How do you stop making excuses and/or "waiting" for the right time?

[Tugger31]

I read an article awhile back that turned the tables a bit on that mentality and wrote about how you ARE making the choice right now. You ARE deciding that right NOW is the time to be unhealthy, right NOW you are deciding that your fitness level is NOT important enough. You get the idea. It was a totally sarcastic article, but it stuck with me!

I do like the plan posted by Dutchgirl, 15 minute commitments alternating with rest day. No excuses there!

Also don't overwhelm yourself with the word "rotation". Take it day by day.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by mspina

I'm with Sandrine. How do you stop making excuses and/or waiting? START RIGHT NOW.

Then do it again tomorrow. Don't think. Don't plan. That's just another form of stalling.

GO DO. Again. And again. And again.

As usual, I agree with Michelle. Too much thinking, planning, etc. going on. Just go do it, and then do it again.

I am also wondering why you are setting a long term goal of 5 years. Your long term goal should be your lifetime. There is no end point. You just do it. Always. Every day.

[mrsscififanec]

Stop thinking about it and planning for it,don't worry about rotations at all until exercise has become a habit for you and it will.It may take a few weeks or even a couple of months but it will become automatic ,something you want to do.
Do not give yourself the excuse of no time ,remember if you have time to watch a few hours of tv a week or play games on the computer or pretty much any other thing you do aside from work you have time to workout.
Get tough on yourself because you ARE tough ,you ARE a champion and You CAN and Will grab the first dvd you see and Do the first 1o minutes and maybe tomorrow you'll do 15 minutes because yep you are ALL That !!
And lastly but also something I found very helpful is put your workout shoes on and keep them on until you've done your workout as it makes it much less comfortable to plop down and chill on the couch and not workout if you have your shoes on .
Good Luck !!

[Demeris]

I have no new or different advice to offer from the excellent advice you've already received.

I'm posting because your question, Candice, eerily parallels this:

How do I get over writer's block?

My answer is always--trick yourself. Set the timer for 5 mins and do as much as you can. Set it aside for a few hours, then review it.

That kind of sounds like all those wonderful posters who suggested that you start small and build.

Lannette suggested that you think about your current situation and the reasons behind your desire to start exercising.

I would add to that the idea that you sit down with a pencil and paper and get those ideas down on paper--any way you want: make a list, do some mind mapping, free write everything you can.

Then you can step away from what might be jumbled thoughts (I only say this because my thoughts are usually jumbled until I spend some time unjumbling them) and see what your motivations and priorities are.

Some good starting or begin again workouts are Powerfit, Joel Harper, and Mirabai Holland.

[JackieB]

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

I am also wondering why you are setting a long term goal of 5 years. Your long term goal should be your lifetime. There is no end point. You just do it. Always. Every day.

Love this.

[alisoncooks]

I'm a good excuse maker!

What's helping me right now? Local/present accountability.
I bribed my kids into exercising with me (we're logging Leslie miles) and if I slack off, I have to answer to them and worry about my poor example. We've only just begun this, but I've worked out more in the past few days than I have in the past 6 months...

[Candiceena]

Wow ladies. You have all really given me some good tips & things to think about. The two things that really stuck w/ me were:

1) Just do it. And then do it again. And do it again the next day. (As in, don't plan or think or whatever, because that is in fact a form of stalling & procrastinating, at least for me, at least right now).

2) One good habit leads to another. This is so true. I think exercise will likely lead to other good habits - spending more time cooking meals at home, or watching less TV, or taking the stairs, or giving up soda pop, etc.

3) It takes time to build habits. This is so true. I am not a morning person and really have no desire to do AM workouts (if I'm truly honest w/ myself). But I can do and have done (and enjoyed) PM workouts, even as late as 9-11 pm (when I worked retail I often didn't leave the mall until 9:30 PM)...I know experts sometimes talk about putting your workout clothes out to make AM workouts easier. Well maybe I should start bringing my workout clothes to work, and changing into them immediately after getting off, before I even head to my car. That way it will put me in the mood/mindframe.

This is a great thread. And I really like these two points too:

I am also wondering why you are setting a long term goal of 5 years. Your long term goal should be your lifetime. There is no end point. You just do it. Always. Every day.

I never actually thought about it like this. Great point.

Get tough on yourself because you ARE tough ,you ARE a champion and You CAN and Will grab the first dvd you see and Do the first 1o minutes and maybe tomorrow you'll do 15 minutes because yep you are ALL That !!

Did not end up getting started last night and I'm not going to start tonight either. I'm going to start RIGHT NOW. I'm making the decision right now that my health and my fitness level ARE important enought to me. I'm not going to make the choice to be unhealthy any more.

I'm going to shut my phone off right after work so I'm not tempted by any happy hour invites, head straight home, and do a DVD or Youtube video. Even if it's only 10 minutes. And then I'll do the same thing tmrw. Rinse and repeat.

[Candiceena]

Just also thought about the concept of rewards - I am horrible at rewarding myself w/ things that cost money because I usually buy them anyway.

But "guilt" works great for me. Like, I want to read a book or watch an episode of Dance Moms or spend some time blogging or perusing VF or Cathe's forums...well, I always feel guilty for doing those things when I know I should be doing something else. So maybe my reward will be that - reading a book, blogging, etc. And after my workout, it will feel like a reward instead of a guilty pleasure.

I know that after a while, the workout itself will be enough to make me want to do it, but to get started, to get over that initial hump, I like the idea of little rewards. Allowing myself to indulge in something non-food.

[Vintage VFer]

I've tried hard to think of a good answer to your question. I have worked out regularly for so long for so many reasons.

The biggest motivator for me has been FEAR. Most of my family died of lingering, dreadful diseases. I see folks around me waste away due to inactivity.

Go to the supermarket and see folks of all ages leaning on their carts because it is too much effort to stand up straight. See teenagers in the mall with appalling posture. We all have relatives who can barely get up out of their chairs. And they aren't that old!

Ever watch the evening news? Every single commercial is for pharmaceuticals. What does that say about this country?

Picture yourself with osteoporosis and falling and being in a home because you were waiting to start working out.

Get it in gear!

[bee]

The thing that got me going consistently was (at the time) there was a recommendation for three days of workouts per week. Well, I had trouble looking at it that way and making it happen that way, so instead I set a goal for 156 days in a year's time. Somehow that got me wanting to get all of my days in "early", so I got on a roll and 30-ish years later, I've been consistent always, except when I had very young children but even then I was walking crazy amounts. Maybe you need to frame it differently (for you), but, as others have said, don't overthink it. Jump in and do it however it works for you.