5 excuses we make to get out of exercising

Don't have time to exercise? Can't find reasons to get out and move? Start small, start with this article and start with a walk. From there, you'll see where you can go and how far you'll want to.

• Find yourself moving exercise lower and lower down your to-do list? You're not alone.
• However, the more we talk ourselves out of fitness, the farther we move away from reaching our health potential.

Here is what we most often tell ourselves, and the truth behind it:

In fact, the longer you let your muscles atrophy, the more your pain will increase. It is true that when you start exercising, your muscles may feel a little sore the next day.

• Strengthening muscles hurts because exercise breaks down muscles a bit. When they repair, they're more powerful. Of course, if exercise hurts, stop immediately.
• "If any activity hurts, don't do it," says Christine Zampach, PT, DPT, MEd, rehabilitation coordinator at the University of California, San Francisco, Pain Centre. "Instead, find what doesn't hurt and move within that range."

Unless your doctor says you're not ready, you can walk for five minutes.

• Tell yourself, "I'm just going to put one foot in front of the other."
• After you've done it once, then you'll know for sure you can do it again.

That's why you're starting with only five to 15 minutes.

• By adding minutes very gradually — one minute per week, three days per week — your body will become increasingly conditioned, your muscles stronger, your breathing easier. That's how getting fit works.

• If you have time to watch television, read a book, or take a nap, you have time to exercise.

• Actually, a half hour of moderate exercise usually has the opposite effect.
• Within several weeks of exercising, you may find you have more energy all the time, perhaps because you're sleeping better and your heart, lungs, and muscles have an easier time doing their jobs.