Because it’s way too easy to talk yourself out of a workout. Some days, all it takes is a sound wave to knock you off-target. Other days, NASA can’t keep you on proper course heading and speed.
So what’s the real problem with exercising regularly? Your inner 8-year-old: I don’t wanna. Time for a chat with your indulgent inner adult.
If you have floor space and 10 minutes — and we know you do — you have all you need for a killer bodyweight workout. Research shows high-intensity intervals, even as little as a minute at a time for 10 minutes, have health benefits — and people enjoy them as much as moderate continuous exercise. If you say, “Yeah, I know, HIIT, heard it all before,” we reply, “Yeah, don’t have time to work out, heard it all before.”
RELATED: Don’t Have Time To Workout? Here’s Why That’s Total BS
In a society where folks carry a combined $200 billion in student loan and credit card debt, this is legit. But as the Beatles told us, the best things in life are free. Like
pushups, pull-ups, squats, and
planks.
See also: “I don’t have money for a gym membership.” Or don’t. It’s a silly excuse either way.
Anyone can skip a day, but you don’t want your dashing good looks to be the reason.. Researchers call this the “
genetic invincibility effect” and found that people who don’t think they’re at risk for
obesity
tend to take healthy choices less seriously. Maybe your weight isn’t an issue. Yet.
Depends. Are you staying in bed because you slept three hours the last two weeks and truly, madly, deeply need the shut-eye? Or because your it’s Saturday and widdle footsies are like widdle Pop Tarts, all sweet-n-toasty?
RELATED: Why You Suck At Sleeping
Why? It’s worth being honest with yourself. Researchers have found that “implicit attitudes,” or reasons you don’t consciously feel, have a negative impact on how much you exercise – particularly if you have low willpower. So shift your perspective: Think about future you. A 2017 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that participants who prioritized future outcomes engaged in healthier exercising patterns because they embraced a “promotional orientation,” a desire to pursue positive gains. Future you could end up being a cool guy. Think about him.
Being sidelined by injury is a true bummer: Injured exercisers reported more depression symptoms than control subjects in a 2017 Journal of Sports Rehabilitation study. Just don’t confuse the word “injury” with “vacation”. You can play “around pain” says Jordan D. Metzl, MD, sports medicine specialist and author of The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies. What does he mean? Even if you did pull your ass, you can still do pushups and pull-ups.
Um…ask her to work out with you?
Yawn. Again, floor space. Again, the best things in life are free. Or wait! If you’re not facing freezing rain, cold weather could help you burn more calories. A 2017 study of soldiers ski-marching in the Arctic at moderate intensity demonstrated “among the highest” calorie burn observed in a military exercise without high cardiovascular strain. Put another way: Skating, snowboarding, skiing, and even shoveling burn more calories than rationalising.
Feeling bad is perhaps the single greatest reason to exercise. A massive new study of more than 33,000 people over 11 years in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that exercise helps prevent depression. And another 2017 study found exercise raises optimism levels. We bathe in bad news and societal toxicity daily. Let exercise be your rinse off.
Trust us, you need this workout. We do too.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health
