Lifestyle

29 Ridiculous Excuses We All Make To Get Out Of Going To The Gym

by Leigh Weingus

It's Friday around 12:30 pm. I just ate lunch, and I'm feeling pretty damn good about the fact the weekend is right around the corner.

There's just one thing lurking in the back of my brain, though: I signed up for a spin class at 7:30 tonight.

When my best friend and I signed up last Sunday, it sounded like a spectacular idea. We gave ourselves a serious round of applause for choosing to exercise together on a Friday night instead of drowning the stress of the week in too many glasses of wine.

Now that the day of said spin class rolled around, a serious cloud of dread has settled over me. Literally nothing sounds worse than sitting on a bike in a club-like atmosphere while someone is shouting at me to pedal harder.

Naturally, some cute excuses formed and parked themselves in my brain -- like how tired I am and how hard I worked this week, and how much I deserve to never spin again.

After chatting about this problem with my fellow co-workers, I found out I'm not alone. Everyone is coming up with excuses to not go to the gym all day, every day.

Here are some of them.

  1. My hair looks amazing today, and that rarely happens. Sweat would mess it up, and that would just be unfair to my hair.
  2. It's fine if I don't go to the gym today because I'll go for a run and then yoga and then barre on Saturday. It's just so much easier to work out when I don't go to work!
  3. I didn't eat that much today, so I really don't need to exercise.
  4. I ate so much today. What's the point?!
  5. Work was busy and hard. I deserve to relax.
  6. That phone call with my mom was really annoying. I can't handle the gym right now. I need a glass of wine.
  7. I can't miss out on happy hour for something as lame as the gym. Besides, I heard having friends is really good for your health. Probably way more important than exercise!
  8. I'm so hungry, but if I eat right now, I'll be too full and have a bad workout. But, like, I can't starve.
  9. Exercise may be good for your heart, but so is red wine. Seems like a pretty equal trade-off to me.
  10. I'll be single forever if I keep skipping dates to go to the gym, and there's no way I can fit a workout, shower and Tinder date into one night.
  11. Seriously, though, getting a boyfriend is important. I can't not drink the third drink he bought me just because it'll make me hungover and skip the gym. That would be silly.
  12. It's not like skipping the gym once will make me gain weight.
  13. I'm trying to live in the moment more. Is spending 45 minutes a day on the treadmill really living in the moment?
  14. When my boyfriend and I broke up five months ago I kept going to the gym, so now I deserve a few months to be lazy and eat ice cream.
  15. It's cold. No.
  16. I'll just do some yoga in my room before bed.
  17. Working out in the winter is way too hard. I can't lug my sneakers around when it's snowing outside!
  18. I'm so sick of all those people and their New Year's resolutions. I'll go back to the gym when it's less crowded.
  19. I'll just wake up at 6 am tomorrow to work out and then work out tomorrow night. Double workout day!
  20. Oops. Forgot my water bottle. Definitely can't work out without water.
  21. I have too much work. I can't let my career suffer in the name of exercise.
  22. Sleep is more important than exercise, and I shouldn't get eight hours instead of nine tonight just so I can fit the gym in. It wouldn't be right.
  23. Netflix makes me happier than the gym, and being happy is what life's all about.
  24. That really hot guy will probably be at the gym tonight. I just don't look good enough to see him.
  25. Muscle weighs more than fat, and I don't want to gain weight.
  26. My boobs hurt, and I'm on my period. I really can't be expected to run.
  27. Forgot my sports bra. Oh well.
  28. What if that guy who ignored my last 12 texts asks me to hang out tonight, and I can't because I'm at the gym?
  29. When is the next time anyone will actually see my body? May? I have tons of time. There's no point in working out now.

If any of these excuses sound all too familiar to you, take comfort in knowing you're not alone.

But, seriously, get your ass up off the couch, and go to the gym. Your body is so much more important than your excuses.