How do people like exercise??
creesama
Posts: 128 Member
I've struggled with exercising since grade school. Now I'm a 30 year old mom of a 2 1/2 year old and 4 month old working 3 days a week and keeping up with life the best I can. I'm morbidly obese and starting to eat better, but I just can't figure out how to enjoy exercise or how to set myself up better for success. What do you guys do?
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Replies
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Congrats on making the decision to improve your life!
I like Leslie Sansone's walking videos on YouTube, there's an amazing variety of lengths and different instructors that keep the basic moves really interesting. I wasn't into exercise 6 or 7 weeks ago, before my 60 y/o mom turned me onto them. Now I can't see missing a day I've scheduled for them!9 -
I find that finding a type of exercise that you just find more interesting helps a lot, it doesn't have to be the most intense or the most popular thing - for example, I couldn't stand running or team sports as a kid and I still have 0 interest/motivation to even attempt them... but I've found that I enjoy going for walks and doing some bodyweight and dumbbell exercise at home. I've had a friend get into rock climbing, one into pole dancing, and a few more into hiking. (we're all late 20s and early 30s women)
It also helps to start slow enough where it doesn't feel like you're immediately hitting a wall or burning yourself out.6 -
Maybe you just haven’t found one you like yet. Some people just don’t like it and would rather eat better/count calories and walk.
I love running and yoga, I feel so strong and amazing after. I count calories and stay in a deficit, I also drink 120+ ounces of water a day (some days are a little less). Do you have a fitness watch? It really motivates me to move. Good luck on your journey! Feel free to add me.5 -
This may not be what you're looking for, and not speaking about you personally because I don't know, but I think sometimes people have a too-narrow definition of "exercise" in their heads, and that interferes with finding fun ways of including more movement in daily life. I'm not suggesting that all things are loggable as exercise, but any type of movement burns more calories and supports fitness better than no movement at all.
Some things I think some people don't consider are different kinds of dancing (even just bopping around to favorite tunes in the living room), active video/VR games, playing with kids (there are even actual exercise videos designed to include children, though it's not necessary to be that formal), hobbies like birdwatching or outdoor photography that involve walking around, and more. Some kinds of home activity also contribute: Thinking of gardening, carpentry, redecorating, etc. Some kinds of hobbies contribute: Playing a musical instrument, for example. It all adds up.
It's a myth that movement needs to be strenuous, exhausting or miserable in order to be helpful.
Gradually increasing daily movement can create a positive slippery slope, too, especially when combined with weight loss alongside. The more one moves, the easier it gets to move. The easier it gets to move, the more fun it is to move. The more fun it is to move, the more we want to move . . . and then maybe even do intentional things (formal exercise
) to get even better at moving.
Even the advice you see like "take the stairs instead of the elevator" or "park further out in the parking lot" contributes a little**. I know some of those things are less possible when small children are with you, though!
** There's a whole discussion about that in this thread, plus a cross-link to another similar thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1
Best wishes!20 -
I'm 30 as well and a mum of 4 children. I hate exercise so what I did was buy just dance for my switch console and love playing it. I could easily do an hour as time passes quickly playing it.2
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I used to despise exercise, so I definitely understand how you feel. It is all about finding something you feel is fun. I tried Jillian Michaels workouts and I found them to be so hard, I really got discouraged. As silly as it might sound, I had no idea that walking could be considered exercise and that's really how I got started on my current fitness path. I was complaining to a friend about how I always get injured when I start exercising and then I just quit. She suggested to me to go to YouTube and try an Ellen Barrett walk that she said she did on days she needed to move, but wasn't motivated. From there, I found Leslie Sansone who has changed my feelings about fitness. Like @FoolishJoy I found Leslie's workouts to be fun because there is a lot of variety in length of time and moves and she is a breath of fresh air. She is very encouraging and if you can't do some of the moves, you just walk in place. It's a very easy way to get started with fitness.
After doing so many of the walking fitness workouts, I wanted to try some strength training. I highly recommend HASfit on YouTube. They have several beginner workouts that start out with only 5-10 minutes of work. Almost every video they do includes beginner modifications unless it's a strictly advanced workout. Again, very positive and encouraging motivation from both instructors. I feel stronger for the first time in my life from consistently using their videos.
Like a few others have mentioned, just put on some music and dance! Anything you enjoy listening to, if you move your body, you'll burn a few calories and hopefully get some feel good emotions! I bet your 2 and 1/2 year old might like to bounce around to some music, too!
Good luck to you!7 -
I dont do exercises I dont like just for the sake of exercising because i know I cant stick with it. Most people do like at least one thing that gets their body moving though and any body movement that raises your heart rate counts. If theres absolutely nothing you like , that's when discipline comes into play.1
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I have always liked to be outside in nature, so walking and then hiking and later backpacking came fairly easily to me. Otherwise, I don't necessarily like exercise, but I love the way I feel after I exercise. I have done various forms of aerobics, both low and high impact, and yoga and pilates when I can't get outside. I'll second (or is that third) the Leslie Sansome videos. They are easy to follow and can leave you feeling like you had a good workout afterwards. The relentless cheerful chatiness gets to me sometimes, but it is easy enough to turn off the sound and just move to my own music. A few years ago I was challenged by an online acquaintance to do Couch to 5k with her and I ended up as a regular runner. I found I enjoyed doing races, even though I'm not fast. It is a fun atmosphere and I enjoy challenging myself to get better. So I started gettting more serious about training. Again, I don't always enjoy my runs, but I do love the way I feel after a run. There is a relaxation and serenity that I feel after I work hard. Not quite a runner's high, but definitely a runner's mellow.7
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Thank you guys! Those are great places to start, I haven't heard of Leslie Sansone, so maybe I'll try her first. I like the outdoors as well, but quickly overheat which is a huge bummer. Even when I was younger I had this problem. It's honestly probably part of my aversion to exercise because I got sick a few times. I need to try for mornings before my boys wake up, but that means 5:00am. C'mon discipline!6
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I used to just turn on music and dance, and it's fun to do with kids too. You can take them for walks, nature hikes, riding bikes, and play in the park. Just being active.
If you try Leslie Sansone and like that type of workout, you might also like freedom fit on YouTube.3 -
Could I just add one thing to my earlier comment?
I'd suggest that if you try something, maybe commit to do it a few times, even if it isn't fun at first (as long as it's not feeling like it'll be literally injurious in some way)?
For sure, keep the duration/frequency?intensity moderate at first, just a little bit of challenge . . . but not miserable.
It's 100% normal to do something the first time and feel awkward or uncoordinated, maybe even feel like it's undoable. It's unfamiliar, so that's natural. But if you can, give it another try or two after a couple of days or maybe the next week. Next time, some of that "newbie blues" tends to be out of the way, and it starts to seem more manageable, then in a few times, maybe even enjoyable.
Getting past that first, quite natural "Yikes!" or even "I can't" feeling, that can be part of the on-ramp to success.
(FWIW: I'm pretty active now, but was almost totally sedentary and inactive in my 40s, then after cancer and treatment (surgery-chemo-radiation) gradually getting more active, while obese. I ended up competing as an athlete in on-water & machine rowing a few years later. I'm not saying that's what you should do or even want to do, but I'm trying to say I have some empathy & experience going from being one of the kids picked last in gym class in school, to an inactive/obese adult, and then gradually becoming active when at an age where many people feel "too old." Before that, I would've laughed if someone had tried to tell me I'd end up strong and active in my 50s and beyond. If you make some gradual, enjoyable changes, you, too, may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.)
Best wishes!12 -
VeggieGirlforLife wrote: »After doing so many of the walking fitness workouts, I wanted to try some strength training. I highly recommend HASfit on YouTube.
I've been wanting to do some guided strength training! I'll have to check these out, thank you!!2 -
I went for a scenic bike ride ride yesterday along the coast of a big lake, and along a river. Great time!
The "secret" is to try different options until you find one you like. It doesn't have to be hardcore, it doesn't have to be super intense, you don't have to do it in a gym or on a machine. You just have to find something you enjoy. Maybe swimming in lakes, maybe hiking, who knows?2 -
The most important thing to do is to find something you enjoy and be disciplined. In the beginning it can be painful and uncomfortable but once your body gets into the habit of working out you’ll find it craves it. I HATE CrossFit and anything with a lot of quick transitions that require proper form but I discovered I love hill walking, running and cardio so much. I incorporate resistance and weights as well because I want to develop my muscles but that’s not what I enjoy but I know it’s beneficial. It’s all about realising that weightloss and fitness isn’t always easy but neither is being overweight. Sometimes you have to push through the wall to see road up ahead. Good luck!1
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FoolishJoy wrote: »VeggieGirlforLife wrote: »After doing so many of the walking fitness workouts, I wanted to try some strength training. I highly recommend HASfit on YouTube.
I've been wanting to do some guided strength training! I'll have to check these out, thank you!!
Absolutely! Look for the beginner videos to try them out. Let me know if you like them.
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Honestly i barely do. I like walking. Gonna buy a jump rope... weights are OK. Most everything else is meh. Though I enjoyed jogging today while my 3 year old held my hand and dragged me down the street telling me to go fast fast fast. That was pretty awesome.3
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Start small and try everything. I started with 15 minutes of at home exercise 2x/day because I knew that was something i could commit to. Eventually I started weightlifting and inline speedskating, both of which I love and now do as much for the joy of it as for the health benefits. Try it all-you never know what your passion will be!2
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I love being active outside! Walking along the foreshore, through parks, etc. Hiking up hills and mountains. Cycling ... everywhere.
Exercise is freedom. It's doing what I want to do. It's challenging. It's exhilarating. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I exercise. I get to see places I wouldn't otherwise see. It's taken me all over the world. What's not to love?
But as above ... start small. Walk to the park with your kids. Show them trees and flowers and birds. 4 -
I've grown to love exercise, I love how energised and revitalised it makes me feel and I love how it makes me feel happy to be alive
It didn't use to be that way though! but when I found this app and realised that by moving a bit more I would earn more calories to eat, then it seemed a win win to just do that... 8 years and counting with being on here now and I've simply got to enjoy moving, love to walk, cycle and run.1 -
I can't enjoy exercise unless I'm doing something else I enjoy while exercising or the exercise is just the nature of the activity I enjoy. I'm not the "I love working out" kind of person and pretending to be one or convincing myself that I am one just doesn't work for me. I love watching Netflix, listening to audiobooks, or playing games while on the treadmill, I like playing active videogames, I like some more active activities like laser tag and treasure hunting hikes...etc. One more thing I did is increase my daily activity outside of dedicated exercise, started making more laundry trips instead of carrying the whole pile to my room for folding, I have taken over trash responsibility, carry basket instead of cart at the grocery, no more "bring me X while you're there", strolling around the house when on the phone...etc. Small things, but they do add up.
If "fake it until you make it" doesn't work for you like it didn't for me, all you have to do is think of the things you do enjoy and try to make them more active. For example, I have shows and audiobooks that are dedicated to the treadmill and don't allow myself to listen to/watch these outside of my exercise time.8 -
Since you are busy, and also out of shape, start simple and include the kids. Babies and toddlers love being outdoors, so just start by walking. Choose the time of the day when you think works best for the 2 yo, and walk. It does not have to be a super long walk, and it does not have to be fast, and it can be neither with two youngs kids anyway. So just set a goal to get into the habit of a half an hour daily walk. It is good exercise, awesome start and if you pick the right time, it will also help the baby sleep and the toddler burn some energy.4
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I was "that" kid at school. Tubby, bespectacled and couldn't catch a ball to save my life. Always picked last for every team. Hated all exercise, bar swimming. Started going to the gym regularly about 15 years ago. Fondly imagined that a 20 minute stroll on a treadmill was exercise. Got fatter and fatter - eventually obese.
Lost a fair chunk of weight in 2013 through diet. Gradually put a lot of it back on. Resigned myself to being fat. However, since I was approaching 50 and hearing of the dangers of osteoporosis as women age, in 2016 I took up an offer of three sessions at a reduced rate with a personal trainer at our gym. I wanted to know how to use weights safely. I was dead scared and expected to hate it. I told the trainer that talk of my bodyweight was off-limits. I was there purely for the exercise.
To my shock, I really enjoyed the sessions, though they were tough and made me red and sweaty, and signed up for more. The gym had a refit and installed a heavy bag. I asked my trainer about boxing and we started that, too. I was hooked. I started losing weight because I wanted to be able to exercise more, and move more freely.
At the time the exercises I most enjoyed were ballistic and power-based. Planks or isolation exercises with weights were not things I enjoyed or did much of. Now I enjoy all aspects of exercise and will willingly grind out some of the slow stuff as well as bash out the power stuff. I like finding things I can't do well and working on them. I'm still trying to do a full push up (nearly there) and pull up (not so nearly there).
Sorry for the wall of text, but for me the key really was finding something I liked - or at least could tolerate enough to know I would eventually like it. It helped that I was not exercising to lose weight.7 -
I won't do things I hate just because I think I should, and am by no means a natural athlete!
I discovered a love of running eventually. I was in my early 30's when I joined a beginners couch to 5k course and it went from there. Always have been on and off periods though.
Do you have anyone who can help with the children? So for example, you all go swimming and they watch them while you fit in a few lengths? How about dancing? I don't mean formal lessons, there are several places round me where they have an evening every week in a bar. You can go with a few mates and have a laugh.
Yoga/Tai chi - there are lots of online resources and it would be quite an easy thing to fit around other stuff.
Anything you do decide to try, make sure to give it a few weeks. You need to get over the first bit, where you don't understand anything and it hurts, before you can properly assess whether or not it's something you like.
Even then there might be days when you think it was all a stupid idea.
(I spent this winter doing race training. 5 hours on the trails in the pouring rain is enough to make you consider your life choices!)4 -
I didn't care for cardio at all as a teen, young adult. Did football, low level basketball and baseball as a kid but never really cardio. I got fairly obese by 40 and blew out a knee. I literally walked as much as I could (started like just 10 or 15 minutes) and, like Ann said, over time I moved more and started doing long walks with my dogs, then spin classes, then jogging, then trail running, then biking again and now a lot of Rowing Machine and Assault Bike workouts (and still leisure biking and hiking).
Do what you can and stop when it hurts. But be religious about it and what seems to be miniscule improvements will be incredible over a year or two with consistency.
I despised running as a kid but ended my running career doing 8 to 10 mile trail runs. I'd come in near last but loved it. I'm was (until a back injury last year) a fairly competitive indoor rower as well. I row 6 to 7 miles a day on a machine and love it. It's my time for me and I listen to music and do it on my deck and watch birds. If I can't workout, I'm cranky!
So I've certainly gone through the journey from seriously obese to dreading workouts (only saw it as a way to eat more at first!) to being addicted to exercise.
An important component for me was eating back exercise calories as long as your being honest with portions and weighing food if it's not packaged. I saw exercise as a way to earn a small snack or dessert. That motivated me to workout.5 -
I like the way I feel after exercise. I rarely look forward to a run. I do a lot of complaining beforehand lol. But I love the way I feel after. And I love that I can have more food.
And it does help to try different exercises to see which ones you enjoy or at least hate the least. If I had access to a pool I would totally trade in my running for swimming. Some people prefer classes because they get a social element with their workouts. Some like cardio, some like lifting. Some like yoga or Pilates. Some prefer to make their exercise more play than a traditional workout at the gym - like hiking or tennis or racquetball. Don’t keep doing something if you hate it but keep trying new things.4 -
I was morbidly obese when I started. I had to rest going up the stairs. I got winded walking across a room. I was too weak to carry more than a single can of vegetables at a time.
“Exercise” was awful. I decided to start running. I could “run” for about 5 seconds at a time. Then I needed about 5 minutes of a very slow walk to recover enough to try to “run” again. There was nothing fun about it.
When I started lifting weights, there were some movements that I wasn’t able to do with ANY weight. Just moving my body through the air was my max ability. There was nothing fun about that either.
But I stuck with it. Slowly the weight started to come off, and little by little I became more fit. I eventually ran my first mile (I’ve now run a couple of marathons), I was slowly able to lift a bit more weight (I can now pick up 200+ pounds off the floor).
But the real change was in the rest of my life. I can go up multiple flights of stairs carrying loads of laundry, I can bring in most of my groceries in a single trip, I can haul the dog food bag with one hand. I can hike a hundred miles over a week - and see things I would never have been able to otherwise see. I can do all kinds of adventuring. I can go for a bike ride just for fun to check out the sunset over the river.
While I do very much enjoy running now, the truly enjoyable part of exercise comes from being “fit” and being able to do stuff-pretty much anything I think I want to try.
If you’re already fit enough to do the fun stuff? Then go forth and enjoy the fun. That stuff all counts.10 -
I love exercise but need a goal of sorts. To get stronger is too wishy-washy. Learn to do 10 proper pushups and a single proper pull-up is a goal though. Go on a 10 mile hike? Nah. Find some special geocaches along the way or visit a castle or whatever along the route. Learn the splits: oh, my muscles are super tight and get tighter when I stretch. Long foam rolling, massaging and careful stretching sessions ahead.
Things for you: show your boys some nature, flowers, animals somewhere outside. If everything gets too much then try to create time for yourself: give the little ones to their dad and have an hour just for yourself: either work out, or enjoy a lovely bath, or a massage, or something else. Relaxation time is also important.4 -
Thanks guys! I'm going to try and focus on small changes. For instance, after my babe's 4 month Dr appointment this morning, instead of going back in the house when we got home, I pulled out the stroller and went for a walk. My toddler was having fun running around an empty parking lot near our house, so I just kept moving by doing laps back and forth. Not a huge workout, but I kept moving for 20 or so minutes instead of sitting and watching him run. Baby steps16
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I hate exercise. I'm 65yo, way too big, male, with underlying med conditions, so I should be exercising. A lot. Instead, I ride my bike and enjoy the outdoors. I ride to the beach (Jersey shore) in summer, and swim. I hike in our beautiful parks, enjoying nature, nothing extreme, "light hiking," and walking (boardwalks and parks). In the winter, I go to the gym to do things so I can do these other things in their seasons. But I don't think, "exercise!" I DO think, "activity!"
All this, plus some dietary modification, has led me to lose about 70-80lbs over the last couple of years (covid lockdown has me cycling up-and-down a little, and I'm hoping to get off this merry-go-round as the lockdowns lift and summer continues progressing). I've got another 50 lbs to go, easily. And, overall, I'm feeling much better and am healthier overall than I was a couple of years ago, after retiring from a sedentary, road-warrior existence in the IT field where I could do none of the above except eat. But "exercise"? Nah! LOL.2 -
I've struggled with exercising since grade school. Now I'm a 30 year old mom of a 2 1/2 year old and 4 month old working 3 days a week and keeping up with life the best I can. I'm morbidly obese and starting to eat better, but I just can't figure out how to enjoy exercise or how to set myself up better for success. What do you guys do?
Start with short workouts and small goals like 60 minutes of activity per week. 6 x 10 or 4 x 15. Activity can be walking, dancing, yoga.....anything.
Google 10 minute workouts on Youtube. Keep trying new things. You will find that you are gradually becoming more fit. Becoming fit will be a feeling you like.1
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