Overcome obstacles to exercise routine

Last week I talked about various benefits of exercise, including assistance with stress, depression, anxiety, medical problems, sleep problems and as part of a healthy balance in the individual’s life.

In this week’s column I want to discuss some of the reasons people have difficulty in establishing and maintaining an exercise program and things they can do to overcome these obstacles.


Following are some of the most frequent reasons people give for not starting or continuing an exercise program.

• Not enough time. The average American has 15 to 18 hours of leisure time per week. Therefore, this excuse boils down to priorities. Given the reasons I presented last week, plus other benefits of exercise such as assisting in the establishment and maintenance of healthy self-esteem, improved self-concept, improved self-assurance and enhanced feelings of being in control, perhaps reconsideration and re-ordering might be in order for many individuals.

• Exercise is boring. It doesn’t have to be if you seek out a form of exercise suited to your personality or interest pattern. An extrovert, someone gregarious and outgoing, may enjoy square dancing or walking in a group. An introvert, on the other hand, may find that jogging or swimming offers the chance to process and contemplate the world during periods of peace and solitude, which the introvert enjoys. Exercising on a treadmill or stationary bicycle while reading a book, listening to music or watching the news can divert the attention of the exerciser away from the repetitive activity of the exercise itself.

• Exercise must be done in a form or difficult to achieve setting. You don’t have to go to the health club, take time out for tennis or jog for half an hour a day. Instead, you can walk or bicycle to work, climb stairs during the day and perhaps mow the lawn or run the vacuum cleaner. Obviously, the amount of time and the effort put into these activities must be considered. .

• When I exercise, I always end up too sore or hurting myself. Injuries or soreness usually occur because of trauma or over-use. The pounding on the ankles, knees and hips during jogging may be less suitable for some individuals. Risks of this happening seem to occur more frequently with advancing age, history of previous injury, over-use and overdoing the activity or being overweight. Substituting activities such as swimming, bicycling or brisk walking can alleviate many of these problems.

Also, it is important to begin exercise programs slowly and gradually increase activity level. If problems begin to develop decrease the intensity or amount of activity, switch to an alternative exercise or rest and get medical assistance, if necessary. “Listen to your body” is an old adage that fits well in exercise programs.

As any regular exerciser will tell you, “Exercise is not a disruption, but is part of the essential process of living.” As one regular exerciser told me, “I had just as soon skip meals or sleep than my exercise.”

Copyright c 1997 Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D.