Too tired to exercise? It’s all in the mind

Are you one of the millions of people who started the year full of good fitness intentions, only to find the daily grind of life got in the way?

Or does even the mere thought of exercise make you shudder - even though you know your health would be vastly improved if you got off the sofa?

Just last month, a survey of British office workers found that a third of people do no exercise at all during the working week, claiming they were “too tired” before or after work.

And the official figures are even more alarming. Statistics released by Public Health England last year revealed that a staggering 40 percent of adults failed to manage even one brisk 10 minute walk a month.

The excuses our mind conjures up are a major barrier to making real changes to our health - and something we must learn to overcome

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that more than 80 percent of American adults don't take the recommended amount of exercise.

But just why is exercise - or simply being physically active - so unappealing to us, even though we're constantly told of the huge range benefits it gives us, from longer life expectancy to better mental health?

Indeed, as the famous quote 1980s from Dr Robert Butler, the founder of the US National Institute on Aging, goes: “If exercise could be packed into a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed and beneficial medicine in the nation.”

Decades of research have determined that regular exercise is one of the most important factors in warding off cardiovascular disease, many types of cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Now, two experts claim it’s more than just laziness — and that there are actually umpteen ways our minds can sabotage our desire to get fitter, healthier and more energized.

In fact, the excuses our mind conjures up are a major barrier to making real changes to our health, they say.

And by becoming aware of these damaging thought processes around exercise, we can train our minds to ignore them.

Here, Dr Meg Arroll, a psychologist and Nicola Addison, one of the UK’s top personal trainers, working together on behalf of the wellness brand Healthspan, unpick the most common excuses not to exercise — and eveal how you can get motivated, moving.