6 Excuses For Not Getting In Shape That Don’t Fly

Your old excuses for not getting in shape won’t work. As Dr. Evil (Austin Powers) said, ZIP IT! I don’t want to hear them anymore! Read this list of the top 6 excuses for not getting in shape (that don’t fly), then haul your excuseless butt to the gym!

1. I have no time

Tim Cook runs Apple, one of the most valuable companies in history. He’s also in the gym every morning. What time does he start? 3:45am. Let that sink in for a second. The man responsible for tens of thousands of employees, billions in quarterly revenue, and a product that’s in the pocket of half the planet sets his alarm before 4am to make sure he gets his workout in. And your schedule is too packed?

Richard Branson – who has built over 400 companies – was once asked how he stays so productive. His answer wasn’t a productivity app or a morning journal. It was exercise. He said working out gives him roughly four additional productive hours in his day. Read that again. He’s not losing time by training. He’s gaining it.

That’s the dirty secret the “I have no time” crowd never figures out: the busiest, highest-performing people on earth don’t train despite their crazy schedules. They train because of them. They’ve done the math. Exercise buys you more than it costs.

So ZIP IT. You’ve got time. You’re just not protecting it or prioritizing it.

By the way, when you REALLY ARE super-strapped for time, all you have to do is learn time-efficient training techniques. For example, superset training is scientifically proven to cut your lifting time in half with no little or compromise in muscle gains.

That’s why it’s not surprising that my most popular training program is a superset training program: TNB TURBO (click to learn more)

2. It’s too expensive

Getting in shape certainly is expensive… if you keep wasting hundreds of dollars, month after month on worthless “miracle” weight loss pills, internal cleansing gimmicks and “magic” potions that all claim to make you slim.

Deceptive advertising and slick marketing for bogus diet aids is more rampant than ever.  It used to be just “fat burner” scams, but now we’ve got grifters selling “man boob burners.” Don’t forget the butt booster pills, natural GLP-1 replacers, metabolism-boosting teas, fat loss gummies and the list goes on so long it’s embarrassing. Yet people blow millions on this garbage.

Unless you put on your critical thinking cap and learn to investigate before you invest, then you’ll get scammed over and over by the flavor of next year as well. Your quest for those elusive “6-pack” abs will not only continue to be expensive, you’ll go broke.

Walking, jogging, calisthenics and body weight exercises are FREE. If you want to know what’s really expensive, tally up the cost of legitimate expenses like natural food, gym memberships, fitness education, dumbbells and so on, and compare that to your doctor’s bill when you’re sick.

3. No one will support me

Experts on social influence say your income will be approximately equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. Not only do I think that’s pretty darn accurate, I also believe that your health is your greatest wealth, and your physical condition will be about equal to the average of your 5 closest friends.

It’s a real challenge to stay positive, focused and active when you’re surrounded by critical people and negative influences. However, in this day and age lack of support is no longer a valid excuse. It’s easier than ever to connect with positive people online in communities like our Burn the Fat Inner Circle.

The Social Support Solution: Are You Hanging Out With Eagles or Turkeys?

Training buddies can be found online. Connect with them. Mentors and coaches are easily found online. Hire them. Support forums have been around for years. Use them.

No support from your current friends? Instead of complaining, start reaching out and go make new ones.

Support partners and new friends may be just a click away online, and there’s no better place IRL to make supportive fitness friends than in the gym. Go join one.  Home gyms are great, but don’t isolate yourself completely in your basement.

4. I would join a gym but I have to get in shape first.

I’m not going to knock anyone who says this. I understand why someone would feel this way.  There’s an intimidation factor when walking into a gym for the first time if you’re out of shape, don’t know the equipment, and aren’t sure what you’re doing. That takes some courage. The self-consciousness is real.

Nobody wants to be the person fumbling with the cable machine while everyone watches.

But here’s what I believe is the truth 99% of the time:  nobody is watching. Walk into any gym these days and look around. Half the people have earbuds in and are locked into their own world. The other half are on their phones – filming themselves, checking their angles, logging their sets into their apps.

The gym culture has never been more self-absorbed than it is right now, and for a newcomer you can choose to see that as good news. You could trip over a dumbbell and do a full somersault and most people wouldn’t look away from their own reflection or smartphone screen.

And the tiny percentage who do notice you? They’re probably not thinking what you fear they’re thinking. They’re probably thinking good for you. Every serious gym-goer remembers their first day. They remember the uncertainty. If anything, the person grinding through an awkward first workout earns more respect in a gym than the person who never showed up at all.

If someone does approach you, experience says it will almost certainly be to offer encouragement or a helpful tip on your form and that tip could save you from an injury. That’s not an embarrassing moment. That’s gym support working exactly the way it’s supposed to.

Yes I know, there’s surely a jerk or two in every gym, but that still doesn’t mean you need to earn your place there by getting fit first. The gym is where you go to get fit. Show up as you are. Nobody’s waiting to judge you  – and if someone is, you can be sure it’s one of those occasional jerks, but remember, they’re everywhere, not. just in the gym.

5. I can’t lose weight because of my genetics

The marvels of modern medical and biological research are astonishing. Our top scientists mapped the human genome years ago.  And it’s true numerous genes linked to obesity have been discovered.

However, the obesity epidemic we’re facing today has only developed over the past 50 years or so and genetic mutations that lead to serious obesity are extremely rare . Genetic predisposition only means that you have a tendency or risk factor.

It’s when the genetics meet lifestyle and environment that the genes express themselves. If you have a family history of heart disease, is it smart to smoke, eat junk, be a stressed-out type-A maniac and a couch potato? Well of course not, and it’s the same with obesity.

If you have a tendency predisposing you towards obesity, you’d better be the person doing the MOST exercise not the least. You’d better be the person paying the MOST attention to your nutrition. You’d better be the person with the healthiest lifestyle.

But unfortunately, it’s usually the opposite. Most people throw up their arms in frustration saying, “what’s the use, I was dealt a bad hand.” Sorry. That won’t fly. The latest research says genetics are a factor, but a tendency is not a destiny!

6. I don’t know how

The weakest excuse of them all in is “I don’t know how.”

NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT!

Ponder that for a while.

You don’t need to know how at first. To get started, you only need to know WHAT… what is the goal? Setting well-formed goals is the master skill of success. Not wishy-washy resolutions that have no resolve behind them, but real goals. In writing. With emotional ooompf!

As you continue to affirm, visualize and focus on your goal with clarity, belief, and expectation, your new goal or intention will be received by your subconscious. Once a goal is accepted into your subconscious mind, your brain, being a goal-seeking mechanism, will turn on your attention filters to seek out all the information you will ever need to reach your goal. You will find or create the plan once you have set the goal.

Your goal, once embedded in your subconscious will also turn on an infallible navigation system to guide you  like a torpedo to its target. As your brain guides your attention, your direction and your behavior, you will discover that today, there is more good information, coaching and instruction available than ever before. You can’t do much better than www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

So no more excuses.  Make this your Creed: You can either make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both!

-Tom Venuto
Founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle
Author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

About Tom Venuto
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilding and fat loss coach with 35 years of experience. He holds a degree in exercise science and has trained hundreds of clients in person and thousands online. He is also a recipe creator specializing in fat-burning, muscle-building cooking.

A former competitive bodybuilder, Tom is now a full-time evidence-based fitness writer, blogger, and author. His classic book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and later as a hardcover and audiobook. He is also the author of Meal Prep For Fat Loss, a practical guide to smart shopping, batch cooking, and kitchen strategies that make healthy eating simple and sustainable.

Tom is also the founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle, a fitness support community with more than 59,000 members worldwide since 2006.

Tom’s work has been featured in Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Oprah Magazine and dozens of other major publications. He is best known for his no-BS, scientific approach to natural fat loss and muscle-building.