To permanently remove fat and inches from your body, you must remove your excuses from exercise. I KNOW I SHOULD EXERCISE, BUT shows people how to start exercising with ease, how to stay motivated and how to fit exercise into a busy schedule. A simple, straightforward, practical and humorous book. Loaded with tips, quotes and anecdotes, it is the perfect prescription for the inactive person with little time or incentive. I KNOW I SHOULD EXERCISE, BUT is a prescription for an enhanced lifestyle within the abilities of each of us. -- Rhoda Riddell, Ph.D If you need motivation to "just do it," this is the book for you. -- The Bibliophile Straight-forward, simple, and practical book with seven steps to removing our excuses from daily exercise. -- Midwest Book Review The "10-Minute Solutions" are great, and can go a long way to firming up that belly! -- Prevention Book Club Joe Sweeney has guided more than 30,000 people, ages four to ninety, toward physical fitness and healthy living. Since 1980, he has spent over 300 weeks as a speaker and instructor at Rancho La Puerta, North America's oldest fitness resort. At the world famous spa he has trained a wide range of people-including CEOs, entrepreneurs, housewives, athletes, couch potatoes, octogenarians, children and celebrities. Joe has not been on Oprah or Donahue, but Oprah and Phil have been in Joe's exercise classes. Joe walks his talk. At age eight he began bouncing on a trampoline at his local boy's club. Years later he became a collegiate gymnastics champion (two-time Pacific Coast Athletic Association All Around Champion) and competed in five national gymnastics championships. During a fund-raising event he once performed 1000 cartwheels in an hour. When Joe retired from gymnastics, he pursued other physically-oriented sports, hobbies and adventures. In the 1970s he piloted over 700 flights on a hang glider, including eighteen flights from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. In the 1980s he bicycled across America twice and once down the 1000-mile length of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Joe has twice climbed Mt. Whitney, at 14,494 feet the highest peak in the contiguous United States. He has enjoyed numerous active vacations and expeditions, including trekking in the Lake District of England, kayaking in the San Juan Islands, bicycling in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, tracking mountain lions in the wilderness of Idaho and hiking Mexico's Copper Canyon. Joe earned a degree and teaching credential in Physical Education from San Jose State University. He has coached gymnastics at the club, high school and college levels and taught high school Physical Education. Over the last thirty years he has taught gymnastics, volleyball, hang gliding, board sailing, swimming, diving, soccer, tennis, walking, water exercise, weight training, stretching, yoga, frisbee, juggling and disco dancing. Although Joe has trained champion athletes, he is proudest of his work with novice exercisers, for they often exhibit the most enthusiasm and appreciation for physical movement, and they often make the most remarkable progress. An award-winning speaker, Joe presents keynotes, seminars and workshops to corporations and associations on fitness, stress management and adventure. His clients include General Electric, NationsBank and the American Association of School Administrators. His most popular presentation is: How to Fit a Healthy Life into a Busy Life. Based in San Diego, California, Joe is also a personal fitness trainer. (Chapter One) YOUR WARM-UP Do any of these excuses sound familiar? "I don't exercise because" * I have no time * I lack the motivation * I'm not coordinated * I always injure myself * I'm too stressed to exercise * I've never liked exercise * I was always picked last in PE * I'm too old to start * I'm too tired * I need to lose weight first * I'm afraid I might become addicted to exercise I wrote this book to help you toss your excuses and get moving. Consider me your personal guidance counselor. I will show you how to begin an exercise program, how to progress safely, how to make it effective, how to stay motivated, and how to fit exercise into a busy schedule at home, at work, while on the road and during the holidays. If you have never enjoyed exercise, I will help you learn to appreciate it enough to do it. You might even learn to like it. If you already work out regularly but often flirt with burnout, I will show you how to achieve greater balance and a fresh start with your exercise routine. If you think you're too old to start, I'll tell you right now that you are wrong. You need exercise more now than ever before. This high-tech world leaves you stressed. Your technology-enforced sedentary life stresses you further. Gone are the days when people hunted for their dinner. You don't even hunt for a phone booth anymore-you just reach for your car phone. But there