How to like exercise.....

ashteinpeacock

I am wanting to hear from those of you who hate exercise as much I still do, but somehow got yourself into a place to where you now like to exercise and cant go without. What did you do???????? I want to get there. I'd love to use exercise as my way of relieving stress.... Just can't figure out how to get there. I do ok with walking daily once I get started...but that's about it.

galgenstrick

find an exercise you like. Have you done much resistance training? With all the bad advice out there, most people get the impression that you need to do tons of cardio to be fit and healthy, this is wrong.

browneyes1520

I was like you, I hated exercise. Then I found out that I enjoy running. However, I had injury after injury and had to stop. And went a year hating exercise again and forcing myself to do it and hating every single minute of it. Then I found Chalene Johnson and she has to be one of the most inspiring people out there. She has a saying that people who hate exercise just haven't found their soul mate exercise yet and to keep looking until you find it and when you do, it won't seem like exercise, it'll be like a treat, something you are excited about and can't wait to do every day. I ordered her turbofire DVDs and have fallen in love. I can't wait to do them every day cuz they are so much fun. It's amazing what finding the right exercise for you can do. Good luck!

ashteinpeacock

I have never really enjoyed any type of exercise. I like to dance and I think I would enjoy boxing. But there's not places like that around here. There are Zumba classes around, but that's only like once a week. I really like gymnastics, but once I again... around here all there is are classes for kids. Small towns suck when it comes to exercise options.

xmichaelyx

I lift and run and don't like doing either. But I've done it for years and will continue doing it as long as I'm able, because of what it does for me: fixes my depression, makes me look and feel better, and will make me a more mobile and self-sufficient old person.

datsundriver87

You just gotta be like auto zone and "get in the zone". I throw headphones and upbeat music on, take a preworkout and forget all my problems. I used to hate getting up to workout now if I miss more than a day of working out I start to feel like crap mentally

cathipa

It is personal. You have to find what you really like and then you can decide what is best for you. I can't stand running. Walking is redundant. I like to move a lot and have variation when I workout so I found some DVDs (Jillian Michaels are good). YouTube and FitnessBlender.com are also great resources to find a routine you may enjoy. Up until a year ago I only did cardio, but then I started lifting weights and discovered this was way better than cardio ever was. I enjoy working out (actually miss it when I don't do it). Everyone is different, but what ever you decide do it because you enjoy it. It will make the time fly by and you will be happier.

TeaBea

ashteinpeacock wrote: »

I am wanting to hear from those of you who hate exercise as much I still do, but somehow got yourself into a place to where you now like to exercise and cant go without. What did you do???????? I want to get there. I'd love to use exercise as my way of relieving stress.... Just can't figure out how to get there. I do ok with walking daily once I get started...but that's about it.

Keep trying new things. Sooner of later it becomes a habit. Establishing a habit is a good step in the right direction.

Some people can force themselves to do exercise that's not enjoyable. I'm not one of these people. Check out YouTube, your local library, and Amazon Prime if you've got it. After you figured out a few basics such as "I know I hate".... then you might order videos.

Fitness can be a sports league, an activity that involves the whole family, a class, Wii or XBox, hula hooping, roller blading, just keep looking. Galgenstrick is correct, don't just look at cardio options. Resistance exercise is an important part of fitness.

It's so personal, no one can tell you what you might enjoy. Example: I can't stand Turbo Fire. Chalene's okay, just not TurboFire.

AmberSpamber

Honestly, once I start seeing results, I crave working out... so just keep pushing through it and you will start to love it. Also, switch it up. I do the 21 day fix workouts and the Jillian Michaels workouts. They kick my butt, are 30 min, and are enjoyable for me cause they are always changing! I also find it's a mind set. When I go into a workout dreading it, I don't give it my all. When I give myself a positive mantra about the workout I am going to do, such as" working out makes me feel amazing" or " I am bettering myself when I work out" it helps me to be excited about what i am about to do. Good luck lady. It sucks initially, but it will get better.

ALG775

Why not sign up for the weekly Zumba class? And then continue with the walking.

You could find a walking partner and shake up the routine a bit- i.e., walk interspersed with some body weight resistance exercises (lunges, squats, push ups, triceps dips), or walk interspersed with going up a hill, doing intervals.

I agree with the idea of trying different things- don't give up!

Maybe incorporate 15 minutes of dancing at home with your favourite music on every day! It doesn't have to be serious or heavy. I used to love dancing with my kids when they were younger. I still love dancing with them- but they don't think I'm as cool as I used to be

kgirlhart

I walk every day with my dog. I enjoy it, she enjoys it and I look forward to it almost everyday. If it's really cold and wet not so much, but most days I really look forward to it. I have recently started a yoga dvd and I love it. I find it to be good for stress relief. I feel like I need to start doing some kind of weight training. My husband keeps trying to talk me into it, but I just don't really enjoy it that much. I do sometimes work my arms with a small dumbbell, but honestly I only do it if he reminds me. I have friends who do some kind of insanity boot camp something at the local gym. I just can't get into that. I just remind myself that the eating is for losing weight and the exercise is for fitness. I do want to be more fit, so I look for exercise that I can enjoy, but I'm not going to make myself get up at 5 in the morning to go to some boot camp. I think the key is to find something that you do enjoy and not worry about what others are doing.

ObsidianMist

I hated exercise at first but I knew I needed to get more fit so I just paid for a gym membership - monetary motivation right there - and started going to classes so that I had a specific schedule which helps me with getting up and doing it, I like the routine. months went by and all of a sudden one day I realized that I felt GOOD after my workout! it just happened at some point without me noticing. The social aspect of the classes helps me enjoy it too. I'm always smiling and laughing and chatting when I'm at the gym.

blues4miles

kgirlhart wrote: »

I walk every day with my dog. I enjoy it, she enjoys it and I look forward to it almost everyday. If it's really cold and wet not so much, but most days I really look forward to it. I have recently started a yoga dvd and I love it. I find it to be good for stress relief. I feel like I need to start doing some kind of weight training. My husband keeps trying to talk me into it, but I just don't really enjoy it that much. I do sometimes work my arms with a small dumbbell, but honestly I only do it if he reminds me. I have friends who do some kind of insanity boot camp something at the local gym. I just can't get into that. I just remind myself that the eating is for losing weight and the exercise is for fitness. I do want to be more fit, so I look for exercise that I can enjoy, but I'm not going to make myself get up at 5 in the morning to go to some boot camp. I think the key is to find something that you do enjoy and not worry about what others are doing.

Walking is where I started too. Throw on some headphones and listen to a good podcast or audiobook. Don't need anything special and don't change before I go out. Look forward to it every day.

CollieFit

You want exercise to relieve your stress..... Perhaps you need to learn to enjoy it for its own sake rather than a mere means to an end? You need to find something YOU enoy.

It's not like there isn't a wide enough choice. Classes... Zumba... Weights... Running.... Cycling... Swimming... Racquet Sports... Netball... Team Sports.... Hiking.... The choice is endless. If you insist that there is nothing you can enjoy then your issue lies in your own defences to exercising.

MeanderingMammal

ashteinpeacock wrote: »

I like to dance and I think I would enjoy boxing.

There are Zumba classes around, but that's only like once a week.

I really like gymnastics

So you don't hate exercise, it's just that what you enjoy isn't available to you.

So the question becomes, how do you get access to what you want to do? Equally, what is available to you that's closest to what you enjoy?

becky10rp

Find out what absolutely LOVE to do - take classes - try a gym - try EVERYTHING. See what 'clicks'. Some people swear by working out outside; others love the gym - still others love working out @ home. If you have a dog - try including the dog with your workouts. Experiment with music while working out - or watching movies - just explore every option you have - you'll find something you love.

peleroja

I hated all of it for a long time but it turns out that I mostly hated it because it was hard. I pushed through for a couple months though and now that I'm in good cardiovascular shape and much stronger, I don't hate exercise because I don't feel like I'm going to die when I'm doing it anymore. I'm lifting weights and running half-marathons and it's no longer agonizing to do those things because I'm fitter, so it's not so much of a mental challenge anymore either, you know? And then being fitter means that other stuff, like taking classes with my girlfriends or hiking in the mountains with my husband or playing a random pickup game of something, is so much easier too and when I feel like I'm good at something I'm way more likely to keep doing it.

I mean, I'm still clumsy and my hand-eye coordination is not good so I'm never going to love most sports, but it's amazing to be able to just go for a nice easy run or whatever without feeling like my lungs are going to explode or my legs will collapse, you know?

Capt_Apollo

i hated exercise, until i found one i liked. Cycling is awesome. doing it outside, with a nice view, and you'll forget you're getting a workout it.

enterdanger

I hated exercise my whole life until I found running. I love swimming too, but I still feel like it is a hella lot of work to check the pool schedule, try and get a lane at the Y, find childcare (because my little guy HATES the kids zone there for some reason and they kick your kid out if he cries longer than 15 minutes), the chlorine, etc.

I just try and go path of least resistance.

callsitlikeiseeit

i wanted to lose weight more than i hated exercise.

then... the more i did, the more i liked it. it got easier. i got stronger and could go longer and push harder. i did zumba for awhile and really enjoyed that. i began running (more like a turtle through peanut butter but hey- whatever!). in the summer i live in my pool (always have though).

catsrule308

Start slow, once or twice a week and work your way up. Music helps me for running because then I don't have to focus on the pain XD

shilshilshil

If you enjoy zumba, there are zumba workouts available on youtube!

tappleby_14

It seems you hate the idea of exercise altogether so it is almost determined before you really get into anything. Try to have an open mind and then just try things. You don't have to absolutely love lifting, yoga, dance, etc. to do it but you may love the feeling you get after it or after you see progress. Kind of like going to work sucks but you need to make money! Only you can Decide how to make it better for yourself! And how much you want results! You got this and you deserve progress always remember that!

ashteinpeacock

I would really love to join the new gym that has opened beside where I work... but time is my enemy in order to do it... May sound like an excuse, but I honestly don't know when I would go. I get off at 5, and the daycare closes at 6. So, yea I may could go for 30 minutes after work, but I don't feel like that's enough. Mornings are not even an option. I live 30 minutes from the gym and have to take my daughter to pre-k at 7:45 and go straight to work. I don't want to go later at night, because again, I live 30 minutes from the gym and can't afford to waste that kind of gas, and don't want to waste time I can be home with my daughter. She is on a schedule at night for school. So what do some of you do who also have this issue?

brb_2013

I try to make it fun, and the wii helps with that. I play all the games and my favorite is the hula hoop. I squat down just a bit and it's a great core and leg workout. Plus it's built in that you want to beat your last score so it's progressive and I tend to want to try more than once

Also, and I know it's kinda touchy-feely, but the more I even just CARE about myself and my well being, the more I want to move. I feel the discomfort of exercise and think about how tomorrow these motions will be easier on my body and I am helping it along to my goal of health. This helps me turn the bad parts of exercise into positive thoughts so I don't get all down in the dumps about how difficult it is.