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Stop trying to convince yourself not to exercise!

Whether it is that we are too tired or we do not have time, people are always trying to find an excuse to not exercise. This summer, make a change!  Here PBS along with Next Avenue suggests what to do when hectic schedules, aches, and missed meals threaten to disrupt your exercise routine.

1. You are about to work out when you realize that you haven’t eaten all day. Should you not work out?

No excuse! Just have a quick snack and go work out! Amy Goodson, a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, suggests having a quick snack (but making sure it’s the right one). Your goal is to consume enough carbohydrates to sustain energy and enough protein to maintain blood sugar levels. Here are some good options:

• 1 slice of whole wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 1 banana or apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 15 whole-grain crackers and 1 string of cheese
• A whole-grain granola bar, plus 10 to 15 almonds

2.  Your heart-rate monitor shows up higher-than-normal during your workout. You should just stop. Right?

It depends. An elevated heart rate can occur for a variety of reasons, says exercise physiologist Irv Rubenstein. Dehydration, overtraining, a medical condition affecting the heart rhythm, certain prescription drugs, or stresses completely unrelated to your workout can produce a spike. What should be done depends on the cause of the spike. Emotional stress should never be a reason to stop working out.  In fact, emotional stress should be a reason to continue working out because exercising helps relieve stress. Dehydration can be resolved by cooling down for 10 minutes and drinking a cup or two of water and then going back to the workout.

Irv Rubenstein says that if the heart rate stays elevated for an unusually long period of time and you can feel the pounding in your chest, stop immediately and call your physician. If you are experiencing alarming symptoms like excessive sweating or tightness in the chest, jaw, or arm, get to the emergency room as soon as possible.

3.  Your knee starts to twinge during your exercise routine. It’s not preventing you from exercising but should cut your routine short. Or should you?

Just listen to your body. You should be familiarized with the normal strain of a workout. However, if you feel a sudden twinge in the knee, take it as a signal that something may not be right. You should not stop your workout, but be aware of the twinge. When the feeling is accompanied by a sense of the knee “giving out”, locking or slipping or you experience a loss of balance, which suggests a more worrisome issue. Do not ignore it. Try switching to exercises that work for different muscle groups. If it continues, make an appointment with a sports doctor.

4.  You are out of water partway through a planned 60-minute-plus jog or speed walk. Should you turn around and go back?

Jogging in hot, humid weather without water is never a good idea. You should turn around and go get some water for your exercise.  The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends drinking 16 ounces (2 cups) of a cool beverage 2 hours prior to exercising in a hot environment and drinking six-to-eight ounces of fluid every 15 minutes during such workouts.

5.  You have only an hour in your schedule to exercise and you’re already a half-hour behind. Should you even bother?

A half-hour is better than not working out at all! Five half-hour workouts in a week are more beneficial than two sessions of an hour or more of exercising.

Quit your whining and go work out! For more exercise suggestions, read more from Next Avenue.