Excuses, Excuses

It's 4:30pm. Your eyes are drawing to a close just as your inbox dings with a new email. Subject line: 'Happy Hour, 5:30 today, be there!' A vicious stare-down with your gym bag ensues and the internal tug-of-war leaves you unable to focus on the simplest of tasks needed to complete your day.

You think of every possible reason why Happy Hour is the clear winner, and guilt is really the only thing remotely making the workout have any kind of chance in this grueling race. I use 'reason' loosely, because in reality, when it comes down to it, when we choose not to exercise, we choose to 'excuse'.

Here are some other reasons, er, excuses, I've heard over the years. Think about how often you use any one or more of these on a daily basis (my common responses in italics, beware the brevity):

1. "I'm SO tired. No really. You don't understand. SO tired. Right, because no one, ever, has ever known what it's like to not have gotten a blissful, solid 8 hours. You're the ONLY one.
2. "I'm SO stressed. Just had a killer meeting with my boss, and I really need a cocktail." I probably will sound preachy when I tell you that exercising helps regulate stress far better than any guy named Jim Beam ever will.
3. "I don't like the smell of the gym or the sweat people leave on the machines." Do you like the smell of a hospital or the sweat that pours from your brow from the most basic activities?
4. "I don't like the instructor". Find another one. They probably don't think that highly of you either.
5. "But I worked out yesterday!" Congratulations! Find another body part and work out again.
6. "But allllllll of my friends are going to happy hour!" If all of your friends were going to jump off a bridge..........
7. "I'm scared of not knowing what to do". Gyms tend not to bite. If that doesn't quell your fears, make an appointment for a consultation with a trainer and come to them willing to work.
8. "I drank too much last night" And just think of the amount of alcohol calories just dying to be burnt off.
9. "I'm not a worker-outer" Blank stare.

This one is my favorite excuse of all time. Taken from an actual conversation, with an actual client. I can't write my response to it, probably because I was rendered speechless:

(client)"I had a baby, and it has been just impossible to lose this weight no matter what I do"

(me)"I know how difficult it can be to lose baby weight. How old is your baby now?"

(client) Fourteen.

Keep Climbing,

ELD