Most Common Mistakes - Thinking of exercise as a chore

Let me put this straight right from the start:

Exercise is a pleasure.

It feels good to move, you feel better after you’ve moved, and if you don’t move, you feel lousy.

When we’re children we want to play - run around, climb, jump, crawl, throw, lift and carry etc.

It’s not until we get a bit older we re-label “play” as “exercise” and suddenly it becomes something you feel you have to do instead of something you want to do.

Aside from potentially picking up an injury (which could happen at any time for any reason anyway), there’s really no downside to exercise provided you don’t take things too far and go to extremes.

You may be out of shape and feel uncomfortable pushing yourself or getting out of breath, but you can start at incredibly low levels and build up.

Wherever you are right now, you can start.

For the real benefits, you need to push yourself a little. This will improve your health and make you feel better both physically and mentally.

Push yourself a little harder (but still within your limits) and you’ll enjoy greater fitness and more strength.

The more you work, the more you learn to push yourself, the more you’ll get out of it.

If you’re trying to do too much - more than you’re currently capable of - then you’ll start to feel overwhelmed and dread the thought of training (unless you’re one of those people who enjoy the challenge). This is when it can become a chore and when things can start to break down.

Even if you’re not working too hard though, it can still feel like a chore as it does require some time commitment. There’s no getting around this, you just need to accept that exercise is part of life, and if you’re not doing it, you’re actually doing yourself harm.

If you get annoyed because you “have to” go to the gym, then you need to shift your thinking a bit or find a different form of exercise that you enjoy.

Time spent exercising is not time wasted. For the most part, you’ll only spend that time doing menial tasks or nothing instead.

If you’re genuinely busy and can’t find any time to exercise, you need to look at your schedule and see where you can make some changes.

At least a basic level of daily exercise is a PRIORITY. It should come before or at least equal to ANYTHING else you have in your schedule. It’s up there with breathing, eating and sleeping. It’s BEFORE work and definitely before TV (which I’m sure you manage to find a bit of time for…?).

I repeat - exercise is NOT a chore, it’s a pleasure.

I can’t stress this enough - find a form of exercise you enjoy so you want to do it.

Some people can make themselves do stuff they don’t like because they know it’s beneficial to them.

Other people need to do something they find enjoyable or they simply won’t do it.

Figure out which of these categories you fall into and set your plan accordingly.

You have plenty of options, even in lockdowns!

Walking, Jogging, Cycling, Sprints, Yoga, Bodyweight exercise, Weight training, HIIT, Skipping, Circuits, Animal Flow, Gymnastics, Dancing… There are plenty more, just think what you enjoy doing that involves movement.

Stop thinking of exercise/movement/play as a chore and start looking forward to it.

It’s something you “get to do” not “have to do” and you should enjoy it.

When you start seeing the results, you’ll soon start to enjoy it even more - when you look better, feel better, and can do more.

Get out of the mindset that you won’t enjoy it or don’t like it.

Challenge yourself. Set yourself mini goals, like 10 push-ups, or walk 10,000 steps, or run for 3, 4, 5 minutes without stopping.

Now go MOVE! :)

Mark