Mental block to working out?

cdmanney

I feel nervous admitting this but here it goes...
I don’t necessarily have a fear of working out, but I have a very difficult time getting past the “this is very uncomfortable” phase, and I tend to quit before a workout can have any benefit. Basically, I quit as soon as I start to feel the burn. I’ve tried different avanues of working out from yoga to videos to walking/running to working out in a gym. It’s all the same. Cognitively, I understand that I need to push past this feeling and that it’ll be so rewarding afterward. But for whatever reason I almost always quit way too soon. I often question if I need to see a mental health professional about this! I feel silly admitting this, but I know I’m in a safe group of supporters. Am I the only one who feels this way? And how can I overcome this? (Suck it up and do it? I haven’t been very successful with that approach so far...) Thanks, y’all.

NorthCascades

There's no reason to be nervous about saying anything in here. We're a bunch of friendly strangers who you'll never met in real life. And we're people on the same journey.

It sounds like you've tried a lot of typed of exercise, my advice is still try more. Borrow a bike, and ride it at a moderate pace. You don't need to suffer for exercise to be beneficial. But if you find something you love, that makes it so much easier to tolerate some burn.

Good luck!!

Cahgetsfit

that is very interesting. what do you mean by the burn? even when you walk do you feel the burn or is it only when you do more strenuous exercise so it's like "my muscles are being used" burn?

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for your predicament though.

rheddmobile

Would it be easier doing something for a very short amount of time? New research has found that exercise has benefits even when broken into small chunks of two or three minutes scattered throughout a day. Pick a YouTube video about five minutes long and do it in the privacy of your own home so you don’t feel embarrassed for doing such a short video. Tell yourself it’s o it five minutes. Repeat as necessary.

middlehaitch

Love @rheddmobile’s suggestion of doing a number of short workouts.
I have a few from Nerdfitness (body weight) and Hasfit (Intro weights) that I use when travelling.
They are simple and 15 min max.

I also have a few yoga routines that are just 5-10 min.

Another thing to think of is doing something that isn’t formal exercise. Gardening and dog walking come to mind. I’d you have neither community gardens or allotments are good, and kennels are always looking for walkers.

Just going for a walk is good. You don’t have to be out there for hours going at a fast pace. A couple of 15 min or less walks at a comfortable pace is great.

It took me 54 years to get into exercising, and I still don’t love it so I change what I do frequently. I found aqua fit a good starting routine as if you get tired you can just walk in place. You also don’t get hot and sweaty feeling- that really put me off at the beginning.

Cheers, h.

cdmanney

Thank you all for the suggestions. I don’t know what my mental block is, but it’s definitely mental! Lol! Right now I’m trying to close out the school year and then I’ll put my focus on ME this summer.

korina75

Break it into chunks of 5-10 minutes! There is good evidence that just 10 minutes of working out can be very beneficial. So commit to smaller chunks of time. 10 minute walk, 10 minutes of yoga, whatever you want.

AnnPT77

Intensity is optional. You don't have to exercise to the point of misery to get benefits. Just move, doing something fun for you. Of course, gradually increasing intensity over time will keep more and better benefits coming, but if you start slowly, relatively more intense exercise will gradually get easier, too.

Another possibility is to attempt something that's distractingly complicated to do, so that focus on the feelings is reduced (various forms of dancing, martial arts, games like pickleball or something, etc., could qualify).

alondrakar

When I couldn't do it on my own anymore (tried almost everything) I joined a private group gym. They kick my butt every single time. My gym offers HIIT and lift days so I get a little of everything. It's great and really was the answer to the rut that I was in. Good luck.

kimny72

I've never done any exercise past the point of what I would consider "the burn". Except for one time I went on a hike that was at the max of my previous ability and it turned out to be super hilly and my quads started burning but I had no choice but to get to the end.

I guess my question would be: What is your goal for exercising? There are some goals where working past your comfort zone might be necessary. If you are just trying to lose weight and stay healthy, getting your heart rate up a little and maybe getting a little out of breathe is an okay place to be! Exercise is one of those things where for most people, every little bit helps.

blobby10

I have a mental block with full press ups and also pull ups. I just can't do them, even though I can when I'm with my PT! Same with pushing the weights - when I train alone, I never find my one rep max as I just can't push it!