Breaking news! Well, not quite. You already know that exercise is good for you. So why don’t you go out there and do it? It can prevent heart disease, help you shed those extra pounds, and even make you happier and more optimistic. These are basic facts, that everyone is well aware of, but that people seldom apply to their every day lives. Over half the world’s population does not exercise, at all. And what’s worse, they are proud to admit it. The number of obese people all over the world is staggering. If exercise can help them lose the extra pounds, then why don’t they?

Human beings are incredibly lazy, despite the fact that they are more or less hyper active when they are growing up. You’ve probably spent afternoons outside in the hottest summer playing tag or hide and seek. Children are active for most of their lives, but by the time they reach late adolescent, they settle into a sedentary state of being. In most cultures, this is due to the pressures of academic achievement. Sports are often sacrificed and put on the back burner in order to achieve academic excellence.

As we make transitions between different stages of our lives, human beings tend to try and redefine themselves. An active child might associate adolescence with being lazy and not caring about exercise. A demanding job puts you in front of the computer instead of doing laps in the pool. A marriage means newlywed bliss, and a lot less time for the gym. With the birth of your first child, it’s stressful enough already without making space for an exercise routine.

One of the primary reasons why exercise takes the backseat is because of the increase in intensity of daily stressors, as you grow older. It simply exhausts your self-control and sense of discipline. If you spend six hours of your day in a classroom, or nine hours a day meeting deadlines; if you’re short on sleep and highly stressed because of your newborn child, you simply will not have the stamina to run every day.

If you don’t have a proper exercise schedule, you are even less likely to get up and get out. You need to plan your day to include exercise, and not use exercise as a filler in an action packed, too often stressful day. If you have a personal trainer who meets you three days a week – and that’s three fixed days – you are more likely to work out than if you just plan to drop into the gym on weekends. Exercise can be as simple as correcting your posture, or drinking water eight times a day. If you try and work out with your best friend, a family member, or your spouse, you are more likely to stick to it. If you hire a trainer, try and taper off his or her influence as time goes by. You might want to get off that comfortable chair right now and give the gym next door a call. After all, there’s no time like the present to start exercising.