BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise what's your biggest exercise variable issue?

There are few variables in fitness yet many excuses that people come up with not to exercise or to do it poorly. Which of the big 4 exercise variable are you most struggling with this month?

Duration
Type
Frequency
Intensity

Illness. My husband contracted whooping cough. Everyone is fighting off the germ. So far, I'm doing fairly well after an hour-long walk yesterday, I ended up with a scratchy throat and post nasal drip.

I made sure I got a good night's sleep and woke up with a really scratchy throat so I gargled with Listerine. I feel much better now.

But my question is: "Should you continue with exercise when you're beginning to feel under the weather?"

Another variable is our schedule. We live a very unstructured life. Things come up and off we go. Next thing we know, we don't have time or are too tired to get to the gym.

I know we should schedule the exercise early but it gets crazy at the gym during that time. I'm thinking of scheduling an early morning walk and then putting the gym visit later at night. That works for me but not for my hubby who says he can't sleep if he works out late at night.

A moderate to low intensity workout can actually help boost your immune system so just do something short and easy like 20 minute of walking and some bodyweight exercises, maybe some yoga or core training, nothing too intense. I rarely get sick but when I do feel that off feeling especially when others around me are sick dial it down, get some extra sleep, eat tons more greens than usual and take wellness formula and it works every time.

Once you are sick working out is a bad idea. It slows down recovery especially if it's too intense. Wait a couple of days to start up again : )

Mine is just getting up to do it.

BTW, I didn't mean to ignore your other post. What you're talking about is consistency and flexibility which falls under frequency. Huge issue for so many people!

When things come up or you're tired or the workout environment isn't exactly how you like it to be it can be very hard to want to workout which is why it's so important to stay flexible.

If hubby doesn't want to go then you have a choice to make go without him or do resistance training at home. It's nice to want to train with your spouse or family but doing it solo when others don't want to do it your way can be just as fun plus it gives you time away from your family which I find that most people seem to need.

I don't have a set time I workout. I just try to go with the flow of my day but I do aim for something every single day. Some days I have big workout plans and then my kids are like lets go run at the park so I switch gears and that ends up being my cardio instead of what I had planned. Be willing to adapt at the drop of a hat and you'll find that your consistency increases.

Well, that makes me feel better. I felt as though I was failing because we didn't set a regular time for exercise. I have a very spontaneous personality and find too much structure suffocating.

I suppose I would have to say "type" as virtually all of the exercise that I do is outdoors. Now is not the rainy season in this part of Mexico (June -September) but when it is rainy season sometimes I can't get in (I mean get out) my 2-3 hours of daily walking/hiking as I bird and do other nature appreciation/photography. I do not mind that much walking in muddy areas but when it rains here, it RAINS and you do not want to get caught in one of those torrential thunderstorms even though they are relatively predictable! So, when I can't get out I do a pretty strenuous hour or so an my computer on it does not work anymore (I want to know how many rpm's I am generating every second or I get real frustrated!) Life Cycle.