Personal Trainers

El Paso's Top Fitness Trainers and Personal Wellness Coaches

How to Stop Making Excuses and Start Getting into Fitness:

Exercise Excuse No. 1: 'I Don't Have Time.' "How much television do you watch?" asks Walter Thompson, PhD, professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University.

During your shows, you can use resistance bands for strength training or walk in place. You can also record your shows and watch them later, skipping the ads and using that time to exercise.

If you don't have a long stretch of time, you can break up your workout into shorter sessions. Some activity is better than none. "We find time for things we value," says James Hill, PhD, co-founder of the National Weight Control Registry.

Exercise Excuse No. 2: 'I'm Too Tired.' Working out actually gives you more energy. Your body releases feel-good hormones (endorphins) "and you're getting the circulation going," says Marisa Brunett, a certified athletic trainer in Orlando, Fla.

It may help to work out in the morning before your day gets away from you, says kinesiologist Lynette Craft, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University.

Not a morning person? No problem. Do it whenever you feel best, says Brunett, who likes to work out in the middle or at the end of the day.

Exercise Excuse No. 3: 'I Don't Get a Break from the Kid.' "Take the kids with you," Hill says. While they play, you can walk around the playground or jump rope nearby. During their games or sports practices, you can walk briskly around the field.

Go biking with your kids, put up a badminton net in your yard, sign up as a family for "fun runs" or just walk around the neighborhood with your children. When the weather is bad, try active video games like "Dance Dance Revolution," "Wii Sport," and "Wii Fit."

"When Mom or Dad is more fit, has more energy, the whole family benefits," says psychologist Christina Recascino, PhD.