Excuse: “There’s Nowhere to Work Out”

The first post in this series covered this excuse: Excuse: “I Don’t Want to Look Dumb”. This post is about another excuse: not having a place to work out. It could be about money, or safety or simply logistics of where you live. But if you’re trying to figure out How to Exercise Regularly, continue on to the following suggestions.

If you live in a neighborhood that is not safe or not fitness-friendly (i.e. no sidewalks or parks, etc) you DO have options. Try getting a friend to join you–safety in numbers! (Finding a Workout Buddy) And if spending money on a gym isn’t in your budget, you can still get a workout in. You just have to get creative at home.  Does your house have stairs? Try running up and down them. The original stair master. 🙂

Buy some free weights, a medicine ball or a kettle bell. All of those options are excellent for your home gym and you can spend just a little bit of money and be set for a long time. If money is super tight, try doing jumping jacks and a jump rope in your yard! You’d be surprised at how quickly you get tired and sweaty with some jumping jacks.

The Nike Training Club app is for smart phones and it’s free! Free is awesome and it’s a fantastic program. It has so many different workouts and they are broken down into focused groups–i.e. ab workouts, shoulder workouts, etc. You can choose the intensity of the workouts to fit your abilities. It’s a good resource for people who don’t have a gym membership or want to workout at home instead. I’ve even used the app while on vacation when I didn’t have access to a gym. It was great!

Maybe you don’t have a gym or fitness club near your home, but what about work or school? Colleges often have gyms or pools for students for a nominal fee. If there’s a gym near your office, try going during your lunch break or right after work.

Get a bike trainer! It’s a fantastic way to workout at home while watching TV. 😀 If you have a bike, getting a trainer is a good next step. It’s excellent for nasty weather, too, when you don’t want to bike outside.

Another good suggestion is to join a group. There are so many options out there. There are running groups (check out your local running store); there are hiking groups (check out Mazamas, REI or other outdoor stores for a bulletin board); check out groups like Meetup or MeetIn for other fitness groups. It’s a great way to get motivated, stay motivated and make new friends!

There are many many ways to get in fitness. Just recently when Michael and I were on vacation in Seattle I was worried that the hotel gym wouldn’t be good enough (or would be too crowded) to use. I was thinking of backup plans–go to a local gym, look for a YMCA, do the Nike Training Club app in the hotel room…I was prepared and that made it harder to just NOT workout because I’d made the decision I was going to find a way.

The point is, don’t give yourself an OUT. You’ll always find excuses and it just comes down to how badly you want to get healthy, lose weight, move your body. Excuses can be disregarded if you have a plan! I found this post that is very helpful for building your own gym,

How to Get a Cheap Workout: 8 Ideas for Building a $100 Home Gym. Check it out! Craigslist is a goldmine for discarded workout equipment. Peruse the listings and build your own cheap gym at home.

QUESTION: Do you struggle with the “Where” to workout excuse?