Obviously, if you live in the Midwest or East during the winter your exercise options diminish a bit. But you may even find that snowshoeing is a cool thing and you love it. It might be a bit difficult to continue in the summer, but that's your opportunity to find a new activity. Don't make exercise monotonous.
Even on a treadmill, people set the time for 30 minutes and just walk. Play with your elevation and speed -- you can make it fun, interesting and challenging. Will you ever love exercise? Stop looking at it as exercise and find something fun to keep you interested and motivated.
9. I'm not athletic! I don't have an athletic bone in my body. Athlete's foot was as close as I got. Therefore, I simply exercise and don't compete! You do not have to be an athlete in order to be active or begin an exercise program.
Coordination may be helpful if you're going into archery or rugby, but putting one step in front of the other requires little athletic ability. Walking, biking and swimming do not require excellence in form, so relieve yourself of the pressure of feeling like you have to perform. Just find what you enjoy and do it!
10. I always get too sore or injure myself! For those who follow the adage "no pain, no gain," you need to reprogram your thinking. That saying was pushed in the '70s as a novice exerciser's way of feeling like they did something. The sad truth: many injuries were the result of that mentality. Pain is not good; gain in strength and endurance is good. You will not gain if you are in pain. You will end up exercising yourself right out of a regular program.
If you're just beginning, you must take it slow. January 1 seems like the day everyone decides they're going to test their pain threshold. By January 7 half of those are working excuse #10.
