8 common excuses for not exercising and what you can do about it

Excuses. We all use them, and if necessary, we invent them to avoid unpleasant things. Sometimes, however, there are situations in which it is perfectly appropriate to skip a workout. For example, if no one can look after the children or you are ill. However, most excuses are rather dubious and will only stop you from achieving your goals. In this article, we have therefore listed the 8 most common excuses and offered you a solution at the same time.

1 - I am too tired

In most cases, supposed tiredness is just a lame excuse, because as soon as you start your first warm-up set, your body is bursting with energy. You just have to get over yourself and get started. However, if your tiredness occurs more frequently or even becomes a permanent condition, you should urgently take a close look at your own sleeping habits. Often the reason for your tiredness during the day is that you don't get enough sleep, and not because you're working too hard at work or university. Simply try to go to bed a little earlier and allow yourself 8 hours of sleep per night. To help you fall asleep better, turn off all electronic devices an hour before you go to bed and make your bedroom as dark as possible. You'll be surprised how much energy you'll have the next morning. A short training session will no longer be a problem.

2 - It's too exhausting

Breaking News - Scientists have discovered that successful training must be strenuous. To paraphrase an old commercial: if the training is too hard, you're too weak. Well, what's the solution? The solution is quite simple. Overcome your mental block and see training as a competition that you absolutely want to win. Motivate yourself by setting yourself small goals for each workout, which you can then tick off with satisfaction after you sit down on the couch, freshly showered.

3 - The weather is so bad

As the saying goes: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Of course, if it's windy, snowy or stormy, jogging in the park or an extended tour on your road bike might fall through. But that doesn't mean you can't train at all. Always have a plan B in the back of your mind for such an eventuality and follow it consistently. Go to the gym, get on your exercise bike or grab some dumbbells and lift weights at home. The main thing is that you do something.

4 - The gym is too expensive

You don't need an expensive fitness club membership to get in shape. You can do sport pretty much anywhere, whether it's the park around the corner, the city forest or your own four walls. Especially if you work out in your own home, you can get extra motivation with the help of interactive training offers, such as those available for a few euros on the Internet. The included goals and the interactivity of the programs allow you to achieve your goals very effectively within a short period of time.

5 - I don't have time to train

As we get older, our lifestyles change. We no longer have the time to spend endless hours in the gym alongside school, training or studying. But even if you have less time for sport due to various commitments, that doesn't mean you don't have any time at all. The key is to compress your training and work on your time efficiency. To reduce your time-consuming cardio training to a minimum without sacrificing training quality, you can also use high-intensity interval training. When it comes to strength training, on the other hand, you can consistently switch to time-saving basic exercises that you combine to create a challenging full-body workout.

6 - "You know, it's that special time of the month"

Yes, we've all been there - we feel tired, bloated and just in a bad mood because our body is playing tricks on us again. That's exactly when it's time for a good workout, because a workout promotes blood circulation and digestive activity. You can send some of the worst symptoms of the monthly slog into the desert. You don't even have to train hard. Just add in a session with light weights, a light cardio session or a yoga session. It's better than doing nothing and already has a very positive effect.

7 - I lack motivation

Sometimes we do lose our motivation quite spontaneously and simply can't find a sensible explanation for it. However, skipping training now would be a big mistake, because the risk of you skipping training tomorrow and the day after tomorrow is immensely high. And before you know it, you've wasted a whole month and your hard-earned results are already half gone. To keep yourself motivated in the long term, you should set yourself fixed goals and write them down. They don't have to be big goals. The important thing is that you can easily achieve them on a daily basis. For example, resolve to go running for fifteen minutes every day or start the day with a few push-ups and squats straight after getting up.

8 - I don't even know where to start

Everyone has to start somewhere, that's clear, because nobody starts with a perfectly defined six-pack. The easiest answer to this popular excuse is simply to start exercising. Just go to the gym, and if you don't know which exercises are best to do, just ask a trainer. They will certainly be happy to help you put together a customized workout. Alternatively, you can use various fitness apps, which usually have special programs for beginners and keep you on track with interactive challenges so that training time flies by and you look forward to every new training session.