1.  Develop a Plan

When you walk into the gym, do you have an idea of what you’re going to do?  It’s important to have an idea of what specific exercises you’re going to do that day.  Entering the gym and saying, “I’m going to do some legs today,” isn’t good enough.  You need to know which exercises you’re going to do if you’re short on time.  Any time wasted wandering around the gym, looking for whatever machine is open is not going to save you time.  If you go in knowing you’ll do squats, lunges, and calf raises for legs, then you’ll go directly from one to the other.  Try writing out a plan in advance.

2.  Avoid Distraction

Whether you work out at home or at the gym, there are distractions.  At home, there could be roommates, your TV could have an interesting show on, or maybe you’re finishing up some work on the computer while you work out.  At the gym, they might have the TV on during the big game, or maybe your friend is chatting up a storm in between sets.  The key for both in home and at the gym is to avoid distraction.  These little distractions add up to a lot of missed time exercising.  It might only seem like a few extra seconds, but when you have only 30 minutes to work out, those extra seconds pile up to a significant chunk of your workout.  Turn off all electronic devices and tell your friends or family members that you just need 30 minutes to exercise and you can’t talk.  For some, this may cut their workout time in half.

3.  High Intensity, Low Volume

Since the actual time spent working out will be fairly short, you need to bring your intensity level higher than if you were to work out for an hour.  As workout time decreases, the intensity has to go up proportionately.  For example, if you wanted to have a good workout but you only had 1 minute, would you take a slow walk?  No, you’d probably do a very difficult exercise that really got your heart rate up.  Similarly, if you were to try to run a marathon, would you start out with an all out sprint?  No, you’d probably try to pace yourself because you need to be able to maintain that level for several hours.  So instead of going for a slow walk on the treadmill, try doing an exercise that’s more intense like burpees, mountain climbers, or jump squats.

4.  Supersets

A superset is a group of different exercises that are performed back to back with little or no rest.  This allows each muscle group to recover and rest while the other one is working, all while keeping the heart rate up.  For example, you can superset pushups with lunges.  While you are doing pushups which work the chest, shoulders, and triceps, your legs will be resting.  Then, as you immediately go into the lunge to work the hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes, your chest, shoulders, and triceps will be resting.  This helps get you twice the amount of exercise in the same amount of time.

5.  Use Compound Movements

A compound movement, or a multi-jointed movement, is an exercise that works multiple muscle groups at one time.  This of course, is the opposite of an isolated exercise which only works one muscle group at a time.  Not only will you work on getting multiple muscle groups stronger in one exercise, but you’ll also burn a lot more calories with that one compound exercise versus an isolated exercise movement.  For example, if you want to work your biceps, try the pullup.  The pullup will work the muscles of the upper back as well as the biceps, thus burning many more calories than an isolated exercise like the bicep curl.

Now that you know you can get a great workout in less time, it’s time to head to the gym (or your home gym) and starting making the most of your workouts.  Still unsure how to have a challenging and effective, yet safe workout in less time?  Contact me today to get started on a program that will increase your efficiency and get you in shape in half the time.

1. Wake Up Earlier

One way to make more time for exercise is to simply wake up earlier. You don’t have to wake up 2 hours early or even an hour early. Simply waking up 20-30 minutes earlier than you do now is enough time to get in a workout. By making exercise the first thing you do, you’ll get it out of the way and be done with it. Now there is no excuse to not get in a workout because a meeting ran late or you got held up in traffic.

2. Reduce Your Media Time

You claim you don’t have time to work out, but how much time do you spend watching TV, looking at Facebook, or just being online in general? For most people, cutting your media time in half will give you more than enough time to get in a great workout. Try this trick: Get a timer and start it each time you watch a show or sit in front of the computer and add that time up in a 24 hour span to see how much time you really spend in front of the computer and the TV. Still don’t think that’s enough? Try being active in front of the TV. Hold a plank during the commercial break, do pushups whenever a certain TV character enters the scene, or just do jumping jacks during the whole show.

3. Schedule Your Workouts

Just saying you’re going to workout at some point today is not good enough. Mark it in your appointment book, set an alarm on your cell phone, do whatever you have to do to make the workout more like an appointment. Would you skip a doctor’s appointment or a hair appointment? Writing it down forces you to keep yourself accountable. Keep yourself even more accountable by scheduling an appointment with a personal trainer. This will not ensure you set aside time and have an effective workout.

4. Make Yourself a Mode of Transportation

Do you get in a cab whenever you have to go a few blocks? What if you walked or rode your bike down the street to work or to run errands? You’d be getting things accomplished and getting in your exercise at the same time. Try not using a cab or your car for one full week and see if you can get by without it. I guarantee you’ll see a difference by making this one little change.

5. Find a Mode of Exercise You Enjoy Doing

OK, so maybe you hate spending 45 minutes on the treadmill or being in the gym environment in general. What do you enjoy? You could try things like playing tennis, joining a kickball league, or joining a running club. Find out what type of exercise you DO like and you’ll be more likely to stick to it.

Not having enough time is without a doubt, one of the top excuses people use for not exercising. By implementing some of these tips, you’ll have enough time to get moving and lose more weight in less time. Need more help making your workouts more efficient? Contact me today and together we can come up with a plan that works with your lifestyle.

Water Cleanses The Body

First, one of the top benefits of water that most people already know is that water is going to best cleanse your body and help you rid all the toxins that have built up over time.  If for the last several months or years you have been using a diet that has been full of processed foods, chances are high that you do have a build-up of toxins in your system.  If you want to feel better on a day to day basis, these toxins need to be removed and water is a big part of the equation to make that happen.

Ever notice that some people don’t smell at all when they sweat?  Why do you think that is?  When someone is properly hydrated and their body is cleansed, their sweat is primarily made up of water and thus, will not smell.  However, if someone drinks a lot of alcohol and takes in other toxins, their sweat is going to smell accordingly.  So another extra tip of being hydrated is smelling better!

Water Boosts Your Metabolism

Second, another big benefit that water is going to provide that is especially important for those who are looking for weight loss results is that it will help to boost your metabolic rate.  When you are well hydrated, your metabolism will be running at a higher rate than usual, meaning you will see an increased rate of fat burning.  This means you can either lose weight faster, or you can afford to eat a few more calories in your diet plan – which is something that almost all people would appreciate.

Want to speed up your metabolism even more?  Make sure your water is ice cold.  Colder water means that your body needs to do extra work to maintain your body’s ideal body temperature.  The extra work your body needs to do to warm you up will burn more calories.

Water Decreases Hunger

Another amazing benefit of water is that it also helps to decrease your hunger levels. If you are often finding yourself hungry throughout the day and this causes you to turn to snacking as a way to fill the void, you could be taking in calories that you just don’t need.  Start drinking more water and you’ll see that this decreases the hunger levels you’re experiencing.  Whenever you have the urge to eat, always make it a practice to drink one large glass of water, wait ten minutes, and then see how you feel.  You’ll find that the feeling of hunger passes quickly after drinking just one glass of water.

Water Improves Recovery

Another big benefit to water consumption is that it can help to improve your recovery rate from your workout sessions.  Water will help to replenish the muscle tissues, removing lactic acid build-up and also helping to deliver more nutrients to the muscle cells.  If you aren’t staying well hydrated, especially after a workout session, you may find that you don’t regain a feeling of strength as quickly as you should.  This may mean it takes you longer to recover between workout sessions and you aren’t able to exercise as frequently as you otherwise would be.  Since exercise causes you to sweat and dehydrate yourself, make sure that you are drinking plenty of water before, during, as well as after the workout.

Water Is Calorie Free!

Finally, the last big benefit to drinking water is that it’s completely calorie free.  Few beverages can say this and if you choose to hydrate yourself with calorie containing beverages such as soda, juice, high fat milk, fruit smoothies and so on, this is going to have a very negative impact on your weight loss goals.  Water is completely calorie free so you can drink as much of it as you want without it impacting your ability to burn body fat.  If you find that you tire of the taste of plain water, jazz it up by adding a slice of lemon, lime, or even a few pieces of fruit (oranges, berries, or grapefruit all work well). Let it sit for a few hours and you’ll have a refreshing glass of water with a hint of flavor.

How Much Do You Need?

So now that you see the benefits of water, how much of it should you be drinking on a daily basis?  Adult men should drink around 3 liters of water per day, while adult females should aim for around 2.2 liters of water daily.  Keep in mind if you are active you will need to drink more than this to make up for fluid that you are losing.

So there you have the need-to-know facts about water, weight loss, and exercise.  Are you getting enough?

For more on how to keep hydrated or if you’re interested in learning more about us, contact Philadelphia personal trainer, Brian Maher today!

As a personal trainer, I always give a fitness assessment to my new clients to develop a baseline measurement and to create realistic fitness goals for them.  During this assessment, I’ll usually have a conversation about their past exercise habits and their success with these habits.  Time and time again, I hear about clients gaining weight when they’ve exercised in the past.  This is fine for someone who is trying to add mass and bulk up, but for the majority of my personal training clients looking to lose weight, this is the opposite of what they want.  If exercise is supposed to help you lose weight, why are there so many people who experience weight gain during periods of exercise?  I’m about to explain 3 very simple reasons why you might gain weight when you exercise.

Muscle Weighs More Than Fat

Most people who have heard this don’t actually believe it, but it’s true.  One pound of fat will take up more space than one pound of muscle, meaning if a mass of muscle and a mass of fat were the same size, the muscle would weigh more.  So if you have two women who are both 5’4’’ and 140 pounds, but one is 20% fat and the other is 30% fat, the woman is 20% fat is going to have smaller measurements.  So even though she is much smaller in size, the woman with 20% weighs the same as the woman with 30% body fat.

With that being said, when you use resistance training in your exercise routine, you will (hopefully) gain some muscle.  Since we now know that muscle weighs more than fat, if you gain some muscle without losing fat, you’ll actually weigh more than you did previously.  Contrary to popular belief, fat does not turn into muscle.  Just because you’ve gained 5 pounds of muscle, it does not necessarily mean you’ve lost 5 pounds of fat.  You still need to make an effort to lose the fat as well.  So if you’re putting on muscle and not losing any fat, the scale will start to climb.  What’s to blame for this adding or muscle without subtracting any fat at all?

Post Exercise Overeating and Food Rewards

One major reason why people gain weight while they exercise is that they overeat after coming home from a hard workout.  While a post workout meal is definitely necessary, it is important to not overeat and consume more calories than you need after a workout.  The last thing you’d want to do is let a great workout go to waste.  Let’s take a 150 pound person as an example.  After a tough workout, this person can expect to burn about 600 calories in an hour.  Most exercisers never even reach this number but I will be generous for the sake of this example.  This same person comes home and overeats or rewards themselves with a hamburger with fries, totaling 650 calories (again, I’m being generous).  It took this person an hour to burn 600 calories, but it took the same person about 10 minutes to gain it all back again because they overate and rewarded themselves after a tough workout.  OK, maybe you don’t reward yourselves with a burger after every workout.  But how many times have you told yourself you can have that extra piece of cake or slice of pizza because you worked out that day?  Start thinking of the workout as a reason not to overindulge when you eat your next meal.  Why would you want to cancel out a great workout?  If you’re like most, you want to start seeing positive changes; a good place to start would be to stop canceling out your workouts with unhealthy rewards.

Hydration Makes You Fluctuate

This is a reason you might gain weight that actually isn’t a negative.  Although you might not be happy with the result on the scale, being hydrated is a good thing.  During and after a tough workout, most will go to the water fountain and rehydrate with a lot of water.  This water can be retained for a few hours so this could be contributing to your added weight gain.  It is important to realize that being hydrated will probably only add a couple pounds at most.  So if you’re continually gaining more than 4 to 5 pounds, there’s most likely another reason you’re gaining weight.

Now you’ve learned that not all weight gain during exercise is necessarily a bad thing.  A few pounds of weight gain might mean you’ve added some muscle or you’re better hydrated.  However, it could also mean you’ve been rewarding yourself with post-workout food too often.  How do you tell which is the culprit for your weight gain?  One easy way to find out is to simply record your measurements.  If you’ve gained 3 pounds but your measurements in your waist, arms, and thighs have gone down, you’ve most likely put on some muscle (and maybe even lost a little bit of fat).  If you’ve gained 3 pounds and those measurements have gone up (while you’ve been exercising), you most likely still need to make more adjustments to your nutrition.

The one 100% foolproof way to tell if it’s muscle or fat is to have someone conduct a fitness assessment on you.  A personal trainer like myself can assess your body measurements and body fat percentage to see if you’re gaining muscle or fat.  Once we’ve determined what direction you’re going in, I can develop a workout plan and a meal plan specifically designed for you so you can reverse your exercise-induced weight gain.  Contact me today to get started!

Most people laugh when someone suggests they get a personal trainer.  How could they possibly afford it?  I’m willing to bet you have more money to put towards your own health than you think, but it has to become a priority for you.

Going Out for Dinner and Drinks

If going out to dinner 2-3 times per week is more important to you, then there’s not much I can do to change your mind.  But the fact is, if you cut back on going out to dinner or getting drinks, the money you’d save could easily pay for 1-2 sessions per week with a trainer.  Look at your budget and see exactly how much you spend on going out for food and drinks each month.  Not only will this save your wallet, but it will also help you with your weight loss goals by cutting out excess calories.

Vacations

I’m certainly not telling you to never go on a vacation ever again.  We all need to get away for a little while.  However, could your weekend trips be adding up?  Take a look at how many mini-vacations and getaways you’ve had in the past year and add up how much money it cost you.  Again, you don’t have to cut all of them out, but if you cut down on them a bit, there’s money left over to put towards something you may want to prioritize, like your health.

Morning Rituals

Most Americans grab a cup of coffee from the local Starbucks on their way to work.  Sure, it’s only a few bucks, but it’s money that could be easily saved by making your own coffee at home.  If Starbucks is your favorite coffee, you can even buy the blend of the exact coffee you buy for your coffee maker at home.  By switching, you could easily save yourself over $800 per year ($3.50 per cup x 250 work days per year)!

These are all small changes that almost everyone can make to save a little money on something they prioritize. The main point I’m trying to make is before you claim you can’t afford to make a change, look at your budget and see what you’re really spending your money on.  Do you value these things more than you value your health?

Price Ranges For Personal Training

Now, let’s look at the varying prices you can expect to pay for different types of training.  Depending on your exercise needs and your budget, one of these types of training might appeal to you more than others.  Let’s take a look at each one and examine the pros and cons.

1 on 1 Personal Training

1 on 1 training is always going to be the most beneficial way to get in shape.  The trainer is 100% dedicated to you and only you and they can adjust your workout for your specific needs.  Do you have a back problem?  Do you have high blood pressure?  These are all things that a trainer who’s training you 1 on 1 will be able to look out for by adjusting your workout routine.  Because this is the most personalized and thorough approach, it’s of course going to be the most expensive option.  Most personal trainers in Philadelphia can range from $60-$85 per hour long session, depending on their education, experience, and success rates with past clients.  While many people looking for personal trainers might try to look for the cheapest option, I’d like to give a warning: just like anything else, you get what you pay for.  Would you hire a lawyer who charged $20 per hour?  Would you hire a mechanic who charges $30 to fix your car that doesn’t run?  Probably not.

Small Group Training

Small group training can be an excellent option for those who still want some close attention during their workouts but they don’t have any serious issues that need to be addressed.  This is more of an option for fairly healthy individuals looking to lose a few pounds.  The group dynamic can make the workout fun and it can help motivate you to show up.  If having a personal trainer who expects you to come isn’t motivation enough, how would you feel if 3 of your friends called you every time you failed to show up for a session?  The accountability factor is what keeps you coming back consistently.  These small group sessions are significantly less than 1 on 1 training because you’re not getting that ultra personalized workout.  These can range from $25-$50 per hour long session depending on the exact size of the group.

30 Minute Sessions

If the idea of not having a personalized approach scares you but you can’t afford 60 minute sessions with a trainer, 30 minute sessions might be just for you.  By doing your warm-up before your trainer shows up, you cut out some of the time the two of you need to spend together.  I should warn you, if you’re expecting to chit chat during this 30 minute session, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.  30 minute sessions are usually more fast-paced due to the time constraints.  These can be a great way to make sure you get in some sort of effective workout more often.  Expect the cost of these sessions to be a little more than half the cost of that trainer’s 60 minute sessions.  So if the trainer charges $70 per hour, expect to pay around $45-$50 for a 30 minute session.

Boot Camps/Large Group Sessions

The last option I’m going to give you today is the least expensive option.  Boot camps or large group sessions (typically 5-15 people) can give you an effective workout in a fun and dynamic group setting.  The workouts are usually designed so you’re working out side by side with your fellow participants and this really gives you a chance to feel more like a bonded group.  This group dynamic can also create more of a feeling of accountability.  However, the problem with these large groups is that you will not receive the same personalized attention you would with 1 on 1 training.  If you’re healthy with no health issues, that might be fine for you.  However, the client with high blood pressure, back problems, and a bad knee might not benefit from large group instruction.  This type of training is the least expensive and can range from $10-$30 per class.

I hope I’ve given you some insight on what types of training you can afford so you can get professional help as you work towards your fitness goals.  Remember, not all options are for everyone.  Whether you need to be more budget conscious or you need more personalized attention, there is an option made for you.  So sit down and take a careful look at your budget and a careful look at what type of instruction you need and then decide if you can afford a personal trainer.

If you have more questions on these types of training packages and you’re in the Philadelphia area, please feel free to contact me using my contact page or by calling 267-838-2301.

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1.            Start by getting down on the ground with your feet together and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.  Your hands should be level with your chest and not up by your shoulders.

2.            To begin the starting position, make sure your arms are fully extended as you hold the top of the push up position.  Your core should be held tight and your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles.

3.            Next, slowly lower your body to the ground until your chest nearly touches the floor while keeping your core tight and remember to inhale as you lower yourself.  While lowering, tuck your elbows, pulling them close to your body so that your upper arms form a 45-degree angle when your torso is in the bottom position of the pushup.  Your body should remain in a straight line from the head to the ankles.

4.            Exhale as you push yourself back up to the starting position by extending your arms.  Your body should still remain in a straight line from the head to the ankles.

Now you’ve done the perfect pushup.  Did it not look quite like I described?  Here’s what could be wrong:

Your Hips Were Sinking and You Were Not in a Straight Line: If you were unable to keep your body in a straight line from the head to the ankles, it’s likely that you need to do some work on your core muscles.  No matter how strong your upper body is, if your core is weak, you will be unable to do a perfect pushup.

You Could Not Go Down All The Way: This can be caused by two possible scenarios: your hands were too high, causing stress to be put on the shoulders which limits your range of motion, or you do not trust your own strength and you fear you will fall.  Even if you do fall, don’t worry, it’s a very short fall and you will not get hurt.

Now if you felt like a certain part of the rep was harder, there’s an explanation for that too.

If you felt the top half of the rep was difficult, meaning you could push off the floor but had difficulty getting your arms to full extension, this means your triceps are lagging behind.  The triceps (back of the arm) are what’s responsible for extending the arm.  Work on the triceps more and you’ll be able to bang out more pushups.

If you felt the bottom half of the rep was more difficult, meaning you can go down halfway just fine, but going down all the way means you’re not able to get back up, then that probably means you need to work on your chest and shoulders more.  While the triceps are responsible for the extending of the arms towards the end of the rep, chest and shoulder strength is what will get you through the bottom half of the rep.  Keep working on those muscle groups and the pushup will become easier for you.

Still too hard?

There’s nothing wrong with doing modified pushups.  Hey, you have to start somewhere, right?  These can be done with the exact same steps as I described earlier, but with your knees on the ground.  So instead of being in a straight line from your head to your ankles, it will be from the head to the knees.  Again, make sure to keep the core tight.  You can also do a regular pushup with your hands on a bench or a chair.  When your body is angled with your head up higher, it takes some of the weight off and allows you to build up strength as you train to be able to do regular pushups.

Need to Spice Up Your Pushup Routine?

OK, so you’re so good at pushups now that it’s becoming boring.  This is a nice problem to have.  But it doesn’t mean you have to become bored with your pushup routine.  There’s ALWAYS a way to make an exercise harder.  Try these modifications to make your pushups more difficult:

Clap Pushups

These are done with the exact same form as the regular pushup, however, when you push up, you will push up as fast as you can and clap your hands together as your upper body reaches its maximum height.    These are more of an explosive pushup exercise and I guarantee you will not get as many as you would with normal pushups.

Instability Pushups

Instability pushups are simply pushups that are done with either your feet, hands, or both, on an unstable surface.  So this might mean your feet, hands, or both are on a Bosu ball, stability ball, or even in a TRX foot stirrup.

Weighted Pushups

These are a little easier to do when you have a workout partner.  Just simply take a weight plate (start light) and place it on your upper back for extra weight.  You’ll really feel the extra 5, 10, 25, or even 45 pounds of extra weight on your back!

So there you have it.  Now you know exactly how to perform the perfect pushup, and if it’s not perfect, now you know why.  If it’s so perfect that it’s become boring for you, now you know how to make it nice and challenging.  So quit sitting on the computer and go out there and do some pushups!

If you need more help on the proper form for pushups, or any exercise for that matter, contact me today so I can help you get started with an exercise program that always keeps your form perfect.

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Weight loss really comes down to a simple mathematical equation: if you burn more calories than your body takes in, your body will lose fat, thus making you weigh less.  If your preferred method of weight loss is to starve yourself, your body will start to use your muscle as energy.  When your body does this, you start to lose muscle, which causes your body to actually burn fewer calories.  You see, one pound of muscle burns more calories than one pound of fat does, about 50 more calories per day actually.

So let’s say you add 5 pounds of muscle without losing any weight at all.  So now you’re actually 5 pounds heavier (don’t panic, the weight loss is coming).  So now that you have 5 more pounds of muscle, your body is going to burn about 250 extra calories per day (50 extra calories burned per day x 5 days=250 extra calories burned per day).  So what does 250 extra calories burned per day get you?  One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories, so if you burned 250 extra calories per day by having 5 more pounds of muscle, you would lose approximately 26 pounds in one year!  That’s not even counting if you ate any more healthy or did any extra cardio!  Imagine how easy it would be to lose weight if your body burned off 26 extra pounds of pure fat off your body in a year.

Not only will adding 5 pounds of muscle make you burn more calories which will help you lose weight, it will also make you appear slimmer.  A 135 pound woman with 40% body fat is going to look drastically different from a 135 pound woman with 20% body fat.  That’s because a pound of muscle is more dense than a pound of fat, meaning a pound of muscle will take us less space.  Check out the picture above.  The reddish colored mass is muscle while the gross yellow mass is the same weight in fat.  Which one takes up more space?  If you just replaced 5 pounds of fat with 5 pounds of muscle, you’d lose that much mass, without losing a single pound on the scale!  Pretty cool, huh? Need even more evidence?  Check out the picture below.  This woman is 155 pounds in both pictures.  The one on the left is her with a higher fat percentage (lower muscle mass percentage) and the one on the right is taken after a resistance training program.  She is the exact same weight but looks drastically different.

Still not convinced?  Check out the video below showing my client Barbara doing lunges with 50 lbs in her hands!  Most women might think lunging with that much weight would bulk them up, but she’s actually gone from a size 10 to a size 0 by lifting like this!  The muscle she has added to her body has helped speed up her metabolism which helped her lose over 35 pounds!  (P.S. Don’t forget to click “Like” when your mouse is hovered over the video!)

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1. Place your hands and knees on a mat.
2. Keep your back in a straight position, core tight and head up.
3. Remove the weight off your left knee by slightly leaning to your right.
4. Extend your left knee back as high was possible while keeping your leg bent at a 90 degree angle.
5. Pause and squeeze the glute muscle at the top of the movement, and then slowly lower your leg back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for desired amount of reps, and then repeat for the right leg.

For more helpful tips on exercises and nutrition, contact us today!

1. Lie flat on your back on a mat. Your hands should be behind your head so that your hands are behind your ears and your elbows stick out on either side.  Do not clasp your hands together as this will cause you to strain your neck. 
2. Your spine should be in alignment and your back should be flat against the mat.
3. Raise both of your knees to form a right angle with your upper body. Your knees should be bent at a right angle, and your upper leg should form a right angle with your upper body. Make sure that your back is still flat against the mat.
4. Use a steady motion that does not cause your body to rock as you exercise to make sure that the focus stays on your abs.
5. Bring your right elbow to your left knee in a crunching motion while extending the right knee. This will cause your body to twist and your abdominal muscles to tighten.
6. Switch and bring your left elbow to your right knee in a crunching motion while extending the left knee.
7. Move your head and neck as little as possible and focus on making the torso rotate to make your abs work harder.

For more helpful tips on exercises and nutrition, contact us today!

Excuse #1: “I don’t have time to work out.” 

How many hours per week do you watch TV?  How many hours per week are you on Facebook or Twitter?  Many people grossly overestimate how busy they actually are.  If you cut out the wasted time on the computer or time on the couch, you’ll find time to exercise.  Even something as simple as using TiVo to record a show you frequently watch can give you enough time.  By fast forwarding through the commercials, you can save yourself 20 minutes for every hour-long show.

If it truly is work that is causing you to not have time to workout, just remember, your workouts don’t necessarily have to be formal workouts all the time.  Just because you don’t have time to head to the gym doesn’t mean you don’t have enough time to exercise.  Take a walk during lunch, take the stairs instead of the elevator, ride your bike or walk to work, or even try parking farther away from the office so you have to walk to and from your car.  Any one of these tips will get you to stop making the excuse of not having enough time.

Excuse #2: “I’m too tired to work out.”

It may sound counterintuitive, but working out actually gives you more energy.  By working out, you release endorphins, hormones that give you a natural high and make you feel good.  The more you get used to exerting yourself, the more energy it will give you.

One way to avoid being too exhausted to work out is to try it first thing in the morning.  By making exercise the first thing you do, you avoid becoming too exhausted later to work out.  This way, your workout will be done before you even start your day.

Excuse #3: “I have bad knees (or a bum shoulder, bad back, etc).”

Any injury should be taken very seriously.  However, just because one part of your body is injured, it doesn’t mean you still can’t get a great workout in.  Try doing exercises that don’t involve those muscles or joints to avoid stressing it further.  In many cases, by not working out those areas, you could be making them worse.  I have had several clients who came to me with bad backs who, with some stretching and light strength training, have been able to rid themselves of 100% of their back pain.  Either work around it or find a professional who can help you fix it.

Excuse #4: “I never see results and I always end up quitting.”

Set small, attainable goals for yourself.  Instead of telling yourself that you need to lose 60 lbs, tell yourself you want to be 5 lbs lighter a month from today.  Then, keep setting small goals along the way to your ultimate goal.  Remember to keep your goals specific.  A goal of “I want to get in shape by summer” does not mean anything.  What does “in shape” mean to you?  Provide yourself with a weight, measurements, and an exact date.

Another way to see results is to keep yourself more accountable.  Studies have shown that those who share their goals with friends and family were more likely to reach them.  If friends and family are continuously asking about how your fitness routine is going, you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

The ultimate way to put an end to these excuses is to get professional help from a qualified personal trainer.  Let me help you make time for more efficient workouts, help give you more energy, work around injuries, and of course, give you the results you’ve always wanted.  Contact us today to be put on a program that will get you on the fast track to fitness.

What’s an excuse that you’ve used in the past to not to go the gym or work out?