Exercise: Men and their
Excuses!
Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Men who emulate Homer
Simpson by having a
near-permanent presence
on the sofa set, in
front of the television,
and avoid any form of
physical activities are
putting themselves at a
high health risk with
such an inactive
lifestyle. Sedentary
lifestyles have been
found to be a
significant contributor
to obesity and its
related diseases. We ask
Mr Lim Hun Teck,
Senior Physiotherapist
at Raffles Physiotherapy
Centre why some men are
so resistant to the idea
of exercising.
Excuses for Not
Exercising
1. “I don’t have time to
exercise”
Exercise could be one of
the most important
things you can do for
your health today. Make
time for exercises. Instead of flopping down
in a chair while
watching the news or
your favourite show, be
active. Make use of the
time to do workout, for
example, cycling on a
stationary bicycle, do
crunches, leg lifts or
carry weights. Use the
time in your car to
tighten and tone your
abdomen muscles with
isometric stomach
exercises. Walk up the
stairs instead of using
the elevator. Exercise
does not have to be a
solid hour at the gym.
2. “I don’t have the
right equipment at home”
You do not need
equipment to exercise. A
brisk walk around the
block is good for you -
and burns over 200
calories.
Vacuuming your carpets
can burn nearly as much.
Flip on your radio or pop in your favourite high-energy CD
and dance. Exercise
means being active. Just
do it.
3. “I can’t afford a
membership to the gym”
If you would rather
exercise at the gym (and
have access to their
fitness machines), there
are a lot of ways to
make it more affordable. There are many neighbourhood fitness
centres that are either
managed by the Singapore
Sports Council or by the
NTUC Income. These centres charge a lower
fee as compared to other
gyms and they have most
of the equipment.
4. “But exercise is such
a chore!”
Says who? Make getting
your daily exercise fun. Play a game. Go dancing.
Grab a few friends for a
weekend hike in the
park. Exercise does not
have to be routine. Stop
thinking of it as a
chore and start thinking
of it as recreation. You
will be amazed what a
difference it makes.
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(Real) Reasons for Not
Exercising
Fear of Injury:
If you have not
exercised very much, you
may not be able to tell
the difference between
the normal discomfort
you feel from exercising
for the first time (e.g.
burning muscles or heavy
breathing) and pain. In
fact, a beginner may
feel so many tweaks and
twangs, it may feel like
everything is pulling,
tearing or falling
apart.
Attitude Adjustment:
It is inevitable that
you will feel something
while you exercise, but
it is important to
separate genuine pain
from normal sensations. If you are concerned, do
approach your doctor or
physiotherapist for
advice.
Fear of Looking Like
an Idiot:
Anything can happen when
you exercise, especially
when you take a lot of
sweaty people and put
them together with
machines that have
moving parts. It is also
possible to feel like an
idiot when you cannot
figure out how a machine
works or if you are not
sure whether you are
doing an exercise
correctly.
Fear of Pain:
“I have always hated
pain and gone out of my
way to avoid it as much
as possible.” That is
probably true for most
people which is why they
avoid exercise, fearing
that there is nothing
but pain in store for
them.
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Doing It Right
You can do a few basic
things to minimize your
risk of injury:
Get the Right Shoes
Wearing the running
shoes you bought 10
years ago is probably
not a great idea and can
lead to all kinds of
problems. Invest in a
good pair of shoes to
give your body the
support it needs.
Learn Proper Technique
If you are lifting
weights, the first way
to hurt yourself is by
lifting too much weight
and/or using bad
form/posture during your
exercises. If you do not
know how to do the
exercises, seek
assistance from a
trainer or
physiotherapist, or get
a gym employee to show
you how the machines
work and give you some
basics.
Warm Up Before Your
Workout
Always start with some
cardio exercises, for
example, walking or
cycling before any
stretching exercises.
Jumping into your
workout without warming
up can lead to injuries
and pain.
Work Within Your
Fitness Level
Many injuries happen
when you do too much,
too soon. Start with a
light program and work
your way up to more
intense and frequent
workout when you get
stronger. For example,
if you can only walk for
10 minutes, tart there
and increase your time
ach week.
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Stay Motivated
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Plan on ways to get
past obstacles
before they happen.
If you find you are
skipping exercise
because of family
responsibilities,
plan a family walk
or outing to get
them involved too.
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Try to workout in
the morning.
You will have more
energy throughout
the day and you
would not have the
excuse of skipping
it because you are
too tired or when
you have to work
late.
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Workout with a
friend. When a
friend is waiting
for you, you are
less likely to back
out.
|
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► |
Make a list of goals
and put them on the
refrigerator.
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When you think about
skipping your workout,
go back and read your
list. Remember why you
are doing this.
Keep track of your
progress. When you
reach a goal, it will
motivate you to keep
going. Wake up
each day and ask
yourself how you will
make your day healthy.
Plan your workouts the
night before and be
prepared with a workout
bag ready to go so there
are no excuses.
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Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Dated: May 2011
|
Raffles
Medical
Group is
a leading
medical
group and
the largest
private
group
practice in
Singapore.
As a fully
integrated
healthcare
organisation,
the Group
owns and
operates a
network of
family
medicine
clinics, a
tertiary
care private
hospital,
insurance
services and
a consumer
healthcare
division.
Patients of
the Group
enjoy a
continuum of
care, from
having their
most basic
healthcare
needs met
through the
Group’s
islandwide
network of
Raffles
Medical
clinics, to
specialist
and tertiary
care at
Raffles
Hospital. |
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