Exercise makes me depressed. Anyone else this way?

liaoverbrook

sam33a wrote: »

Mcwi3681 wrote: »

I hated to exercise too. I forced myself to do it because everyone else seems to love it, why don't I?? Now that I'm seeing results with the strength training program Ive been using, I'm enjoying working out a lot more. I still don't LOVE it like some people, and if I had to leave my house or be around other people I would never do it. You just need to find an activity you like to do.

That's what I was hoping. That even if I don't love it, I'll still do it because of the results. However, I don't stick with it long enough to see any. Maybe I should try a class. I've never been to one before because I'm not as fit as I would like to be and would hate to be the only one not able to keep up.

This was me a month ago, I didn't wanna go the gym or to a class until my fitness level went up but it wouldn't ever have gone up if i didn't join the gym. I went to my first class last week (legs bum and tums) and I was petrified! But then i followed as much as I could, i tried my hardest and stopped whenever I needed too and it easier said than done but just focus on you. If you're the first to stop, then that's okay! I was so worried about others laughing at me or thinking why was i in the class if i couldn't do it but just like everyone else, I was there to get fitter.

It's proper easier said than done but just try

good luck

SnifterPug

This was me three years ago. I went to the gym regularly and found the treadmill tolerable-ish if I watched the TV or listened to some good music. But I was totally wasting my time as I never actually worked hard enough to see any benefit. It was just mindless, and a real slog to force myself to do.

I took up an offer at our gym of some cut price personal training sessions. This was because I wanted to start working with weights to stave off osteoporosis as I get older. I was terrified and fully expected to hate it. The trainer introduced me to kettlebells, and to my surprise I enjoyed using them. I decided to carry on with the training because I found the sessions more enjoyable than doing stuff by myself plus I was starting to notice results. Then the trainer introduced me to boxing and that has changed my life.

Now you cannot keep me out of the gym. I go at least 6 days a week. But it does not take over my life because I go, work properly hard for an hour and then leave. The increased strength has resulted in increased confidence in every aspect of my life. Housework is more tolerable as I am not totally out of breath after dragging the vacuum around.

I would definitely recommend trying all sorts of different things. Do try a class. (I hate classes, but I have tried a few just in case.) Just remember that it does not matter if you can't initially do whatever it is they are asking you to do. I've gone from being scared of failing (and scared of getting into a red sweaty heap) to being pleased when I find something new I suck at because it gives me another challenge.

nighthawk584

seeing results of what diet and exercise can do makes me hate it less

SugaSugaNooo

You don't have to love exercise. It's just something you need to fit in your life, like brushing teeth or hoovering your house.
Just try to find something that's bearable, if the gym is not for you, try cycling, dancing, rock climbing, karate, rowing, hiking, the possibilities are endless.

Crafty_camper123

I'm not a fan of going to the gym for hours on end either. Heck it's hard for me to even find the time and motivation to go for just half an hour, and my gym is across the highway from me. So I just did 15-30 minute youtube workouts, or workouts from a fitness app. Whatever I felt I had the time and energy for. I actually did see results from it too. It doesn't have to be a huge time consuming thing to see results.

Other things you can do is just little things to keep up your activity level. I am crap at staying on top of an exercise routine. I either get bored with it, or get sidelined by injury or illness and never pick it back up. But what has helped me maintain what I lost for over a year is doing little things to keep myself active.
-walk during my work breaks
-park at the back of the parking lot when shopping
-if out grocery shopping and I only need a few things I carry a basket instead of using a shopping cart
-dance like an idiot while cleaning and listening to fun music. (I am so so bad at dancing, )
-take the stairs if availbale
-try to stand more then sit at social gatherings

LIttle things like this help keep my activity level up, allows me to eat around 1800 cals a day as maintenance instead of 1500, and feels like it takes up little of my time. Maybe you could find a park to walk to, you could wander your home while you read a textbook to study, walk your neighborhood during slow times if it's safe(less peopley) walk to your grocery store if it's not too far away. Put a little extra physical effort while cleaning such as so a squat every time you pick a thing up, scrub with more zeal and flair, whatever it takes to be a little more ineffiecient and therefore more active.

lovelylosses

Have you thought about an app?

I own Jillian Michaels' app, and I find that it's great for times I don't feel like going to the gym. There are a ton of programs and you can set it to beginner, intermediate or advanced. It would eliminate traveling time for you and you can even do programs without equipment or dumbbells if you don't have any. The workouts are quick and you won't even have time to think before it's done. She includes fitness tests you can do to track your progress, and most of her DVDs are also included.

Of course there are tons of apps out there, so I'd recommend choosing one that's right for you - JM is just an example. I wasn't a big fan of exercise until I discovered her years & years ago. I liked the structure of her workouts and how quickly I saw results. It motivated me and it just grew from there.

My other suggestion is just to watch your calories and walk more. You say you walk to the gym and it takes 15 minutes. Why not try walking around your city for 45 minutes or an hour? That's exercise! Try anything to get your blood going and your heart pumping and don't be so hard on yourself. Not everyone likes the gym!

CSARdiver

I find the best way to look at exercise as a vehicle to push you to an ideal. Pick an athlete you aspire to be like. Pick an activity you dream of excelling at and then identify exercises which help you toward this path.

yirara

I could imagine for someone who doesn't like a busy area of town group classes might be a nightmare.

Have you considered working out at home? Bodyweight exercises require very little space, worst case just 1x2m. There's a lot you can do if you focus on basic exercises such as pushups, squats, lunges and core exercises. Each of those four groups has a huge amount of variation from easy to darn difficult, and once something gets too easy you just work on something new. Also, I can't imagine a single place in the UK where nature is further away than 1 mile, even if it's just a park or a lake. You could grab your kids and go on long walks with a stroller, or get inline scales and do the same a bit faster.

Hyacinth_Hippo

I hate gym workouts, so I don't really ever go, even when I have a membership. I love to dance, so I signed up for some expensive-ish dance classes. I don't like to miss them because I enjoy them, and because I spent so much damn money on them I better go! I can't stand doing 20 squats in a row, I get bored, but ask me to do 32 counts of plies (basically a squat) and I'm having fun. For me the dance class has the added benefit of making me stop thinking about work/school/ anything else because I'm concentrating on doing the moves right. I found taking the dance classes and having that break from school improved my grades. A one hour dance class is my cardio and my body weight exercise, it takes about 1.5 - 2 hours out of my day (including getting changed and getting there and back) and I go 3 times a week.
I wonder if there are any active classes that you might enjoy? maybe martial arts, dance, swimming? Or batting cages, mini golf, etc - just anything to get you moving a bit?

idioblast

I don't like crowds, but I love group exercise. When I started getting serious about working out (about 15 years ago once I'd graduated college and started gaining some weight at a desk job), I started by going to the gym and doing something similar to what you are doing, cardio for 30-60 min and then strength training of some kind. I didn't really enjoy it, but kept at it to lose weight. I would be pretty consistent for a couple months, miss a few weeks or a month, then drag myself back for another couple of months.

This changed when I found group exercise. The first thing I had to do was actually walk through the door with the knowledge that I had no clue what to expect. After I got over that (it took awhile of being in the back as much as possible), it started to become fun. I really enjoyed various kickboxing classes offered at the YMCA, but it was always still a bit unnerving when I would travel and had to go to a class I had no experience with. Then I moved to the UK for work and found Les Mills, specifically BodyPump and BodyCombat. I love, love, love these classes and have been doing them now for over 10 years consistently (back in the US now).

The main reason I love these classes (and others from Les Mills like BodyAttack, BodyFlow, BodyStep, CXWorx, etc) is that there is a format which is typically about 10 tracks and it is the same in whatever gym you go to that has Les Mills. It does take a few classes to understand the cues and moves, but once you've got it, it can be a lot of fun and challenging at any level.

One more note on group exercise: there are almost ALWAYS new people in the class and a variety of fitness levels and body types. Also, everyone in there is concentrating on themselves and not whatever a new person might be doing.

cwolfman13

sam33a wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

sam33a wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

Personally not being able to exercise depresses me.
As would eating such a miniscule amount of food - you have my sympathies!

Is there no outdoor exercise you enjoy? Maybe it's the gym environment you dislike?

PS - it's not clear why you hate walking for 15 minutes or why it would take up to 3hrs out of your day. What else would you be doing with this time?

I dislike all forms of exercise. I wish I didn't. Maybe I'm just lazy. As for why I hate walking there. That's 30 minutes there and back in a busy area. I hate crowds of people. I work during the day and I'm also writing my dissertation in the evenings and weekends. I would much rather be studying than working out. I honestly just don't understand how people can enjoy it.

If you truly can't find anything in the massively wide scope of exercise/sport/physical activity you can enjoy then maybe just think of it as an investment of time for a reward of improved health and fitness.
A bit like investing in your further education / degree is an investment in your future career?

Not seeing how a gym workout and 30 mins of walking adds up to 3hrs though.

If you don't like being amongst people then maybe getting out and about in the countryside would appeal more?

I include all the time it takes from getting up to go to the gym to coming back home. Take Sunday for example. I headed to the gym at 4pm and returned home at 7pm. I do cardio for around an hour and then another 45-60 minutes on weights. I don't drive and so heading out to the countryside whenever I fancy isn't exactly feasible. I live in a city in England. The countryside is miles away, unfortunately.

Part of this is an efficiency issue and the way you're going about it is a time suck. Most people don't spend 2 hours working out daily unless they are specifically training for something.

Hitting the weights daily is actually counterproductive...you need rest and recovery in between. There are body part splits that allow you to hit the weight room daily, but they are generally for more advanced lifters and/or for people who actually like going to the gym everyday. You'd be better off doing a full body program...the one I was doing took me about 30-40 minutes. You don't need to do a whole bunch of different movements and isolation work if you're doing a full body program that focuses on compound lifts...you can get a good workout with 3 compound lifts per session.

Do cardio on your non lifting days...maybe not even in the gym...just go for a nice long walk or something.

Cant_think_of_a_username

sam33a wrote: »

I do cardio for around an hour and then another 45-60 minutes on weights.

Wow Sam...
That's a lot of time and work, especially on so few calories - I think it would depress me too.
In your shoes I'd be changing my aim for the week from 5 days of resistance and cardio, to doing weights 3 times a week (full body routine) on a Mon, Wed, Fri - that gives sufficient recovery between workouts and should prevent you feeling drained. I'd do 30 mins gentle cardio on the rest days - Tue, Thur and Sat... with Sunday completely off.

I've been in your position with the study guilt but found that having something completely unrelated to do was actually good therapy and let me come back to my dissertation with a clear head - often allowing me to improve and re-write sections that needed it.

Good luck with it - I really hope you find a way that works for you.
Cheers
Steve

evefryer

I am also not the biggest fan of exercise, and I would never be able to motivate myself to do something I didn't enjoy for as much time as you are using up. I get over it by
1. Doing properly hard (for me, anyway) exercise for a short period of time - I would second the poster above's suggestion about Gillian Michaels. Her DVDs (especially kickbox fast fix and 30 day shred) are great - really short but intense workouts, so you feel like you have achieved but without taking a huge amount of time
2. Work out which time of day is least awful for exercise and put what you need in place so that it is straightfoward to achieve. I exercise best first thing in the morning, so before I go to bed I put my gym clothes next to the bed (have even been known to sleep in my gym clothes), and have the DVD I want to do ready to go in the DVD player. The more steps I have to accomplish before exercising, the less likely I am to actually do it.