'I Don't Have Time'

According to Joan Price, MA, a fitness motivator, public speaker, and author of The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book, the most common excuse not to exercise is, "I don't have time."

Well, she asks, do you have time to be sick or disabled? Probably not. "Exercise gives you energy. It doesn't take it away. You gain time -- you can do everything else you need to do more quickly and with a clearer head."

Price points out that you don't need a big expedition to the gym or an all-day bike ride. "You can accumulate exercise minutes," she says, "not do it in one big chunk."

For example, if you are waiting at the copy machine, on hold, or at the car wash, you can do calf raises, desk pushups, or thigh presses. If you don't have to sit in your job, stand. If you don't have to stand still, pace back and forth.

"You can do squats anywhere," she says. "Other people don't have time, either, and won't take time to stare at you." Be sure not to throw stress onto the knees with these, she adds. Don't let your knees go forward and keep your weight on your heels.

Price also recommends parking your car near your last errand. Walk in between and when you are loaded with packages -- there's your car!

Of course, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk up moving escalators, and in the store, take two hand-baskets instead of a cart.

'I Hate Exercise'

"You just hate what you think exercise has to be," Price says. "It doesn't have to be gyms, cardio machines, and that stuff." Think of exercise as activity. "Think back to what you loved doing as a child," she says. "Children never think of activity as exercise." How about skating, cycling, dancing? "Do it for fun!" she says. "Who has ever said, 'I hate walking on the beach'?"

"You don't have to wear Lycra and sweat," she promises.

"If you don't exercise now," Kimiecik agrees, "you need a physical and mental transformation to start." Instead of hating exercise or the idea of it, spend time thinking about what you want your body to do for you.

Ask yourself these three questions:

• Do I want this body to carry me into old age, move around, travel, and not fall or become ill?
• Do I want to feel on top of things mentally?
• Can I become a success on my own terms and not compare myself to others?

"This is simple, but not easy," Kimiecik says. "You have to take time to think about it and feel it, rather than just saying, 'I hate exercise.'"

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