arm. Actually, it is longer than your arm and longer and continues to get longer every day. Scientists are still discovering new ways that exercise impacts our lives. We could talk about the benefits of exercise all day, but that wouldn’t help you see those benefits.

In order for exercise to impact your life, you have to do it. That is the only catch. It’s great to know how good it is and to learn about the benefits, but if you don’t do it, you don’t get any of those benefits. I don’t think people are forgetting the benefits. I don’t think that anyone would choose to deal with chronic conditions knowing that all they have to do is exercise to prevent them.

I think it’s more than that. It goes back to fitting it in. More importantly, it goes back to making it part of your day so that it gets fit in rather than becoming a thought that you simply gave up. We are constantly fitting other things in. We” make time”, “shuffle things around” and “try to get it done” when it comes to every other are of life. We don’t want to let anyone down when they ask a favor or want us to be somewhere. What we don’t do is fit exercise in.

I think the reason we don’t fit exercise in is that we are looking at it in the wrong way. We are looking at exercise as something that we are supposed to do or we should be doing. We also look at it as an extreme version of itself. When I ask someone if they exercised today, they immediately start with the excuses for not exercising and the disclaimers about how they are “not an athlete”, “a fitness nut” or “Superman”, so today, it “just didn’t happen”.

In many cases, they are being true to their routine. But in many other cases, they are short-changing themselves and being quite self-defeating. When you walk, you are exercising. When you take the stairs, you are exercising. When you move instead of standing still, you are exercising. When you stand instead of sitting, you are exercising. Any time you are doing something that requires more movement than an alternative; you are giving your body what it needs. That is the good news. So, what’s the bad news? You need to do more of it!

That doesn’t mean that you have to join a gym or go buy running shoes. It doesn’t mean that your intensity or dedication is lacking. It just means that life as we know it promotes inactivity. It is easier to sit all day. In many cases, it is actually required. It is easier to move less and sit more at home, at work, in public places and anywhere else you may go.

Exercise is not going to just happen for you. And yet, we discourage ourselves as if it is supposed to. We will spend the day working, taking care of kids, friends, going to meetings, feeding pets and all sort of other things. These are all good and important things to do. Don’t get me wrong. But at the end of a day full of these things, we still discourage ourselves because we didn’t go to the gym or go for a long run.

We need to stop thinking about exercise as the gym or a run. We need to start realizing that exercise is easier than that. You can exercise at your desk. You can exercise at home. You can exercise in the airport or the mall. It doesn’t matter where you are. As long as you are willing to fit it in, you can exercise. The problem is not lack of time or space. The problem is lack of creativity. Move your body in any way in any place that you can. That is fitting exercise in.