THE EXERCISE-A-PHOBE'S GUIDE TO BEING ACTIVE

I wish I could jump up at 6am and go for a run or drag myself to the gym 7 times a week, but I just don’t like exercise and I can’t make myself do it! Not all of us can be exercise lovers- and I’m certainly NOT! Although, however much I’d like to stay on my sofa and watch Netflix endlessly or sit scrolling through Pinterest dreaming of having my perfect body and fooling myself that I’ll start eating all these low fat/ gluten free/ super healthy super foods I know that I have to compromise otherwise I’ll easily end up 20st and VERY unhappy! So if you’re like me and you’re not very keen on exercise here is my guide to being more active from an exercise-a-phobe! 

I’ve never really liked getting up and being physical and I believe that it stems from a number of factors (other than me just being a bit too lazy!) and the first is that I had an evil P.E teacher (and I mean really evil). Throughout my whole high school I used to dread P.E and tried every excuse in the book to avoid it as I was regularly ridiculed because I could never do the different sports we studied. As well as this, I had bad asthma and whenever I have an inkling of motivation and I set out on a jog or tried an at home work out, 9 time out of 10 I ended up having an asthma attack -some minor some more serious, and YES it scared me! (and still does). That’s my biggest hurdle with exercise. Yes, I know that the more exercise you do the better your asthma becomes as it strengthens your lungs but what people don’t understand when reminding me of this little fact is that you have to go through a lot of attacks (which if you have asthma will know are not nice at all!) to even see the smallest of results. So whether you’re lazy, don’t like exercise, have asthma or a combination  of the 3, or something else completely read these tips and tricks that I try and do to not become a complete couch potato.

This might sound silly but people underestimate how tiring it is scrubbing the house top to bottom. Although this isn’t the conventional kind of exercise it will help towards making you more active, and less lazy.  So on a regular basis get up and set to work on some of those household tasks that you put off like wiping down and sorting the kitchen cupboards, or bleaching the bathroom tiles. They’ll keep you busy, you’ll be up and down the stairs or back and forth getting cleaning products and you’re body will benefit from a bit of an arm work out. 

I’m bad for this! I don’t walk places enough.  This can be a nice stroll with your partner on a Sunday, or setting out for a more vigorous walk up a hill or even just choosing to walk the 20/ 30 minutes to the shops over getting a lift or getting the bus. It’s easy- If you make a more conscious effort to walk places, no matter the size you’ll feel tonnes better; and the good thing about walking is you can take it as slow as you like so you’re not breathless. 

When I previously boosted my healthy eating and became more active I used to regularly scroll through YouTube on the hunt for beginner workouts. These aren’t always hard some of the yoga/ pilates ones are easy and don’t get you too worked up. Take the time to try some videos out and see what works for you then maybe do it a few times a week. 

Have boogie or go and play a fun game of badminton or even for a splash with your friends, or your partner. We’re all big kids really and going for a swim or for a dance is perfect! Its fun, it doesn’t feel like exercise and it doesn’t leave us hating the world haha. 

These are only little pointers, and of course there is far more possibilities out there but these are just my pointers for the people who really hate to exercise. Once you’ve tried these who knows, it could give you a taste for being physical and you might like to take it a step further.

Remember, 'something' is better than 'nothing'!

If you have any tips or pointers about how to stay active, comment below- I’d love to know what you guys do, and get some new ideas!