Off the Couch

My prefer exercise time is the middle of the day, but that's not really an option Monday-Friday. Any guide for getting in a workout schedule will tell you that people who workout in the mornings are more likely to get their exercise in, plus all the additional metabolic and mental benefits. Unfortunately, I'm the sort of person who can barely drag myself out of bed in time for work, and working out in the morning usually just makes me feel sick. So I'm an evening exerciser.

The problem with exercising in the evening it's so easy to come up with lots of very convincing reasons I'm too busy/tired/overworked/bored/whatever. It can be hard to remind myself why none of those excuses are good enough and there are lots of better reasons to get up and get moving.

1) I almost always feel better. This isn't always true--sometimes I really am just that tired. Usually, I'm just lazy and unmotivated and will feel better when I'm done.

2) It gives me a chance to beat what I did last time. I'm an extremely competitive person. I rarely put myself in positions where I'm competing against other people (I'm still learning to handle the stress I put on myself), but I love to beat myself.

3) I want to look good. It's vain and not the most pure motivation, but it's true. I'm at a good weight, but I'd still like to lose a couple of pounds, and I know I look better when I'm more toned and less body fat. And I like looking good.

4) I want to be healthy. I want the physical benefits that come from being active. I want to obvious ones, like lowered risk of heart disease, and I want some of the less obvious ones, like possibly have some protection from Alzheimer's.

5) It's a cheap way to be warm in the winter without turning up the heat.

6) The cats always help me somehow. There's nothing quite like doing push-ups and having an eleven pound cat jump on your back and lie down.

7) I get one point toward my weekly reward, and it's something concrete to look forward to.

8) My husband might just surprise me and ask to play a game with me after I'm finished with the official workout. Or even join me for the workout itself. It's one of the best ways to spend time together, and I love it when it happens.

There are a lot more good reasons, but these are the ones that are really on my mind right now. What are everyone else's?