No Excuses, Just Results!
Over the years my “No Excuses, Just Results” approach to fitness has helped me earn some seriously consistent results. Have I always abided by this approach? To be perfectly honest, no, but once I adopted my “No Excuses, Just Results!” mindset, all aspects of my health & fitness started to evolve.
If you find yourself making excuses as to why you haven’t been working on your fitness lately, stop for a second and be honest with yourself about these excuses. Take a look at your habits, your actions and identify what obstacles continue to pop up that have prevented you from your goals or have you making excuses. Is there a common theme to your excuses or have a few of the same things repeatedly popped up that have sidelined you from achieving your goals?
If you’re nodding along or saying “Yes” to any of the above, trust me- you’re not alone! I’ve had my own fair share of ups and downs (along with plenty of excuses) throughout my fitness journey. Whether in college, working two jobs, when I was over 35% body fat (I was full of excuses back then!), working in Corporate America to now working in the fitness industry, I’ve come up with several excuses along the way to rationalize skipping workouts or healthy eats.
I used to be full of excuses…so how did I change my approach? I now refuse to let excuses sideline me or keep me from my goals. With a simple mindset shift, I now take what would formerly be known as an excuse and look for opportunity to improve. Every little bit of effort counts and truly does add up to big time results. The results are just workouts away, so let’s ditch those excuses and get to work!
Here are some of my (formerly) most common excuses and how I ditched them for good:
- Whoops! I ran out of time before work this morning and didn’t get to pack my gym bag…so what are my chances of actually making it to the gym today?
We’ve all been there before, right? Your alarm goes off, you hit snooze and before you know it you’re scrambling around to get to work on time. The night before you’d had the best of intentions on heading to the gym directly from work that next day, but without your gym bag packed you’ll have to head home first before the gym. Uh oh. We all know what can happen once we get home from work. Distraction city with chores, kids, dinner, or heck- maybe you want to catch up on your favorite TV show, but the point is, you’re now home and are probably coming up with several excuses as to why you’ll “hit the gym tomorrow instead” right?
How I got rid of this excuse: This excuse used to be my most common, and after missing out on more workouts than I care to count based on the excuse listed above, I knew I had to make some changes. Turns out, all it took was a few minutes of preparation the night before. Instead of waiting until the morning (when I knew chances of my hitting snooze or running late for a variety of reasons was likely) to pack my gym bag and workout essentials, I took a few minutes the night before and got everything ready. I even started putting my gym bag in my trunk the night before so I wouldn’t worry about leaving it behind if I was in a rush the next morning. This small change helped add up to some seriously consistent workouts. So simple, right? If you’re an AM workout gal, this same approach will help keep you on track for those pre-dawn workouts. Pack your bag the night before with everything you’ll need in the morning for the gym and what you’ll need to get ready for work at the gym after your workout. I swear this small changes made a huge impact on my consistency!
– All or nothing approach to nutrition..
Does “The diet starts Monday…” sound familiar to any of you? From personal experience and what I hear from my clients plus interacting with people on social media, this excuse is more common than not. I know I’ve said those words more times than I care to count (and have since stopped using the word “diet” but that’s another blog in itself).
I used to start out each week intent on staying “on track” with my healthy meals, convinced that I would stick to this stricter regimen. At some point during the week/end if I strayed from the plan, I’d simply brush it off with “Well, I already messed up my diet, may as well eat whatever and just start over Monday!” and then proceed to eat whatever I wanted until the next Monday morning rolled around. There would still be some healthy food mixed in, but definitely more desserts than necessary. My rationale? I figured if I’d gone off track one day that I’d ruined the meal plan for the week so what was the point in following the plan the remainder of the week? Silly, I know, but this is an excuse I used to make and still hear from others far too often.
How I got rid of this excuse:
The all or nothing approach was a vicious cycle that did not earn me results I wanted. Once I realized I wasn’t being realistic to my lifestyle, I embraced a more balanced approach. If I grab a burger or dessert, I now pick up with my regularly scheduled healthy options at the very next meal, not the next day or the next Monday that rolls around. Life happens and sometimes you’re going to have a slice of pizza even if it’s not listed on the plan your trainer created for you. Just don’t let one meal off plan lead to a slippery slope of a series of poor nutritional choices. This is another prime example of how consistency truly is key and that it’s what we do the majority of the time that adds up to results.
– after work, things pop up (plan ahead and grab your workout in the AM a few days a week…since you can control how you handle your mornings and not if work runs late or kids need to be picked up early, etc)
Who has time for meal prep and cooking so much food? Ugh, healthy eating can be so time consuming!
This is another common excuse that I hear on a regular basis and one that I’ve also used. For those that get their Sunday meal prep on and have everything prepared and lined up in Tupperware for the week ahead, I commend you for your organization, cooking skills and efforts. Seriously. However, if meal prepping your entire week out ahead of time isn’t in the cards for you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have some healthy options prepared and ready to go.
How I ditched this excuse:
OK, so I didn’t turn into a culinary wizard overnight, but I did get realistic about what I eat the majority of the time, what I’m likely to grab when on the go (healthy options are everywhere these days!) and what I can whip up in the kitchen in the least amount of time. Instead of cooking every meal I started by having 1-2 protein options already cooked and ready to go. Most often this was chicken breast and some sort of frittata or egg white muffins that I could easily prepare ahead of time and have last me several days. I started to make one protein smoothie a day (it’s one of my favorites of the day and literally takes one minute to prepare) because I could blend that and take it with me on the go (a scoop of Cellucor whey, a banana, some ice, tablespoon of almond butter, light almond milk and blend!) for a healthy, simple option. Keeping snacks on hand to eat such as almonds, cashews, Greek yogurt (I’ll mix some berries in with my plain Greek yogurt and top with some diced almonds for an easy meal option) helps save time and ensures that I’ll always have something healthy on hand. I love salads but hate wasting veggies, so to help with prep time I will chop up whatever veggies I want for salads or stir fry for the next few days (think broccoli, bell peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, etc.) and store them (separately from one another) in a sealed container or baggie so that they are chopped and ready to go when it’s meal time. These quick fixes for meal prep have helped establish a whole new level of consistency to my healthy eating.
How I got rid of this excuse:
- My time at the gym is having a serious effect on my social life!
Feel like you’re spending more time with the weights than out with your friends, a date, or social events these days? I often hear this or similar excuses and that people begin to hold a grudge against their workouts because they “no longer have a life” outside of the gym. As soon as I realized I was annoyed by my workouts cutting into my social life, I knew I had to make some changes.
- How I got rid of this excuse: I started to involve some of my friends in my fitness. One of my favorite ways to combine catching up with a friend and working on my fitness is to grab a friend and head outdoors for some workout fun and chat. Whether just a power walk around the neighborhood, a bike ride, hike or workout at a nearby park, this is a great way to combine a workout while spending time with a loved one. Another thing I love to do is coordinate social events with rest days (we all take them, may as well maximize them!) as scheduling in rest day dates so I’ll have something fun to look forward to for the weekend helps keep a good balance of fitness, fun and weekend events.
I’m so busy, I just don’t have any time to workout for hours every day!
Ahh, the “I don’t have time for an hour or more at the gym each day” excuse. Yep, I’ve been there. Again, thinking that an all or nothing approach would be helpful (so many people skip out on a gym session if they don’t have enough time to get in their normal workout) is just mind boggling but nevertheless, I’ve been there and know countless others who have too. I’ve even had people message me asking if they only have 20 minutes a day to workout, is it even worth it or are they just wasting their time? Of course it is! Even five minutes of your time spent on a workout is better than nothing!
- I don’t have time…Start with five minutes each day, then go for 10, 15, 20…it’s all about getting started and making your health & fitness a priority. I completely understand that an hour at the gym five days a week isn’t going. Job starts before dawn, have a ton of responsibilities and don’t feel right about carving out a few minutes for yourself? Trust me, I’ve been there, too. Every little bit does truly count, so if you don’t think you have any time, set aside five minutes one morning before work. The next week set aside 10 and then go from there. Once you start the habit and feel the positive effects of squeezing in workouts whenever your schedule allows, you’ll be hooked.
How I got rid of this excuse:
I had to face the facts and understand that days don’t always go according to plan. Schedules change last minute, things pop up, sometimes you have to cut the workout short or only have 15 minutes to get it done. So, if I’m left with only a spare 15 minutes, instead of skipping out on a workout altogether I make every bit count. If i’m that pressed for time i know that a gym workout isn’t going to be practical, so I’ll do a home workout instead.
Here’s one of my favorite “No Excuses, Just Results!” workouts that can be done anywhere- no equipment needed!
Grab a timer and enough open space to perform a burpee, then get ready to work! This workout is designed to challenge you while being ultra efficient. Set the timer for 15 minutes and challenge yourself to perform at least 3 rounds of the circuit listed below.
Perform one set of each exercise back to back for 30 seconds.Once you’ve completed one full round of the sweaty circuit below, rest briefly (1 minute max), and then repeat the circuit for another 3-5 rounds. Each circuit is 5 minutes of fast-paced, fat burning fun. Ready, set…work it!
– Burpees
– Jump squats
– Push-ups with side plank rotation (alternating sides throughout)
– Table top hip thrusters
– Plank jacks
– Side to side squats (squat to right, back to middle, squat to left, repeat)
– Side forearm plank with dip (30 sec/side)