The Most Common Excuses People Use to Avoid Working Out

Feeling too tired after a long day or too sore from yesterday’s workout are familiar excuses that many of us have used to skip a sweat session at some point. But sometimes, we may find ourselves resorting to rather unconventional reasons to avoid exercising, as revealed by a new survey conducted on behalf of Peerfit.

The survey identified some typical excuses—such as being too tired, hot, or cold, or having recently eaten—as well as some more unexpected ones. Lack of fun, excessive sweating, and not seeing results after workouts were also common reasons for skipping the gym, highlighting how easily motivation can wane.

However, the survey also uncovered some truly bizarre excuses for missing workouts, including “My cat is on fire,” “My pancreas hurts,” and “I exercised in my dreams.” While legitimate pain or injury are valid reasons to skip a workout, fake emergencies and dream exercising are far from justifiable.

Interestingly, those who managed to push past their excuses and participate in their workouts reported feeling much better post-sweat. Additionally, it was found that having a workout partner significantly increased accountability and adherence to exercise plans.

So, recruiting a fitness accountability buddy and scheduling workout times together could be the key to overcoming these far-fetched excuses once and for all.