As a Personal Trainer in Calgary for the past decade, one of the most common excuses I hear is that people are tired, unmotivated and lack the energy to exercise.  This becomes a habit that leads you down the slippery slope of weight gain, poor health, and unhappiness with your mind and your body.  Short of hiring a Personal Trainer to pick you up and drag you through each workout, you need to figure out a solution to get your butt in gear!

The good news is that I have a simple solution for you.

Do you feel like exercise is an uphill battle some days?

If you find yourself in this “low energy” or lazy situation, just show up and do SOMETHING for 15 minutes.  The chosen activity must require you to move your body for the entire time, but doesn’t have to be intense of difficult.  Think of it as an extended warm-up.

How does this help?  Well, most of the time you will feel better after 15 minutes, your energy will improve and you will be able to continue with your workout.

That means you rescued a potential missed workout from the trash heap of procrastination!  Congratulations, you are miles ahead of those people who gave in to their lethargy and decided to spend their time on Facebook or laying on the couch flipping channels!

After 15 minutes, if you still don’t feel better, then you are free to stop and call it a day.  Hey, at least you got in a few minutes of activity!  That’s better than if you had never started in the first place!

The hidden bonus of this behavior trick is that it programs you to build a healthy ROUTINE of making TIME for exercise on a regular basis (ideally daily).  This is the key to long-term results and making a true LIFESTYLE change rather than continually fighting with exercise because you consider it a chore that must be suffered through a few times a week (if you are lucky)!

So, next time you feel sluggish or unmotivated to exercise, try this simple, yet highly effective trick.  It’s something that I’ve used many times over the years and that I teach my Calgary Personal Training clients.

Tim Borys is a Calgary Personal Trainer and owner of FRESH! Fitness.  His expert team of Personal Trainers specialize in Fitness Training, Nutrition Coaching, and Metabolism Testing that will get you “Fit for the Sport of Life!”