How to make exercise enjoyable

kuroshii

I don't particularly like to exercise either, but I *love* how I feel after I have done so.

I have a stationary bike too, and by itself it's boring boring BORING! So instead of just the quiet, I listen to my stompy music on headphones. Or sometimes a podcast. I have tried audiobooks, but I found myself slowing down too much (paying too much attention to the book and not keeping up speed/heart-rate) so I stopped. But with something to listen to it's nowhere near as boring. I suspect if I tried watching TV or Netflix I would get distracted, but I know several people who don't have any such problems and catch up on their shows that way biking several times a week. I bike just once a week and do other exercise-things on other days.

Also if your bike has different "programs" and you have not already done so, choose a program that isn't flat which will help mix things up too.

kiiibbb112253

lorrpb wrote: »

kiiibbb112253 wrote: »

KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »

EVERYONE HAS TIME! How bad do you want it? MAKE IT HAPPEN!.

Lol not when you have a little girl with tennis lessons and a teenage son who is the drum major of his marching band.

So no one whose kids have activities can exercise themselves? Wow.

lorrpb wrote: »

kiiibbb112253 wrote: »

KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »

EVERYONE HAS TIME! How bad do you want it? MAKE IT HAPPEN!.

Lol not when you have a little girl with tennis lessons and a teenage son who is the drum major of his marching band.

So no one whose kids have activities can exercise themselves? Wow.

You don't have to be rude

areesharu

I agree with finding a form of exercise or physical activity you actually enjoy, which will make it more sustainable for you. But I am also a huge proponent of "tricking" your brain into thinking you're not working out, which might be an unpopular opinion, but it makes the time fly by. For me, that means watching silly action movies while working out on my elliptical machine (you can do the same on your stationary bike). Because I'm following a story, I forget that I'm even working out. Plus, when there's a lot of physical action in a movie it will naturally get you pumped up and you'll want to work harder. Watching fit people on screen also doesn't hurt.

jgnatca

You are right in the middle of the super-involved parent phase, soon to be replaced by the empty nester phase. Better think about the things you want to be doing that have nothing to do with the kids. Because this is your life.

Exercise is fun when it is play.

Try lots of different things. Don't get stuck in a rut.

Here's some ideas.
Get yourself a graphite racing bike and ride it the twenty minutes you've been wasting on the treadmill.
Get yourself a cute cheerleaders costume and run up and down outside your daughter's tennis court.
Water boy at band practice.

canadianlbs

kiiibbb112253 wrote: »

I am a person who overall does not enjoy exercise. I can't go out and play tennis because I don't have a lot of time on my hands. The only thing I have is a stationary bike that I can use right before work starts. I listen to music, but that gets boring rather quickly. Do you guys have any ideas on how I could spice up my exercise?

i can treadmill if i'm in a let's-make-me-a-runner type mode [rare], but i would slit. my. wrists. if i had to work out on an exercise bike. don't ask me why; i don't know.

i bike commute. stationary bikes make me want to throttle myself with my own intestines, but for some reason a real bike with a destination i can take seriously does work for me. i never go riding 'for fun', but i ride somewhere for practical reasons pretty much every day and i don't resent that.