Fitness & Exercise

Top 6 Exercise Excuses and How to Beat Them

Exercise Excuse No. 3: "I Don't Get a Break From the Kids."

The answer is to multitask, experts say.

"Take the kids with you," says Hill. While they're swinging, you can walk around the playground or backyard or jump rope. Walk the kids to school instead of driving them. During their soccer games or practices, walk briskly around the field.

Use your family time for active pursuit, Brunett suggests. Go biking with your kids, put up a badminton net in the yard, sign up as a family for "fun runs," or just walk around the neighborhood with your children. When the weather's bad, try active video games like Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Sport, and Wii Fit.

And remember that your fitness is good for your kids as well as you. "When mom or dad is more fit, has more energy, the whole family benefits,” says psychologist Christina Recascino, PhD.

Exercise Excuse No. 4: "Exercise Is Boring."

"Exercise should be like sex," says sports physiologist Mike Bracko, EdD, FACSM. "You should want it and feel good about it before you do it. And it should feel good while you're doing it."

So how do you get there? First, find an activity you love. Think outside the box: try inline skating, dancing, or gardening. Join a sports league. Or, if you love music, try ballroom dancing. "There's an exercise for everyone," says Recascino. "It doesn't have to be onerous or unpleasant."

If it makes exercise more enjoyable for you, it's OK to watch TV or read while you're on the exercise bike or treadmill -- just don't forget to pedal or run.

Working out with a group also helps many people. "Not everybody's cut out to put on their iPod and go on a six-mile run by themselves," says Peter Nierman, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

To find a group, look through local sports publications or on the web. Or simply recruit several friends.

And, every once in a while, try something totally new. “Mix it up so you don't get bored,” says Brunett.