Is this why you don’t work out?

December 4, 2008

I had such a revelation this morning about working out and being consistent on any exercise program that I just had to write and share it with you.

This week I have a house guest. Now because I don’t have an extra bedroom, I had to give up my workout room and transform it into “guest quarters”. Before you begin to imagine me throwing my guest in the garage or the basement, my workout room is really the second bedroom in my home that I have transformed into a home gym.

NO, home gym does not mean I have the most expensive, high tech equipment. To be honest, the only items that make up my home gym are: an exercise ball, 2 adjustable weights, an exercise mat, and an old Spinning bike that I bought used from a local YMCA. That’s it! Nothing expensive or high tech about it.

For just this week while my guest is here, I decided to go to my local gym and ask them for a week pass, just so I don’t miss my workouts.

You know what? I haven’t gone once! Every time I think about leaving the house to go to the gym, I come up with every excuse in the book not to go: it’s too cold out, I have so much to do today, I don’t have time…..

That’s so not like me. I actually enjoy working out. What gives?

I figured out that I really love my exercise room. It’s my private time to myself and I don’t have to worry about who else needs the equipment or who’s lurking around the gym. I get an hour to myself and it’s a great way to start my day.

This morning I asked myself, “Is this most people’s problem? Do they not like where they work out so they just don’t want to go?” So it’s really not the actual workout but the environment that they’re in.

Now maybe for you the situation is just the opposite. You don’t like working out in your home and you would much rather get out and be motivated by other healthy people. Whatever the case may be, choose something you enjoy! You will never make a lifestyle change to include exercise on a consistent basis if you don’t enjoy it. Who wants to do something that feels like torture? Not me. I love my morning exercise time and if it felt like torture, I just wouldn’t do it.

My question to you is: What do you have to do to make your workout time enjoyable? Or (heaven forbid) something you actually look forward to?