1. Exercise is almost always more fun then work, but often times less glamorous then the multitude of tempting after work activities. If you take care of your workout at lunch you won’t be tempted to skip it later.

2. Working out at lunch breaks your day into two manageable chunks.

3. A noon time workout will give you a blast of energy that will carry you through the mid-afternoon doldrums. Don’t listen to what your jealous, back-biting, self hating co-workers say about you actually taking a lunch. You will be more productive, and sexier, in the afternoon. Remember, you get paid for what you produce, not for holding down your chair.

4. If you don’t feel particularly competent or appreciated at your day job, a workout can be just the thing. The burst of endorphins will help prop up you flagging self-esteem and if you do something you enjoy eventually you will be good at it. I don’t care what your boss, girlfriend and mother say, you can do something right.

5. You only have about an hour so your workout will be intense and efficient. A great use of your valuable time.

6. Having a workout planned is a great excuse not to go to lunch with annoying co-workers.

7. You’ll be so hungry after you workout that even a healthy, fiber rich, tasteless lunch will taste great.

8. Working out in the early morning (especially if you are over 30) can be a creaky and uncomfortable experience. By midday the body is warm and ready for action.

9. Because you’ve got to get out of the office. Stretch your muscles, feel the sunlight on your pasty skin, get some perspective.

10. You will have your evenings free. Learn a language, go to the ballet, tame of herd of wild guinea pigs. The world is your oyster!

I think there are two primary reasons why we don’t achieve our fitness goals; we are either lazy or scared. The trick is figuring out which diabolical force is driving us and then treating it accordingly.

A lazy person needs discipline, encouragement, honest assessment, perhaps a good, stern talking to and other forms of legal, adult paddling. A scared person need something else entirely (though encouragment helps for both conditions).

Say Ned is a runner. He likes to run, has the equipment, time carved out of his schedule and feels good about his running ability. Still Ned has not been running. Why? Ned has found an activity that he likes to do, has a plan and schedule for doing it and a feeling of basic competence about his chosen activity. Still his sneakers gather dust. Perhpas Ned is lazy and needs a swift kick to the backside of his running togs. After a good pep talk and 16 high fives Ned is glazed over and non-responsive. Maybe its fear then and not laziness?

Treating fear is a little more tricky, especially in those who fancy themselves athletic. From the youngest of ages athletic sorts are trained to ignore and deny weakness and fear, to play through pain and to dream very big. Limits, aging, losing and other awful realities are pushed aside in favor of stronger, more muscular ones. Maybe Ned’s knees felt a little kinky the last time he ran. He’s afraid there might be something wrong with them, but he hasn’t told anyone. And he certainly hasn’t gone to the doctor to find out for sure. What if they told him he shouldn’t be running or that his only fitness option was now aqua aerobics. No, that would be bad. He would rather not know and so he doesn’t run and he because he hasn’t been totally honest with himself he doesn’t really know why. After a few days of this Ned feels bad and lazy, but he’s not.

He’s scared.

Martha joined a gym three months ago and has been exactly once since then. On that occasion she spent the entire time on the exercise bike watching all the other people walk around like they had been born of muscle gods and felt awful. Then she couldn’t figure out how to set the program on the bike which made her feel stupid. She can’t get herself to go back and keeps paying the monthly membership and berating herself for being wasteful. Martha too is scared, not lazy.

So before you beat yourself up about what you are not doing to get healthy, take some time to figure out if you are scared or lazy. Because berating yourself for being lazy when you are really scared is like kicking a puppy, it doesn’t help anybody.

Then once you figure out what’s scaring you get help. If you feel stupid at the gym hire a trainer. Worried about your knees, buck up and go to the doctor. Afraid someone will see your big butt in the locker room, change at home until you get more comfortable with your butt. If you are afraid you won’t be able to perform like you did when you were younger find people to workout with that are of similar ages and ability levels.

But ifyou’re just lazy get your ass off the couch. I’m coming over and you better be ready!

What obscure 1976 film features the following?

Scantily clad body builders posing atop a bus cruising down the streets of Birmingham, Alabama.An inspiring musical montage featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges finding redemption through recreation (including the sadly endangered sport of racquetball).Leotard clad Sally Field looking fantastic and fit enough to actually fly without the help from God or any other fancy nun get-up.A water skiing dog.Give up…“Stay Hungry” is a film that I stumbled upon while seeking out my latest Gilmore Girls fix (judge me if you want but those sweet, sexy Gilmore Girls never do). Arnold’s oiled up and flexing arm dominated the cover and since I am a muscle whore I couldn’t help but grab the box. All I can say is I didn’t know what the hell to expect and the unexpected is exactly what I got.The characters were lovable, the premise vaguely preposterous and did I mention there are blue grass fiddle players? This film takes place back when the fitness industry was a new born and still gleaming with sweaty afterbirth. But Stay Hungry is much more than a fitness time capsule; its a story about the redemptive qualities of found families, fitness and love.So rent it, oil up, grab your free weights and hit play. Only your neighbors will regret it.