You're never too busy to reap the rewards of regular exercise

I know I know!! No need to whine to me! It's hard to exercise every day. You aren't different from me or anyone else! It's a tough job being alive, isn't it? But don't you dare sit there and give me the old "but I'm busy, I have kids, I have this." Those excuses have one thing in common, they are EXCUSES and an excuse to be lazy to boot. Besides, did you ever stop to consider that you come across as annoying and self-righteous to whomever you are telling that excuse to? That's right, you heard me, you are basically telling whoever is listening to your sob story that you are more important than they are because you are too busy to exercise. And I hate to break it to you, but you aren't more important, you're just being lazy. So either, decide you want to commit, or be honest with yourself and everyone else and own up to the fact you want to be lazy. But also own up to the fact that you'd be a lot happier, look better, feel better, and live longer for those aforementioned kids if you would start exercising!

For this month's challenge, I'm not asking you to put in 2 hours a day at the gym, just move for 30 minutes. I posted some simple ways to get extra time in last post, but as if that didn't sound easy enough to you, you can get your 30 minutes by simply taking a 10 minute walk after lunch, taking another 10 minute walk after dinner (take the kids, exercise is beneficial for everyone, not just adults) or toss the football around with them, and then do a light stretching routine for 10 minutes before you go to bed. There! Don't you feel great! You just put in 30 minutes into your already packed day. You know the saying "if you want something done, give it to a busy person." Well, that goes for exercise too! If you really wanted to exercise you wouldn't be giving me these excuses. And that's what they are, excuses for sitting around on your lazy bum! Your lazy bum that is getting larger and larger the more it just sits there.

Regular, daily exercise reaps huge benefits.

Mayo Clinic posted an article about 7 benefits of regular exercise. Basically, you'll constantly be in a better mood, sleep better, reduce your chance of cardiovascular disease, fight off illness, manage weight, revamp your sex life, and you can even have fun while doing it! See article here. I for one can attest to the positive benefits as since I started regular exercise, I have had more energy and a more positive outlook on life. It's amazing how much better you can feel. And I can guarantee that just after 2 weeks, you'll be dying to fit in the time into your busy schedule.

So, now you're thinking "ok, I'm game, but how do I get started and stick with it?" Simple! Pick something you'll enjoy doing, get other people involved, put exercise "appointments" on your calendar, make a work out date, but most importantly, just get up off your butt! If you put your workout clothes on, half the battle is over. And once you're out there, you'll be glad you did it. Never once will you be sitting on your couch thinking "gee, I'm really glad I didn't work out today." However, on that other hand, if you force yourself out there, I can guarantee you'll be thinking "gee, I'm really glad I decided to get out and do this today."

If you get out there every day this month, I can literally guarantee you'll feel better, have better self-esteem and be happier at the end of this month that you have been in a long time. It's only one month! You can do it! But I can bet you won't want to stop once February comes along!

Photo credit: nutrexsolutions.com