How to Overcome the 7 Most Common Workout Excuses
LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
How many excuses do you make daily or weekly as to why you “shouldn’t” or “can’t” workout? And how many times daily or weekly do you complain about not feeling comfortable or confident in your body? I’m guessing your answer is too many times to count. But, I need to let you in on a little secret…Excuses and complaining never got anyone anywhere.
I know you want to reach your health and fitness goals and that’s why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I give you some TOUGH LOVE. Get ready for my best advice on how to stop your complaining and how to overcome the seven most common workout excuses. Are you ready?!
If you loved this episode, you would also love...
Episode 57: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Something You Don't Want to Do
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go.
Hello. Hello. We are back for another episode on the Embrace Your Real Podcast. I'm so grateful that you are here spending some time with me today. Wherever you're tuning in, we have listeners all over the world. In this episode, I'm going to be giving you some tough love because a sister's got to give tough love every once in a while, and the tough love is going to be on overcoming your excuses. So try to tell me you don't complain or don't think about your weight or don't think about something negative at least once a day. I feel so frustrated that my clothes don't fit. I feel so fat in these jeans. How come she looks so great in those pants and I don't? I would give anything to look like that girl. Why do I look like this? Why do I have cellulite? Why do I have a pimple? I mean, we are so dang negative on ourselves. If you're brutally honest, you're probably like, "Yes I am and I don't like that about me."
But here's the thing, we can overcome this mindset and I'm going to help you in today's episode. Now let me ask you, would you really give anything to look like that girl? You say you want to build the body that you want, but when it comes time to working out, you make every excuse under the sun as to why you shouldn't go. So you skip your workout and then continue to complain about the way that your body is. Now, I need to let you in on a little secret though, excuses and complaining never got anyone anywhere. Do I sound like your mom yet? But really I say this out of love. You want to reach your fitness goals, right? But you need to learn how to stop making excuses. So that is why I am here. In this episode, I'm going to dive into the nine most common excuses I hear and I've been there and what my best advice is on how to stop making them.
Before I dive in, I have to share this super sweet review. It comes from [Bama1025 00:02:30]. She says, "Thank you. I follow you on Instagram and then started with this podcast. Thank you for telling us the many truths that we need to hear. The reminder to embrace our authentic self is needed and has helped me focus on my health, not what I weigh. Thank you for the inspiration." I love this. Thank you so much for the review. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast, all you got to do is scooch over to Apple Podcasts and click pause, scroll all the way down. You can click rate and review. It takes less than 30 seconds, but it helps me out so much in the podcast world. If you haven't done it, or if you could leave another review on a specific episode, it would really help me out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you so much.
Let's dive into these nine excuses and how to stop making them. Excuse number one, I don't have enough time. The number one excuse I hear is that you don't have time. I hate to break it to you, but I just did a podcast on this last Monday, but you do have time. You make time for what is a priority in your life. So when you make the excuse you don't have time to work out, you're basically saying that working out or moving your body is not a priority right now. We all have different priorities and that's totally okay, but if you're unhappy with how you feel in your body and you regularly complain about it, you need to evaluate how you're spending your time and if those things are actually more important. I know you probably think you need an entire hour to work out.
At least that was me for so long. I thought I had to get a 60 minute workout in or it wasn't good, but here's the thing. You don't need a gym. You don't need an hour. I typically never work out for more than 45 to 55 minutes and I only do that four to five times per week. I never go to a gym. I haven't stepped foot in a gym in over a year and a few months now. I work out in my basement and sometimes I work out for 20 minutes and other days, like I said, I work out for 45, 55 minutes. But seriously, if you consistently work out for 20 to 30 minutes, you will see results. I know that you can spare 20 to 30 minutes of your day if you prioritize it.
And if you think you can't, I would love to challenge you on that. You can work out while watching your favorite shows at night, you could go to bed 20 to 30 minutes later, or wake up 20 to 30 minutes earlier. You could turn your coffee date into a workout date. You could meal prep on Sundays and use the extra time during the week to work out. You could take 20 to 30 minutes on your lunch break to get some movement in. You could skip the mindless scrolling on Instagram. You could delegate things on your to-do list that someone else could easily do or you could take your dog for a jog instead of a walk. There are countless ways to make time in your life. You just need to make them a non-negotiable.
You need to switch your thought process from I don't have time, to where can I make that time? I dive way deeper into this topic in episode 82, how to make time to work out when you're too busy. So if this is a common excuse that you have, be sure to go and check that episode. I've linked it in the show notes. I dive way, way, way deeper into this specific topic.
Excuse number two, I cannot afford a gym membership. This was me for a long, long time. I thought I needed a gym membership to get a good workout in. Now I know gym memberships can be crazy expensive, especially with all of the trending fitness boutiques. The cheapest you'll find some of the memberships are around 100 to $120 to $150 a month. No wonder your excuse for working out is that you can't afford a gym membership. I don't blame you. That's a lot of money. I get it though. When you sign up for those fitness boutiques, you're paying for a bootcamp or group class where the trainer is telling you exactly what to do.
All you have to do is show up without having to figure out what to do on your own. So I understand the cost and yes, paying for the fitness boutique membership is a lot cheaper than hiring a personal trainer, which could cost over $50 a session. You don't need to pay either of those prices to get an effective workout. I, like I said, don't even have a gym membership. I do all of my workouts in my basement, and I'm still able to maintain a healthy, strong and sustainable body. So saying you can't afford a gym membership is not an excuse for not working out. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I learned that the hard way. You can get an effective workout without all the fancy gym equipment.
Literally you guys, in my basement for what I use for my strength training workouts, I have a few sets of dumbbells. I have a bench and then I have some bands. That's all that I use and I have done that, like I said, for over a year and a few months now. And it is amazing because I don't need all of the things. I know many of us have completely burned out from going to a conventional gym. That's where I was a few years ago. And to be honest, that's exactly why I created the Movement With Julie app. I know so many women out there don't want a gym membership or the gyms are closed right now during the pandemic, you can't afford it, or you just want something that you can open up, follow and not have to think about.
That is exactly what my app is, so be sure to check that out. I will link it in the show notes. I literally give you everything that you would get in a gym membership. I write your weekly workout plan, I give you demo videos for every single movement, you can ask me questions via the app any time, and you have access to the most empowering and supportive fitness community who are on the same journey as you. And that is the beautiful thing about this is that you get the community aspect because we're all doing the same workout each week. So I give you five workouts. You can do all five, you can pick a few, you can do them on the days that work best for you. But what is so cool is that you have hundreds and hundreds of women across the world doing the same workout.
And sometimes they're doing the exact same workout as you at the exact same time. And that is when I'm like, "This is so amazing knowing that I have women alongside of me helps get me through the workouts and just reminds me that I'm not alone." Excuse number three, I don't have enough energy. I hear this excuse way too often and when I do, I always ask the person, "Have you addressed what is causing you to not have energy?" Because in order to stop making the excuse of not having enough energy, you have to figure out the reason why you don't have the energy in the first place. A few questions to start to ask yourself is, are you sleep deprived? Is it possible that you could go to bed half an hour earlier? Are there tasks on your to-do list that you can delegate to somebody else or that you don't need to do?
Can you start saying no to things that you don't absolutely have to get done that day? Are you fueling your body enough for what your body needs? Do you even know how much your body needs in terms of protein, carbs and fats? Are you eating enough food? Are you eating too many carbs or sugar? Now I'm not saying carbs and sugar are bad, but when we are eating them not in proportion to what our body needs, that's when you can start to feel very sluggish. Are you drinking enough water each day? Are you doing things in your life that's making you happy and love what you are actually doing? All of these things. They're all different parts of our life. There are all different parts of our day and they all contribute to our energy level. So I need you to evaluate which things may be contributing to your lack of energy and then do something about it.
At the end of the day, working out regularly has been proven to give you more energy. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me sometimes when you don't have enough energy working out is actually what you need in order to gain more. So I need you to stop making the excuse that you don't have enough energy to work out without making changes and start doing things that will provide you with more energy. Also remember, the more time you spend saying, "I don't have energy on X, Y, and Z," you're actually spending energy complaining, when that energy could be redirected into something way more productive that would actually help you.
Excuse number four, I never feel motivated. All right, some real talk on this. It is impossible to always have 100% motivation to get movement in your day. Believe me when I say, I never 100% of the time feel motivated to work out and I'm sure that nobody else does either if they're brutally honest with themselves. But I still commit to working out at least four to five times per week and I move my body a minimum of 30 minutes every single day.
What I have found most effective for finding the motivation to go crush a workout, regardless of how unmotivated I feel, is reminding myself that 30 to 40 minutes out of my day, no matter how painful those 30 to 45 minutes are, I know I will always feel happier and stronger and proud of myself afterwards. Think about this, if you have 1,440 minutes in each day, 45 minutes is about 3% of that. Literally think about that. That's nothing. So no matter how tired or stressed or overwhelmed or busy you may feel, you can stand the pain of working out for 30 to 40 minutes. And if you don't have 45 minutes, workout for 20 minutes. Remind yourself that any movement is better than no movement and 20 minutes a day, 30 minutes a day can still lead you towards an amazing transformation. I talk about this more in episode 75, three ways I get myself motivated to move over the holidays. I'll link that in the show notes below. So be sure to go listen to that next, but I dive a lot deeper into this topic.
Excuse number five, I'm too sore. Now, when you start a workout routine, I know you are going to feel sore. It's a given. You're challenging your body in a new and exciting way, but many people love to use this as an excuse for skipping their next workout. Now, I have to be the first to tell you that rest days are so important, but if you haven't done at least three or four workouts in the past week and you're still saying, "I'm too sore." It's not really a valid excuse.
And I say that again in love, because I want you to feel your best. And trust me when I say, I know it's hard when you feel sore, but if you feel sore, getting movement in can actually help reduce the feeling of soreness as it loosens up all of that built up lactic acid in your muscle, which is actually making you feel sore. So how do you stop making the excuse you're too sore to get yourself to go work out anyways? Avoid working out the same muscles two days in a row. Ideally after working out a specific muscle group, you want to give it at least two to three days to recover before working it again. So if leg day was on Monday and you're too sore to walk by Tuesday, it doesn't really matter because if your workout will be an upper body day, then you don't have to worry about working your legs.
So this really isn't a valid excuse if you are following an effective workout program that incorporates different muscle groups throughout the week that are giving you an adequate amount of time in between those workouts to give your muscles rest and recovery. Inside my Movement With Julie app, I do this strategically. So Monday is lower body, Tuesday is upper body, Wednesday is cardio and core, Thursday is total body and Friday is booty blaster. So you can see that there is time in between each of those muscle groups to give you the adequate rest and recovery, which means that you'll never have to work the same body part two days in a row.
Excuse number six, I hate working out. How do you stop making the excuse, I hate working out? Well if you're wanting to lose weight or if you're wanting your body to look a certain way, I'm guessing you're unhappy with the way that it looks now or the way that you feel, which means that you need to ask yourself this, what do you hate more? Do you hate working out or do you hate feeling uncomfortable in your skin?
So asking that question, there's no amount of excuses that will help you build the body that you want, nor can you complain your way into seeing the transformation that you want. Let me say that again. There are no amount of excuses that will help you build the body that you want, nor can you complain your way into seeing the transformation that you want. You have to put in the work. There's no way around it. It's fine if you hate working out. I get it. It's not for everyone. Of course, I feel so good, but it's not always the most exciting part of my day when I see certain movements that are forcing me outside my comfort zone, but I do it because I love how it makes me feel. And I love that I feel comfortable and confident in my body.
I know without working out, I wouldn't be as happy with myself or my life. So for me, that discomfort is worth it. Something else to consider if you hate working out is perhaps that you haven't found the type of workout that is right for you. If you feel like working out is a punishment or a chore, you aren't doing the right type of movement. I truly believe the number one reason that people say they don't like working out is because they're forcing themselves to do a type of workout that they think they have to do and they just don't enjoy it. Trust me, there are countless ways that you can work out. You don't have to spend hours on a treadmill. Seriously, that's so boring in my opinion. If you hate running, you don't need to beat yourself up at a high-intensity bootcamp every day if that isn't your thing.
Personally, I don't love cardio. I don't love long workouts. I hate feeling like I'm breaking down my body every single day. The workouts that I personally do are the ones that I share inside the app. They are a strength training focus with some cardio bursts, because I do understand that cardio is important for heart health, but I personally love having strength training as the foundation, which is why I personally shared those types of workouts in my app. So the moral of the story is you have to find what you love, and one thing that I want to touch on this is just know that every season of your life might look differently in terms of movement. So don't stress out if you were loving something a few months ago and you just feel burnt out. Try something new, give yourself the opportunity to try a different form of movement and see if that helps change your outlook.
And then if that, and when that time comes, when you feel burnt out on that, remember that it's okay to continue to switch it up. It's about loving your movement because the movement that you love is the most sustainable after all. Excuse number seven, I'm too intimidated to go to the gym. This was me for so long you guys. I had so much gym intimidation and I had this excuse so many times throughout my journey. And when I was feeling intimidated at the gym, my mind would go completely blank. I would walk around literally in circles trying to figure out what I should do, but my brain was way too scattered to actually figure it out, which would then cause me to become super self-conscious because I felt like everyone was staring at me and judging me for not knowing what I was doing or looking lost.
It was the absolute worst feeling and I'm just being honest with you, that was me for a long time in the gym. But what I finally realized is being intimidated and self-conscious at the gym is pointless. Everyone is so consumed by what they're doing. They are not thinking twice about what you're doing. And to be honest, a large majority of people are feeling the exact same way that you are. You think that they're looking at you with judgment, but they're looking at you thinking you're judging them. So with that being said, how I stopped making the excuse of I'm too intimidated was walking in with a plan. Seriously, that was all that I needed to do to reduce my intimidation. So before hitting a workout, I would look over to make sure I understood what I had to do, and then watched any videos or demonstrations to make sure that I knew how to do the movement.
So when I walked through those doors, I felt 100% confident and I knew exactly what I needed to do, where I needed to do it. I can't tell you enough if this is where you are right now, if you feel intimidated in a gym, try going in with a solid plan and also know that sometimes especially in a gym environment, your plan might not go 100% according to plan and that's okay. Maybe you need to switch around a few workouts because the squat rack is taken, or maybe you need to switch around a few workouts because the squat rack is taken, or the dumbbells that you typically use are not there right now. It's okay to edit, adjust on the fly, but having an overall plan will help so, so much with gym intimidation. Excuse number eight, I don't know where to start.
I know trying to figure out where to start can be extremely overwhelming and the perfect excuse is to not work out at all. Seriously, I know because I'm speaking from experience. So many different health and fitness advocates are pushing this workout and that workout and claiming their is the best for building the body of your dreams, but each one says something different. So who do you believe? I know it can be super confusing and overwhelming. After trying to figure out which workout is best, it just seems so much easier not to start at all than trying to figure out where to start. How to stop making this excuse is very simple. You have to stop overthinking it and just start somewhere.
It doesn't matter what type of workout you're doing, as long as you're moving. Your workouts don't have to be hours long and they don't need to be filled with complicated movements that you have no idea how to do. Trust me, there have been so many times I'm scrolling through Instagram and I'm looking at these movements. I feel like so many people think the more complicated the movement is, the more effective it is. And oh, I could do a whole podcast episode on that. That is just the furthest from the truth. A lot of the movements that are the most effective, compound movements, they're very, very simple movements. So don't over-complicate it. Trust me when I say getting started has never been more simple, if you just start somewhere and then learn along the way, number one, what you love and two, what you find to be most effective for you.
Number nine, I don't like stepping outside my comfort zone. Now, like I said, gym intimidation is often caused by being forced outside your comfort zone. If someone asks you why you don't work out, you most likely won't say, "Oh, it's because I don't like being pushed out of my comfort zone," but that's exactly why you are not following through. And maybe it's entering the weight area at the gym that is pushing you outside your comfort zone, or maybe it's pushing your body to use heavier weights, or maybe it's pushing yourself to do movements that you previously didn't like, or you just feel like you're not good at. I know it's not a fun feeling to be outside your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is a beautiful comfy place, but unfortunately nothing will ever change there. If you truly want to change yourself, you're going to have to be willing to be uncomfortable.
You need to accept that change isn't comfortable. Entering the weight area where the dumbbells are at the gym will be intimidating at first. Squatting heavier or doing two extra reps or trying the burpees, they're uncomfortable, but the discomfort will bring you results once you start building the body that you want. And it is in comparable to the way that you feel inside your comfort zone. But the great news is once you stay consistent with moving your body and working out, you will feel that discomfort, but that will soon become your new normal. Think of it as your first day at work or school. You were most likely nervous, intimidated, shy. You were just outside of your comfort zone, right? The first few days, or maybe even first few weeks, walking into the office or the school was giving you maybe a little bit anxiety, but once you got to know everyone and got to know their ropes, those feelings went away.
So now you walk into work or school without thinking twice about it. It's just another day. It took time for you to adjust to the new work environment, but now it's just your new normal. The same thing applies when you're going to the gym or you're trying to stay consistent with working out. You just need to continue to show up and embrace the discomfort, embrace the suck. It will become your new normal sooner than you realize.
And my final piece of advice on how to stop making excuses is that you have to be stronger than your excuses. At the end of the day, the results you see are up to you. So you have to take responsibility, stop making excuses and own up to the work that you need to put in. I truly believe in you and I truly believe that you can. And now that you have all of these excuses that I have mentioned, which are likely ones that maybe you've struggled with, or are currently using, you have the tools, you have the knowledge, you have the capacity to overcome the excuse, but there's typically two steps when it comes to really overcoming the excuse.
Number one, you obviously have to identify what the excuse is, but two, you have to allow yourself to understand, "Okay, I have this excuse, but this excuse is only holding me back. So how can I overcome it?" And that's typically through creating a plan. Understanding your excuse so much that it allows you to create an effective plan to overcome the excuse. I believe in you. I believe that you can overcome excuses, whether it's in... I talked about working out, but this could be in anything in your life. It could be in your professional career, could be in your financial, it could be in your relational, whatever parts of your life that you're making excuses in, you can adopt this same type of mentality and structure to overcome any excuse. I hope that you found this episode helpful. If you did, I know you will also love episode 57, how to motivate yourself to do something you don't want to do.
If you're struggling to prioritize what you know you should be doing to be a happier, healthier, more energized self, or whatever aspect of your life that this could apply to, I know exactly how to get you motivated. And in this episode, I walk you through a visualization practice that will no doubt ignite your desire to do all the things that you know you should be doing to take yourself to that next level. I love you so much. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you have anybody in your life that you feel like this episode would speak to them or they would benefit from, I just ask that you share it. You could send it to them in a text message, copy the link, post it up on your Instagram story. Tag me, Julia Ledbetter. I love connecting with you guys and I love seeing your ah-ha moments. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll talk to you guys in the next episode.
All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so, JulieALedbetter. Yes, it's with an A the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought, the most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.