How can I learn to like exercise

kshama2001

localgrr wrote: »

Thanks everyone ! Wow overwealmed with the response. I would say the main reason I would want to exercise is so I can eat what I like again
Hmm what exercise do I like ?? I like any aerobics where the instructor actually picks good music... zumba is fun. I do like walking and cycling.

My main problem with the gym is its such a big chunk out of my day - by the time ive got there and back, worked out and showered - it's just precious hours out of my busy life.

The truth is I doubt I can find any sport I like more than hanging out with my cat or drinking with my friends - sad but true !!!

Ok, there are lots of activities you like, you just need to commit to doing them. Would any of your friends be interested in doing any of them with you?

brenn24179

I love exercise, but I only like it when I do what I enjoy, for me it is zumba, biking, walking and get some great thinking in, hiking, I love physical stuff. But if you don't maybe walking is the answer.

drachfit

localgrr wrote: »

Thanks everyone ! Wow overwealmed with the response. I would say the main reason I would want to exercise is so I can eat what I like again
Hmm what exercise do I like ?? I like any aerobics where the instructor actually picks good music... zumba is fun. I do like walking and cycling.

I would suggest re-framing the problem in your mind. "Exercise" is a sweaty, difficult ordeal that is not too enjoyable. Exercise for the sake of exercise is not a motivating mindset. I suggest you find some greater purpose for your exercise. That way, the point of each session is not just to get sweaty, but to fulfill that greater, more meaningful purpose. Such a purpose could be:

1. training for a future athletic event, trip, or sport that you enjoy. (for example, your running right now is so that you can go on a long hiking/backpacking trip this summer in a beautiful national park. you are doing squats so you can go on that sweet ski trip out west. you like playing pick-up soccer games with your friends and want to get an edge. you want to be able to do cool party tricks like backflips at the BBQ this summer. etc. etc. etc.)
2. maintaining your health into old age so you don't have to depend on your kids to support you
3. setting a good example for your kids so they learn how to grow up strong and healthy
4. being able to play with any future grandkids
5. being hot for your spouse
6. being hot for your own self-confidence
7. having good health so that you are less likely to have costly health issues in old age that could have been prevented.

We do this all the time with a very similar activity - work. You might love your job, but sometimes work is still work and there are hard parts to every job but we go anyway. Nobody would go to work if the only reason was "to get work done." They are getting paid, and secondly, if they are lucky they find their work interesting and satisfying for some reason.

Why? For the same reasons I listed above - so you can retire in old age, so you can send your kids to college, so you can have nice things, or live in a safe neighborhood. Or, maybe you think your work is important to the world because you help people or invent new things.

My main problem with the gym is its such a big chunk out of my day - by the time ive got there and back, worked out and showered - it's just precious hours out of my busy life.

i would suggest that finding at least an hour or two out of every day to keep your body and mind in good working order should be pretty high on your priority list. if you don't have time now, will you have time to recover from heart surgery or a stroke when you are 50?

there are probably some ways to be more efficient with your day too (find a gym on the way home from work instead? build a home gym? take up running? watch 1 less netflix episode? =P )

The truth is I doubt I can find any sport I like more than hanging out with my cat or drinking with my friends - sad but true !!!

then your only choice is to accept the level of health, fitness, and aesthetic appeal that that lifestyle bestows upon you.

So all that gives you more reasons to exercise. As far as making the exercise itself more enjoyable, I suggest you find a style of exercise that you can make measureable progress at. Running is a basic example; you know that you are going faster and longer than the last time and that is satisfying. You can apply this to a lot of exercises, but to me stuff like Zumba is a lot harder to measure. You are just getting sweaty for a half hour - but maybe you will start to notice that you are doing the dance moves better, or faster, or more gracefully than before, or you're not as fatigued as before, and this will allow you to get a sense of the progress that you are making.

And there is always progress in losing weight and/or looking better!

drachfit

double post oooops

TheBeachgod

I've gotten into the habit of not exercising and saying " I hate going to the gym" and such. I'll gain weight, get a Dad bod, decide to do something about it so I start counting calories again to lose the weight and reluctantly start exercising again to get in shape, maybe even join a gym even though I know I'll hate it.

Then something happens.

I start losing some flab thanks to improved, mindful eating habits and I start seeing some results in my build after spending some time in the gym. Suddenly I don't mind the gym or other exercising and I actually look forward to it.

So the short answer on how to learn to like it: seeing results from it. Works for me anyhow.

localgrr

Brilliant stuff everyone, I'm already staring to think about exercising more posiitively. The diet is going so well, but I definitely feel weak from I guess halving my calorie intake - time to get off my butt!

robertw486

I think for some people, they might never really enjoy exercise, especially when they are first starting. As with anything else in life, we often aren't as good at it when we first start. So it's harder when you are slower, weaker, or it's just harder to do. As you improve, it becomes more fun, but only if you find the right things to do.

I used to hate most cardio. I think this had to do with the forced cardio from my military days. We had to do it in training, we got tested and it could affect our career and promotions, so we had to stay decent at it. But now that it's no longer forced on me, I enjoy it more. And I can go at my own pace, and even if my pace sucks it's not a career ending thing.

And similar to some others, when I see results it motivates me. Even though now I'm at a maintenance weight, I see improvements in times, or realize I can now go at that pace for XX time longer when I want. And at some point it actually becomes fun. There are days I'm a ball of dripping sweat and it's well worth it. I'm sweating my tail off but feeling accomplished.

And endorphins. Plenty of endorphins.