What Stops Daily Exercise?

I try to exercise everyday. Doing so allows me to feel better than I would if I didn’t exercise. Benefits of daily exercise include:

• Being able to sleep better;

• Being in a better mood;

• Being able to get more sedentary work done;

• Being physically healthier;

• Presumably living longer;

• And it seems, getting sick less often and less severely.

I haven’t always exercised as regularly as I do now, but over the past couple of decades I’ve learned how to exercise daily. Like we did before, let’s make a list of the things that stop daily exercise and then by doing the opposite, we’ll have a list of things that encourage exercise. I’ll use this format for the headings:

Thing that stops daily exercise → Thing that encourages daily exercise

Now one big issue to deal with right off the bat here is the frequency of exercise. I could write this blog past as, “What Stops Daily Exercise?” Or I could write it as, “What Stops Exercise?” Since I don’t know if daily exercise would be ideal for you, I’m not sure that I should write the post this way, but I’m going to take a guess here. I’m going to guess that daily exercise is best for you like it is for me. I have a feeling this is probably more true for males than for females, but you tell me in the comments below.

Here we go.

Don’t understand the benefits → Understand the benefits.

If you don’t understand the benefits of daily exercise, you won’t know that daily exercise would help you. There is a chicken and egg problem here. The only way to know if you would benefit from daily exercise is to actually do it. Even reading this blog post won’t teach you what you need to know.

Daily exercise may not have the same benefits to you as it does me. Or it may have different benefits. The only way to know how exercise can help you is to try it.

No space to exercise → Space to exercise

If you live in a congested neighborhood, it will be harder for you to run and bike right from your home. Biking and running is better with fewer obstacles, especially cars.

If you live in a tiny home or on a tiny property, you may lack the space to conveniently exercise. Getting in your workout may require going somewhere else. This added barrier may be enough to sink your daily workout.

No safe place exercise → Safe place to exercise

If you live in a dangerous neighborhood, you will be less like to run or bike from your home. Moving to a safer neighborhood will increase your opportunities for convenient exercise.

No gym → Gym

Obviously if you don’t have a gym membership or a home gym, you’re not going to be exercising in a gym. Gyms are like libraries. Once you get into the library you find motivation to learn. Once in a gym you find motivation to exercise.

Lacks mental stimulation → Mentally stimulated

If exercise is boring for you, you’re not going to be motivated to exercise. Finding creative ways to make exercise mentally stimulating is really important. In a home gym, streaming a movie or TV show can make all the difference. Reading a book as you spin or walk on the treadmill can keep some people going for hours. Music is an obvious mental stimulator. Take time to setup your sound system even it’s just your favorite songs on your phone.

Dull environment → Inspiring environment

Working out in a dull space doesn’t work for me. Better is to be inspired by natural or urban beauty, fresh air, clean water and interesting terrain.

Not feeling well → Feeling well

If you have a headache or just ate giant bowl of ice cream you’re probably not going to feel like exercising very intensely. A big part of being able to exercise is eating food that allows you to exercise. What this means to you will probably differ from me, but I need to be hydrated, not too full and preferably without a headache.

If I do have a headache I find that I can often get rid of it by exercising, but my workout routine will have to accommodate the headache. This means warming up, taking breaks, hydrating, cycling up in intensity, stretching out, until eventually I’ve “broken through” the headache.

Not enough time → Have time

You can probably find 15 minutes to exercise each day. Often I get to the end of my day, and I haven’t exercised. In this case I do an “emergency workout.” Depending on my environment, these workouts can include

• Three one-minute sprints down my street;

• Three high-intensity two-minute runs around the block;

• A four-minute row on my rowing machine;

• A one-mile run on the treadmill;

• Three 1-2 minute jump rope intervals;

• Three sets of push-up, sit-ups or pull-ups;

• Playing basketball or “ultimate” frisbee with my kids;

These workouts might only be 10 minutes long, preceded by a five-minute warm-up, but they help me sleep and improve my mood.

Not planned in travel → Planned into travel

When on vacation, we like to vary our activities between athletic and intellectual. We might spend one day at a museum and the next day doing a hike or other outdoor activity. Rather than driving 8 hours per day on a family road trip, we drive for four hours a day, taking a long lunch break to have a picnic and ride our mountain bikes. If nothing else, I try to hit the hotel gym or do a couple of sprints in the hotel parking lot.

Doing the same thing → Varying the type of exercise

If you only have one type of exercise you do, then you probably won’t be able to exercise everyday or won’t be motivated to exercise everyday. If you only run, your legs will get tired of daily running. To promote more exercise, try swimming one day. Try biking the next. Try strength training another. This variation will allow you to do some form of exercise everyday. This is why triathletes like triathlon training. The variety of running, biking and swimming promotes more exercise. The same can be said for CrossFitters.

Inconvenience of showering and changing clothes → Evening exercise

If you have to take an extra shower when you exercise or have to change clothes one extra time per day, you’ll probably reduce the likelihood of daily exercise. Working out after work allows you to avoid this hassle.

Car commute → Bike commute

A car commute can be a workout killer. Sitting in traffic is hard, especially for men. The combination of a long commute, and a full-day of sitting at a computer terminal can lead to feeling unmotivated to exercise. One way to avoid this trap is to live within bike commuting distance to work. Riding your bike to work may not be the safest form of exercise, but can be one of the most exhilarating. Nothing beats the morning adrenaline rush of racing cars and other bikers on your way to the morning meeting. Biggest downside of bike commuting is that it messes up your hair and gets you sweaty. If you can afford that, a daily bike commute can be the easiest way to guarantee daily exercise.

The part-time job of dating → Multitasking dating and exercise

If you’re in the dating market, dating can be a workout killer. After work you’ve got to meet your eHarmony date. There’s probably no way to incorporate your eHarmony date into your workout, but you could ride your bike to the date. Or you could quit eHarmony and join a gym, a run club, a CrossFit gym, or a triathlon club. Meeting your partner through these activities might be more satisfying and lead you to have more in common in the long run.

Kids extracurriculars → Multitasking at your kids practice

If you’re taking your kids to swim or soccer practice you may end up sitting around watching your kids practice like most parents do. This usually involves catching up on your reading or taking a mental break, but you could jump in the swimming pool yourself or do a few laps around the soccer field. In fact, when my kids were learning how to swim, I was able to get 1000 yards of swimming in each week for a number of years straight. I made their exercise routine, my exercise routine.

Sedentary family activities → Athletic family activities

One thing I don’t like about church is that it’s sedentary. I also don’t like playdates because I don’t get to play. I prefer athletic family activities such as biking, hiking, swimming, basketball, pickle ball, frisbee, running, soccer, skiing, etc. Some athletic family activities can also help toughen your kids: a bike or hike to the top of some tall hill or small mountain for example.

Too hot or too cold → Temperature within range

If the weather is too hot or too cold, you’ll be limited in your exercise options. Waking up early or working out long after sundown can allow cooler temperatures. Moving to a more temperature climate is another option. Or embracing winter sports such as alpine skiing, nordic skiing, hockey, and ice skating can bring about more daily exercise.

Countercultural identity → Non-traditional sports

If you don’t fit into mainstream culture, your motivation to do mainstream sports will be more limited. In this case you could try non-traditional sports like rock climbing, surfing, paddling, skateboarding, yoga, snowboarding, MMA, boxing, CrossFit, etc. Of course many of these sports have become mainstream, but compared to baseball, football, soccer and basketball they are less traditional and might fit you better.

Need therapy → Hike uphill with a friend

If you’re not in a good place in your life, exercising in a gym or by yourself may not do it for you. Instead, try scheduling a hiking date with a good friend. Sometimes an hour-long conversation while hiking up a large hill can make your day. This works well for husband and wife, and for families too. If you don't have a nearby hill to climb or a beautiful spot to enjoy, just get outside and walk. The mental health benefits to just walking and talking can be significant, even if just in the parking lot at work.

What did I leave out?

This list is not complete. What stops you from exercising? What are some things that help you exercise more regularly?