Getting started on fitness can be hard. “I don’t know how”, “I don’t have time”, “I can’t afford it”. None of these excuses is true. That’s all they are – excuses! We all know we need to get a certain amount of exercise. That’s a no-brainer. It screams at us from web sites, posters and magazine articles. And we know we “ought” to do it. After all, our families need us and they need us to be healthy. Think how much more pleasant life is when you’re fit and can do things for yourself, instead of being dependent on others unnecessarily.Let’s attack the “I don’t know how” first. If you can walk, you already know how you can get fit – walk more. Walking is a great exercise and also low impact. What about the “I don’t have time”. Can you find 10 minutes to surf the net, watch TV or read the back of a sauce bottle? That 10 minutes can be used to help you get fit. The latest recommendations are for 30 minutes exercise a day – that’s just 3 sessions of 10 minutes. If you can’t fit in 3 sessions, start off with just one 10 minute session. Every little helps. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. And finally, “I can’t afford it”. Want to do some weights? Use a can of food in each hand. You can do bicep curls and shoulder presses with those. Even boxers do some exercises without any equipment at all – and look at how fit they are. Here are some other suggestions to knock those “don’t know how”, “no time”, and “can’t afford it” excuses on the head.

If your home or office has stairs, use them, or use them more often. Give yourself a reward every time you climb the stairs. It can be a tick on a chart, with a penny for each tick at the end of the week. Use the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator when travelling. Use the upstairs bathroom instead of the ground floor cloakroom when you “need to go”. Just climbing the stairs a few extra times a day will help improve your fitness very quickly.

When driving, park your car further away from where you’re going. At the mall or supermarket you usually get a trolley to cart your goods, so it isn’t as if you have to carry really heavy stuff. Park further away from your office and walk in. In many towns, the outer car parks are cheaper than ones in the centre of town. You could save money too.

If your job is office based, try and make sure you get up and down more often. Talk to colleagues instead of sending emails. Go fetch your paper and office needs instead of getting someone else to fetch them. Walk to the bathroom more often.

Starting out on fitness improvement is not difficult – it just takes the decision to get started. Don’t worry that you’re not doing as much as someone else, just get started and build it up gradually.