Exercising regularly! We all know that we should be doing it, both for our mental and physical health. Yet, it can be a real challenge to get those trainers on and work up a sweat several times a week. There are even some things in particular that can get in the way of us regularly exercising. Read on to find out what they are, and how to get around them.
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Lack of motivation
Many of us think that we have to feel like doing something to do it. This makes us focus all of our energy on changing our feelings, and also it causes us to wait until we feel right to do the thing we value – in this case exercise.
The funny thing is that we have it all backwards because we don’t have to change our feelings or feel a certain way to exercise. Instead, we can take a leaf out of the book of committed action, and commit to exercising no matter how we feel. By doing things we build up confidence in ourselves and demonstrate that we can do things even if they do feel hard.
Not enough time
Another common issue that can get in the way of working out is not having enough time. After all, we live busy lives with work, family commitments and the like and fitting in one more thing can feel overwhelming.
The best approach here is to start small build the habit, and then grow it later. This means you commit to doing 5 minutes of exercise once a day for a month. After that month, when the habit is more entrenched you can up the time to 10 mins and so on the month after that.
For readers who find even short standing routines difficult, seated workouts are an easy way to protect progress while reducing strain. A handful of simple chair-based moves can boost strength, balance and flexibility in just a few minutes a day, making it easier to keep that five-minute habit going. Practical guides like the top 10 best easy chair exercises for seniors offer clear progressions and safety pointers for people recovering from injury or managing shoulder and neck issues. Adding one or two seated exercises into a daily slot keeps momentum high without requiring extra time or equipment.
Shoulder Pain
Injuries are also a very common reason that people are unable to exercise. In particular, for those struggling with an issue such as neck or shoulder pain, there are few exercise activities they can do that will not make the problem worse. The good news is that by seeking out shoulder pain treatment you can get back your regular healthy self as quickly as possible. This means that not only will you be pain-free, but you’ll be able to embrace exercising once again.
Boredom
Many people avoid exercising because they find spending long amounts of time alone like on a run boring. However, this truly is no excuse as there is a vast range of movement activities that can be done in a team or a group.
For example, if you hate exercising alone why not take up a team sport like 5-a-side football, basketball, or netball? Then you will have the benefits of the exercise from the training sessions and likely make lifelong friends as you play and socialize as well.
You can even take a mate to the gym with you to make it more fun and to hold you accountable when you would rather skip a session. Remember exercise does not need to be a solo activity.
