Stop Making Excuses Not to Jog

Jogging is a healthy activity that helps to improve your cardiovascular system, helps you to lose weight, and helps you to keep in shape. In addition, it helps to increase your stamina and endurance, and can contribute to stronger bones. With all of these benefits and many more, why then is it so hard to get out there and maintain a jogging streak? Reasons for putting off jogging include feeling tired, the temperature outdoors being "wrong", pain, and not finding the time.

Each of these excuses and more can be rebutted provided you know both what's stopping you and what's likely to get you motivated again. So here are some "cures" for excuses.

Steps

1. Put yourself first. A principal reason for not exercising is basically not putting yourself at the top of the day's agenda. With jobs, Get Through Chores, meetings, kids to raise, and studies to complete, there are many obligations clawing at us. And yet, you deserve this quality exercise time and moreover, it is a good idea to start telling yourself that all those people counting on you need you to be in your best condition so that you can actually keep meeting their needs!
   • Sports psychology consultant Karen Dieffenbach, PhD, says that self-care is at the heart of caring for others and that you need to be a good friend to yourself first by giving yourself this time.
   • Regular exercise brings emotional and physical health to the forefront of your life and increases your ability to cope with situations that confront you daily.
2. Remember that your mental energy is dependent on your physical energy being in good shape. This means that the tiredness excuse is often your mental energy speaking; intellectually exhausting work can make your body feel worn out too but the great news is that exercising can rev up the body and reduce the mental tired feelings considerably. Get your blood circulating again and slough off some of that mental exhaustion with a good jog!
   • One key way to get around feeling tired before you exercise is to give yourself permission to call it quits if you're still feeling very tired after 10 minutes. In this case, you probably are both physically and mentally tired and need to rest properly (get to bed early). However, try your best to do the first 10 minutes before giving in to the feeling of being too tired.
   • Be prepared to be flexible. Sometimes life will get in the way of your scheduled exercise time. Don't sweat it; simply rearrange for that day or period of time but don't forgo the exercise altogether.
3. Get the right gear. Part of the Make Jogging Fun experience is looking the part. When you look good and feel comfortable, you're more inclined to feel motivated to get out there and start jogging. Buy a new pair of running shoes and some lightweight, comfortable, and attractive running clothes. Think about how great it will feel to run in these new items and how you can't let them go to waste!
   • For women, one excuse can be that jogging with large breasts causes pain. The response to this is to get fitted with an excellent Buy a Good Sports Bra that will support your breasts adequately. A resistant bra made from elastic material will have both support and give. Ask a bra-fitting specialist to get you sorted and you won't have this excuse anymore.
   • If you don't know what to wear, ask the retailer at the store selling running gear. They'll help you out. Or, check out websites for suitable running gear. The main thing is to wear something comfortable for your body and to have supportive running shoes.
4. Reflect on the benefits of jogging. There are many benefits and they are all worthwhile; keeping the benefits in mind can serve as good motivators especially where you have specific goals in place. To whet your appetite, here are just some of the benefits:
   • Jogging improves your Measure Your Cardiovascular Fitness: This means that your heart, lungs, and vascular system become better at delivering oxygen to your muscles, while your lung capacity improves and you can take in more oxygen with each breath. Ultimately, your muscles benefit and as a result, you will find that you have a reduced likelihood of getting heart disease, increases in endurance ability, and reduced body fat. You will also find increases in your good cholesterol (HDL) levels and reduced risk of cancer.
   • Jogging reduces your blood pressure: Again, this can help to reduce your risks of heart disease and heart attacks.
   • Jogging brings improved endurance: When your body is able to use oxygen more efficiently, you will find you have more energy. Thus, the longer you persevere with jogging, the greater your endurance becomes and the longer you can jog (and do other physical activities).
   • Jogging produces endorphins: You can actually break bad habits like smoking and excessive drinking by replacing them with the habit of jogging, a "positive addiction", leaving you happier and healthier. And the "legal high" produced by many jogs (not all of them will produce enough endorphins to make you feel great but many will) makes this a rewarding exercise activity.
   • Jogging is fair: Whatever your size, age, or gender, you can jog. Moreover, jogging can increase your self-esteem and confidence through achievement, and it can give you the energy to take up any other sport that interests you.
   • Jogging relieves stress. Focusing solely on jogging prevents wipes away any other thoughts. It boosts serotonin levels which makes you more relaxed and much more positive. when you focus solely on running, you actually stop thinking about anything else.
   • Jogging improves your mental health.
   • Jogging improves your immune system
   • Jogging is excellent for self-discipline and goal-setting: All forms of running are improved by setting goals and working toward gradual self-improvement. By continuing to practice, you instill good self-discipline and by setting goals for competing against yourself (not against others), you can measure your progress.
   • Jogging provides you with the opportunity to get outside, see the environment around you, and to spend time doing reflective thinking.
   • And at the end of a good jog, you have every reason to soak in a hot bath. Finally but importantly, you'll find your sleep much improved.
5. Stop Setting Yourself up for Failure. When starting to jog as a beginner or going back to jogging after a break, having too much ambition about where you're planning to get with your jogging can stall it before it even starts. If you're afraid you'll fail because you've set yourself too big a task, recognize that you're sabotaging your chances and pull back to simply trying your best and looking to enjoy the experience. Avoid telling yourself that you think it'll become boring, painful, or too hard; this can become self-fulfilling. Instead, tell yourself that you want to do this because it's fun, it's beneficial, and that you will allow yourself to ease into it gradually and build up over time.
   • One excuse could easily be that you are Handle Disappointment because you can't jog for more than five minutes. Turn this around on itself and ask yourself why you need to jog more than five minutes anyway. For a beginner, five minutes is way better than no minutes! Accept that it's normal to breathe faster and to feel exhausted after only a few minutes when it's all new to you. Instead of panicking and giving it up as bad for you, slow right down and alternate it with an easier pace, including walking. Start small and only do what you can, building up very gradually.
   • Remember – there is no right or wrong speed to jog and there is nobody monitoring your speed. If you need to jog, walk, jog, walk for weeks or even months until you feel your rhythm kick in, so be it. Don't sweat it, just be sure to persevere.
6. Stay Hydrated During the Summer. It is important to drink water before, during, and after your jogging activity. You will sweat a lot when you begin to jog and water will replenish what you lose. If you don't replenish it, your muscles feel fatigued and you'll feel tired. Buy a comfortable and convenient water vessel that you can wear easily as you jog.
7. Deal with pain. Pain is a major source of dissuasion from any activity in life, jogging included. It is important to source the reason for pain and deal with it adequately so that you can remove this excuse from the list. Some reasons for pain might include:
   • You're not warming up enough before jogging. Warming-up stretches will help to flex your muscles and prevent you from harming them as you jog. Be sure to warm up and warm down prior to and after jogging.
   • Stay adequately hydrated. As outlined above, keeping your liquids up is important; muscles that are fatigued will cause you painful responses.
   • A deep pain in your chest after jogging may indicate that you're not eating enough or you're eating too much, or that you're not breathing correctly during the workout. Try to eat a banana or have a glass of juice half an hour before working out. During jogging, pay attention to each breath and breath regularly and deeply.
   • Hurting knees can happen where your muscles are under too much pressure. Stretch for ten minutes before jogging.
   • Your feet hurt. This could be a sign that your shoes are not comfortable and are not providing enough cushioning. Look for a more comfortable pair and make sure that they fit properly.
8. Be ready for the temperature extremes. If one of your excuses is that it's too hot or too cold to go jogging, it's important to work around that as much as possible, to ensure you're still getting out there and doing so safely.
   • If it's hot outside, wear appropriate clothing that wicks away the sweat and have plenty of water to keep you hydrated. Avoid jogging in the middle of the day when the sun is at its hottest. You may need to adjust your schedule to find the coolest part of the day. Don't push yourself too hard and obviously, steer clear of jogging on really hot days.
   • If it's cold outside, and there's ice all over the roads: Too bad! Scope out a trail where there is very little to no ice, and dress up in warm lightweight jogging clothes. If not, jog back and forth on a section of trail that is ice free or even make your own jogging trail in the Explore Your Backyard.
9. Find a jogging partner. With a little motivation from another living being, anything is possible. Your jogging partner can be a relative (brother, sister, mother, father), a friend, a coworker, or a neighbor. You might even want to Exercise Your Dog. Find someone or some being who can motivate you and in turn you can motivate them, and be determined to enjoy yourselves.
   • If your kids have become an excuse for why you're not getting out there, bring them along. Put them in the buggy and push, or choose a space where you can jog around them while keeping an eye on them if they're too young to jog too. The repetitive nature of jogging in circles is worth it when the kids are in the outdoors with you, seeing you exercising. When they're old enough to jog, have them join in. Also, have a spouse or friend tag-team if you both want to jog - share the Select a Child Care Giver arrangement in turns while the other jogs.
   • Use time spent waiting for kids at sports to do your own exercise. Circle their sports field as many times as time permits.
10. Get out there. The biggest excuse is that you feel overwhelmed. All the above excuses have responses. For the feeling of being overwhelmed, the answer is always Choose a Definitive Course of Action. Just make yourself get out there and do a little something. You will be much happier with yourself if you actually make the attempt and it's more than likely that once you've hurdled your mental state of confusion, the jogging will restore clarity and you'll be able to keep going with the feeling that you're glad you made the effort after all.
    • Accept that there will be good days and bad days when jogging. Not all runs will end in a high; some will probably leave you feeling crotchety and ready for bed. However, in the overall scheme of things, it's likely that your jogging experience will be good to great more times than not, and this balances out the less desirable days. You can say the same about most of your daily activities, so it's important to be accepting. Moreover, by being consistent, you allow yourself the room to have sluggish days without throwing in the towel; slow down but don't give up.
    • Every new jog is a new experience. That's part of the fun and adventure and can also be part of what surprises you as a beginner. Expect it and it'll be easier for you to understand when things don't go according to what you'd hoped.
    • Schedule time by putting it in your diary. Have the time beep, leap out at you, or interrupt you – do whatever works to remind you!

Tips

• Make a schedule.
• Cull the TV watching. Everyone can do with less TV in their lives and more action!
• Eat a healthy diet. The reality is that if you feed yourself junk, your body will give you junk performance. Tend to your body with healthy foods, and the exercising will be easier and more beneficial.
• Use music to help your jogging experience. If you're enjoying listening to music, it will increase the fun of your exercise experience.
• Be realistic about the impact jogging will have on your body. Regardless of your exercise activity, you have the body you're born with. You won't miraculously achieve a body shape different from the one you have because of exercise. However, regular, consistent jogging will leave you leaner, in good shape for your body type, and feeling much healthier.
• Set baby goals to begin with. This is far better than flunking out completely.
• Consider jogging to work and catching the train or bus home. This is a great way to "fit in" your jogging and reduce your car usage at the same time.
• Listen to Audio Books. The better the book, the quicker you will want to go jogging again.
• Consider your time of day carefully. Many runners and joggers find early morning exercise much easier and more enjoyable than exercise later in the day. The great thing about early-morning exercise is the energy boost it leaves you with for the rest of the day.
• Wear your running shorts as underwear. Olympic marathon runner Galloway does this, so there's no excuse for not getting started!
• Some experts believe that it takes about 7 years to reach the point at which you're running the fastest you ever can. So, that gives you a good idea as to why it's important to be patient, consistent, and methodical!

Warnings

• Be careful while listening to music; make sure to exercise situational awareness and watch for vehicles and other people. lf you do decide to listen to music, try using only one ear bud or playing the music quietly so that you can safely hear the world around you.
• Avoid throwing a plethora of excuses at yourself. When you have too many reasons for not jogging, too many "I should be doing X, Y, Z", you will end up being so confused that you won't go jogging. Lay aside other commitments and treat the need to exercise as sacrosanct, especially since your physical health feeds into your ability to do everything else.
• If you have chronic back, knee, ankle or hip problems talk to a doctor, preferably a doctor who is familiar with sports injuries, before taking up jogging. It may do more harm than good if you have bad joints or back. It also might be possible to work within suggested limits to help those physical problems but don't just dive in without medical supervision unless you're just normal and sedentary.
• It is always a good idea to see your doctor before commencing a new exercise regime.

Things You'll Need

• Diary to set aside time
• Suitable, comfortable jogging clothing
• Hydration - bottle, water, carrying pack
• Good locations for jogging
• A jogging pal

Related Articles

• Stop Making Excuses
• Start Jogging
• Start Jogging in Your Backyard
• Jog in Cold Weather
• Enjoy Jogging
• Stop Making Excuses for Your Weight
• Breathe Correctly During Exercising

Sources and Citations

See also

• Control Breathing While Running
• Clean Smelly Sneakers
• Start Jogging
• Choose Running Shoes
• Jog in Cold Weather
• Breathe While Running
• Jog Without Any Lower Back Pain
• Take an Inch off Your Thighs
• Improve Your Mile Time
• Avoid Cramps While Running

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What links here

• Breathe Correctly During Exercising
• Stop Making Excuses for Your Weight