10 Excuses for Missing Exercise Class

Numerous articles appear in newspapers and magazines, on websites and blogs about the importance of exercise, especially for older folks. As an older folk, I often prefer to lounge on the couch rather than do almost anything involving bodily movement. Some days strolling to the kitchen for a cup of coffee qualifies as my daily exercise.

Confession: I am an erratic exerciser. I try for consistency but am weak, with not enough willpower, motivation, endurance, energy, or whatever, to maintain a regular schedule. Thinking about attending an exercise class or considering a walk or any physical activity doesn’t move the body. Good intentions don’t count. Olympic athletes and super jocks aside, there are times some of us, and probably most of us, are not in the mood to sweat and exert ourselves, our minds not ‘into’ moving energetically on a particular day.

So we make excuses for NOT exercising. 

What if an individual is not creative enough to formulate excuses? There are, as far as I know, no self-help articles on excuses, justifications, or reasons to forego exercise. Until now.

I have a lot of experience missing exercise classes and have amassed a plethora of justifications. The majority are weak excuses, I humbly admit, but if you seek reasons to avoid the hard work, feel free to use one or more of mine. 

In no special order, here are 10 Excuses for Missing Exercise Class. 

1. I need the extra time to clean the house. Company is coming.
2. I cannot abandon my visitors; they will be in town for a short time.
3. My alarm did not go off and I missed my early morning class. The rest of the day is tightly programmed, with no time to reschedule.
4. Weather excuses: It is too cold and dark to venture out early in the morning (a seasonal excuse). Or too hot (although the gym is air-conditioned, it gets warmer and more uncomfortable as the temperature and humidity outside rises and more folks crowd the gym). Or severe rainstorms make driving treacherous. 
5. I forgot to do laundry and have no clean exercise clothes.
6. I am too tired and sore from over-exercising yesterday/the day before yesterday/three days ago.
7. I am traveling, so I cannot attend class. Much as I should work out while away, there is not enough space in my hotel/motel/Airbnb/family quarters. 
8. I have an early appointment/meeting and would not have time to shower and change if I exercised.
9. It is a holiday, the gym is closed, and I might as well take the day off too.
10. I stayed up late the night before watching a great movie/attending a meeting/going out with friends and need extra sleep before tackling the day.

And so it goes, one step forward then two steps back, with little measurable success (weight loss? Inches lost? Improved stamina? Stronger yoga pose?)…My workout life!

To those silent souls who do not like to exercise, I hear you. We are a silent minority. Or are we a majority embarrassed to discuss our apathy, our indifference, our total lack of enthusiasm about exercise? 

I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any. – Mark Twain