40 Years Of Exercise Excuses And How To Avoid Them
Once you go over 40, it’s fair to say life has a lot of moving parts. Here at FORM, we want to convince you to be more SELF(ish) and take the time for your personal health.
Don’t get caught up in an endless loop of excuses. You deserve to put yourself first.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 3 minutes 30 seconds
Time to action: 15 minutes
Mantra: Once you start, the hardest part is done
Main message: 30 seconds of self-care a day – you've got time, right?
Stat: 38% of people say “No time to exercise”, but 1 hour 15 minutes is the average amount of time people watch/stream TV
Google “excuses not to exercise”. Now double team that with a study of “how do we stop self-development?” You’ll receive alarmingly similar answers.
Phrase it however you like, but you will see five core themes repeat themselves as to why we choose not to look after ourselves: time, energy, cost, anxiety, and difficulty.
Which ones resonate with you?
Time – and how to bend it
Finding time for your health is more important than many things you currently do. Think about the SELF(ish) mantra: are you being selfish by choosing not to take care of yourself for the sake of those around you?
It’s critically important to look after yourself, if not for you, then for others who want you around for as long as humanly possible. Aim for 5-10 minutes daily focused on you and plan a reward. This can be whatever you can afford or enjoy (it doesn’t matter if it’s burger-related!). The purists might say no. However, FORM is all about FORMing proper habits.
TIP: Pick one exercise you enjoy and do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Do it anywhere you won't be arrested. that wasn’t so hard. Maybe tomorrow you can try a bit more.
Energy – and where to find it
Modern life may or may not be rubbish, but for most of us, it is exhausting. But there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year – so how many of those seconds are you prepared to put toward your health?
TIP: Could you give us just 30 seconds per week? If you can see its value and find 30 seconds out of the 604,800 that make up your week, could you look at our section marked “time” and pick a 30-second tip that works for you? Then next week, maybe try 2 for a Titanic 60 seconds? Remember to keep track. Compete with yourself. In our eyes, you will only ever be a winner.
Cost – and how to avoid it
Exercise intensity does not sit in a single location. Better still, you only need a few core pieces of gym equipment to make a difference. Resistance bands. TRX suspension trainers. Doorway pull-up bar. Dumbbells. Virtually no space is taken up using this, and only breathing room is needed. Cost-wise, you’re looking at around £12 to set it up.
TIP: Enjoy keeping your wallet fat? Bodyweight workouts cost nothing. So email us, and we can send you a programme, or check out the several in our fitness section if your fingers feel too heavy to type.
Anxiety – and how to help fight it
There is no magic bullet to “beat” anxiety. However, you are wired to want to progress.
How would you feel about seeking professional help? Your body and your mind are indelibly linked, so could you see how feeling good about your body could help your head and heart?
There is no wrong way to start, and talking to someone about anxiety will help you to progress your processing. From there, a positive mindset will only allow you to better capitalise on everything you (gloriously) are.
At FORM, we are huge believers in counselling. Sometimes you pay for it, sometimes it’s buddies and beers. Whatever it is for you, please just talk. It helps, and it’s never been easier to find someone that can help you. The 90s, for all their hedonistic and stoic glory, are well behind us. Your body lived through it. Now help your mind to move on to the new school of thinking.
TIP: For a list of accredited counsellors, therapists or PTs, please email/subscribe to us, and we will get you the names of some experts who will help you take the most vital steps to feel better about yourself.
Difficulty – and how to embrace it
Difficulty can often mean fear. There is the fear of failure and the fear of simply not being enough. But herein lies the joy of fitness in the digital age: wherever you go to get fitter, literally no one is looking at you.
One of the many joys of being from the Back to the Future generation is that we have perfected the art of gym invisibility. Or gymvisibility as we are now going to call it. Truthfully, it’s not you, it’s them. Or at least, you're not them, so why would they bother watching?
The next step is to do what you love. That’s it. You don’t want to do legs? Hold off, amigos! Want to lift a mere 10% of your max? It’s 10% better than no lift at all! Want to do 10 minutes and go? All good!
Difficulty is beaten by allowing yourself the easy way before you’re ready to make it harder.
TIP: Always play your music, the soundtrack to your life. You’ll notice how your body and mind wander freely once the routine of simply being there begins.
ENERGY RABBIT
Not simply a life coach, but an award-winner in the wellness sector with over a decade of experience. Rabbit specialises in the accessibility of information – if there is a theory worth exploring, Rabbit will work out how easily it can be integrated into your everyday life.
