How to make exercise a habit?

RandJ6280

Just do it! Everyday... do something positive.... nothing more than walk around the block... just do it!

aylajane

Cheesy, but buy one or two really cool workout "outfits" that look good and feel good. I find if I put the clothes on, I tend to follow through! As a reward, each time you meet some goal (i.e. walk 10k steps a day for a week, work up to 20 pushups, etc), buy one more outfit

LillysMomma09

I started off with an indoor bike.. so as I'm watching TV I biked. I would set my mind to biking for a whole rerun of Charmed or Gilmore Girls. That turned into walking. That turned into jogging. Getting into competition with yourself is the best advice I can give. Can I go longer? Can I go faster? Can I have less walking breaks?
All of this turned into kettlebell workouts which I now love! Cardio and strength mixed into one! So now I job and do KB workouts on a regular basis, and I enjoy both. Good luck to you!

CSARdiver

You have to approach this from two angles -

One: Long term perspective. Find something you are passionate about that incorporates health and fitness as part of this. Hiking, travelling, biking, playing with your kids/grandkids, etc. You need something that has a deeper meaning that will keep you going over a lifetime.

Two: Short term perspective. Find activities that feed into your long term passion. No one enjoys running in the beginning. Most start out walking, then find they are good at it and enjoy the benefits more than the effort, then this develops into doing more, then more...

Small changes over time yield dramatic results.

hjeppley

I agree wth @HermanLily --I was injured and wanted to get back in the habit of exercising after being off for a long time, so I made the goal of 1 h of some sort of aerobic activity first thing in the morning (or at the latest lunch time). I started with just walking around the neighborhood. After doing it for about 6 weeks, I was able to increase the amount of running and still stay active each day for the same amount of time with a combination of running, walking and water walking. The key was the consistency, so that even when my schedule got a whole lot busier at the end of those 6 weeks, I was eager to make space for the exercise.

kelseyllhunt

Ugh. I'm like you and really want to like exercising, but normally never make it a priority. Right now, I use my 30 minute lunch at work to walk around the neighborhood by my office, and try to do 10 minutes of yoga before bed each night. I'm going to try to start working out early in the morning, but I feel like starting small is the best way to go.

rheddmobile

I dislike exercise so I do as little of it at the highest intensity as I can, and then it's over. I can deal with anything for 15 minutes. I could live through being waterboarded for 15 minutes. And 15 minutes of HIIT cycling - high intensity two minutes, extreme intensity 1 minute, repeat 5 times - reliably burns almost 300 calories and drops my blood glucose if it's high. I make myself do the 15 minutes every day even if I do nothing else.

Then I try to add fun things. I find challenges fun. I started with the 200 squats challenge and the 100 push-ups challenge and the 200 squats challenge, then moved on to strength training when those got easy. I'm doing c25k right now. I also enjoy music, so I dance and do Zumba and Bollywood routines.

tcunbeliever

Did you miss the part where exercising gives you more calories to eat???

If you go to the gym every other day - since you said going all out seems to be part of the problem, just aim for half the time - then you would have more calories to eat every other day. I would totally go insane on 1300 calories a day every day.

Strength training is the best for turning skinny into sexy, cardio is awesome for your heart and circulatory system, balance and flexibility work is awesome for keeping your body limber and healthy and injury free.

Plan a 90 day routine - it's more than the 1 month rut you seem to be stuck in

Exercise 3x a week for 90 days, after you make that goal, sit down and think about how you feel and was it really worth it - I'm betting you will find plenty of motivation right there.

Brabo_Grip

I have always loathed traditional gyms. They bore me to tears and was part of the reason I couldn't stick with a workout plan in my mid-30s. By accident I stumbled on something I love, which became a passion - BJJ/MMA. I dropped 90lbs and am in the best overall shape of my life at age 42. I need my training time like I need breath.

You can get exercise anywhere. Look for non-traditional methods and find what you love.

hydechildcare

I hate missing my shows (we can't record them) so I bought a treadmill 3 weeks ago. Since then I have put in 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. I meet up with some friends and walk with them 1 day a week. I have found sitting at work all day makes me not want to get my evening walk in so now I get up and walk a few laps around the office between phone calls and emails. I have added in body weight exercise during the day. Squats, lunges, crutches, and push ups. If I stay active during the day I am more likely to come home do cardio, clean the house, and sometimes get some yoga in.

estherdragonbat

I got started when a medical condition had my doctor order me to stay off my leg as much as possible. (Cellulitus led to lymphedema. The leg wasn't healing because they were still trying to find the right antibiotic. And I was told that walking could further heat an already overheated—due to infection—leg and slow down the healing even more.) So... reverse psychology. The more I was restricted from walking, the more I wanted to get off my kitten and move. And by the time the vascular surgeon cleared me, I was ready and rarin'.

I started with a 25-minute daily walk. Then I realized that I had lost enough to use the glider in my basement safely. And I started slowly increasing the time of my walks.

I discovered the MFP forums around January and started reading and learning. Stuff like 'strength training isn't just another exercise you can do, but something that can help you preserve muscle'.

And I started noticing a few things little by little:

• I deal with stress and minor anxiety issues. In the past, eating to numb the emotions was one my unhealthy coping strategies. Since I've started exercising, I haven't had any serious bouts with either.
• TOM has gone from severe cramping and stomach issues to almost no side issues. I find I want more salt and carbs then than the rest of the month, but it's more of an 'I feel like I could go for a little more popcorn or a bigger baked potato' than going through an entire 2.5-quart pot of matzo ball soup in a day or 3-4 loaves of naan with garlic butter. And it's more of a want than a craving.
• My walking speed has improved.
• In a year, my blood pressure has gone from 130/90 to 110/80
• It seems that I have deltoids. And they're kinda visible.

shaunshaikh

Things just get to the point where the benefits of doing the thing outweigh the negatives in your own life. Now it's hard for met o imagine missing one of my exercise sessions, because that means my diet will need to be more restrictive, I won't have as much energy, I won't be progressing towards my fitness goals, etc etc.

I do believe the key to sustainability is making things stuff you enjoy that don't feel like a chore or torture. What that is can be very personal to each person.

Jruzer

tcunbeliever wrote: »

Did you miss the part where exercising gives you more calories to eat???

That was the hook for me, and I think this point is not made often enough. I effectively make up my deficit (when I'm losing) with exercise, and eat at approximately my maintenance level.

lahcjh

Honestly, the want to not be gross or fat or lumpy should be the motivation enough. I am so sick and tired of not being happy in the mirror. Breathing hard. Not wearing skinny hot dresses. Guilt after eating bad or being lazy. You got to hate it and be done with it. If you can hate the way you look and hate your health, yet be lazy and not get off the couch... Then you are not tired of it yet. You are not yet ready to change. You aren't unhappy with your situation enough. That alone is the motivation.

Aplant77

Some awesome advice here! I'll add that having an accountability partner really helps. For me it's my sister who lives 1500 miles away. Every night before bed I text her that I'll be getting up and doing this work out or that work out. Just knowing that I promised her that I would be getting my butt out of bed and doing a work out forces me to get my butt out of bed. Because in the morning, I text her and tell her that I crushed that work out. If you have a friend to meet you, even better! But even someone that you can't lie to and talk to everyday will help.

GemstoneofHeart

I know this seems so over simplified but you just have to do it. Over and over again. You can't fall into a new habit without doing it all the time. So exercise and don't make excuses.

Alpha12

Sam29a wrote: »

How do I get from couch potato - literally, I probably walk 500 steps a day - if that, to at least somewhat active?

If you only walk about 500 steps a day, try adding 50-100 extra steps each day. Before you know it, you'll be off the couch and enjoying challenging yourself to see how far you can go.

lorrpb

It can take longer than 3 weeks. Depending on the person maybe it will take 6 months. I agree with @AnnPT77 . Appointment based workouts are great at helping you credit the habit. Maybe start with 2-3x week and just walk the other days. A more reasonable frequency helps you stay with it better.

fjmartini

Remove emotion from the activity and do it like you're being paid to do it. There's been plenty of times I've worked out and not liked it but I knew it was necessary for me to reach my goals. Don't think about things you need to do in future tense to reach a goal. You'll create anxiety and likely reason yourself out of doing it.

GottaBurnEmAll

1. Find something you love doing
2. Ease your way into doing it in manageable steps
3. Commit to doing those manageable steps for 2-3 months
4. If you are a lazy type like I am, remove as many impediments to performing those steps as possible

Example: I know I like strength training, but have struggled to find a way of doing it that's just right for me and that I can do with consistency. I've recently found out a way of training from another MFP member that's just perfect.

In the past, I've struggled with making it to the gym. I got around that by getting home equipment. I got around difficulties with performing certain strength exercises by getting some better equipment.

If, after three or four weeks you're still struggling? What you're doing isn't working for you. Try another activity.