I hate exercise

anti

I've just turned 40 and need to lose 12kilos (26pounds) going from 82kg -> 70kg
The problem is that I hate physical activity.

Fifteen years ago I weighed about 66kg and did a lot of cycling, swimming and hiking.
Cycling was my means of transport in the city, and it was a thrill to dodge in and out of cars through all sorts of awful weather.
Hiking got me elated because of the nature, wilderness, isolation and being at the top of a mountain.
Swimming was very meditative. Plus it was a beautiful old Victorian pool with a glass roof - swimming at sunrise was wonderful.
However, ten years ago I emigrated and can't do any of those things where I live now. Plus I don't have the time anyway.

The other problem is that I have never got anything out of exercise itself. You know those hormones that are supposed to kill pain and give elation and motivation? Well, my body doesn't seem to secrete them. To me physical activity itself is just painful, boring and time-wasting - I don't get anything out of it at all.

But, I realise *have* to do an hour a day otherwise my health will just continue to deteriorate, even though I do eat healthily already. The real problem is that I work in front of a computer for 12-16 hours a day, and this is unlikely to change.

So I got a static bike, and plugged all the info into a spreadsheet and the results are something like:

total calories to lose: 92400 cals
calories to burn per day: 300 cals (ie. 21km which takes 1hr)
total km to cycle: 6468 km
total time to spend on bike: 308 hours (ie. 1 hour a day for 44 weeks)

Bleh. I can't do it. The thought of sitting on that bloody bike 308 times just makes me feel terrible. What an absolute waste of time and effort, in addition to the discomfort that I'll need to put myself through on a daily basis. Damn it, I am NOT psyched up for this whatsoever. I can't think of anything more mind-numbing than 'working out'.

Anyone else feel like this?

misty589

|Maybe try and take it one day at a time. Is there anything else you can do besides the bike? I hated exercise until I found Zumba, it's something that I can get excited about and really look forward to. Maybe you can find a local class of some sort .

kayemme

where do you live now?

dawn_eichert

You need to find an exercise that works for you because if you hate it, you won't do it. There are so many other choices besides riding. I used to really hate exercise but I have found some Turbo Jam videos I really like and now I enjoy it. You just need to find your niche. Plus don't look at the big picture but break it down into manageable chunks where it doesn't seem so impossible to achieve.

Good Luck...

themommie

what about if you just go for walks, maybe swimming, also alot of people do wii , it doesnt feel like exercise it is a game. Try to find something that you enjoy. Even if it turning on some music and dancing around. I hope this helps

doshie1

I totally agree with you, I despise the gym, I have had 5 knee surgeries and back surgery....working out is not only awful but painful for me...that being said, you gotta do it....just make yourself get up and do it....if I can you can ...I think the key is to find something you really enjoy, my sister in law LOVES Zumba, but of course when I did it, I suffered for almost a week with horrible knee pain...so it's not for me, but there are many other things that I CAN do! Try to find something you enjoy and stick with it....I found a workout dvd (slim in 6) that is low impact so my knees and back don't hurt so much and I turn off the volume on the TV and I play my Ipod loud and do it to music I like...it makes it so much more fun (well as fun as any workout can be, lol). Good luck, I hope you find something you enjoy!

labreemike

spit it up 30 mins morning and evening it's tolerable.

anti

> where do you live now?

I moved from UK to a small European island.

> Maybe you can find a local class

Thanks for the suggestion, but I can't see myself doing classes of any sort, or even going to a gym.

Cheers for the other replies.

JoyfullySimpleFit

I use to be the same way and I would start and stop and start and stop again. I found Turbo Jam (just like the post above) and it is fun, motivating, and energizing. I LOVE Chalene Johnson. She makes it simple and you can keep it less intense and increase as you get stronger at it.
It is hard to motivate so I would recommend a workout partner or if you cant find one local find one on-line workout at the same time and log-in a chat and chat about it or anything for a little while.
If you want to lose the weight you have to do the work. Nothing comes to you with out working at it first. And there is a point to doing the work...the payoff is flatter stomach and more tone and definition to your body. Eating healthy helps too but you cant use that alone.
Point is you have to find what works for you. It may take awhile and it may take a little money to figure it out but once you do you will be so much happier and pleased with the results. This is not an overnight thing and unfortunately in the begining it is very hard, but once you get going it will seem so much better.
(By the way I hear the new Turbo Fire is less time like 15-25min workouts but you get major calorie burn from it).
Hope that helps. Just dont give up tring. You will do it when you are ready.

flsunshine

i have a problem with excercising too. i never had to do it and i was never really active even when i was thin. trying to lose the weight i gained over the years. add me i need support.

MrsRLD

I feel like it every stinking day. So many people tell me I will learn to love exercise or become addicted to it. That just is not happening for me, ever. For about four months I worked out regularly at the gym, but always managed to work in a sauna bath afterwards (which was the only way you could get me to step into the place). But when my husband was laid off for a few months the gym membership was the first thing to go. Now that things are better, I just do not have the desire to go back. Walking is a drag with people staring at me as I stroll by, classes are just embarrassing being the fattest person there.
So, I could very possibly be the laziest person alive I guess. So mostly I just do sit ups, but that does not really burn any more calories than breathing LOL.

david1956

I notice a lot of references to "calories" on this thread, and for some people I wonder if that is a very good motivator? I love the gym but I have never once given any thought whatsoever as to whether it burns one calorie or a thousand.

For me, weight training is the aspect I enjoy most for the very tangible result of seeing results quite quickly in terms of physique. Ego or not, I like that. But I now indulge in other diversions that to be honest I largely loathe. One lunchtime a week a friend and I drive to a beach and run (aka crawl) up and down a sand dune that is near-vertical and must be well over a hundred feet high. Within minutes I feel like spewing, and part of me absolutely hates it. Why do it? Because I want to overcome the bit of me that says "can't", and reach the point I can go at it non-stop without slowing to a walk. The sheer hell of beating it, and wanting to see myself as a really fit and strong person.

I don't mean to dismiss your "hate" pf exercise, I do understand it. But there is a strange side to that coin. To some extent everyone hates it! A friend recently grinned at me sadistically and said "You have to hate it to love it." If you took any remotely serious person at a gym, no matter how fit and strong they look, they are going througfh a lot of "this is absolutely horrible" moments. But results lie on the other side of those mental barriers and those results become one's motivator. Well, for some people. So I think what I am saying is.. what do you want out of exercise in terms of outcomes? If there are suffcient goals to motivate you, then they are achievable.. but the bad news is.. there isn't an absolutely nice way of getting there. At times it is plain horrible. But most people can achieve much more than they think. Overcoming those "this is boring", "this hurts, "this is plain hell" barriers is actually the same thing that confronts every single person who exercises. Depends what you want and how badly.

anti

Thanks for your post David.

> Overcoming those "this is boring", "this hurts, "this is plain hell" barriers is
> actually the same thing that confronts every single person who exercises

But there is a big difference between me and the 'gym monkeys' I know. I can dig-in and go past pain thresholds, just as well as they can. The real difference is afterwards. They somehow feel invigorated and elated after doing that, with some kind of inane sense of achievement. I feel nothing at all, except what a waste of time it was, what a pitiful difference all that effort made to my weight, and how much I'm not looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.

I've heard of people being addicted to the buzz they get from exercise, and that sounds completely alien to me. I guess on some level, most people are proud of flagellating themselves and of self-competition. However, I don't value that at all. Cycling 0.5 km more that I did yesterday means absolutely nothing to me. I don't have any value attached with physical fitness, and in fact I have a negative view of people whose lives revolve around their physique - my prejudice is that they are probably shallow and fairly brain dead (no offence intended!).

Anyway, not sure what the point of this thread was. Just reaching out to like-minded people I guess.
Nice to see there are at least a couple of people who share my distaste.
If my attitude changes in the next few months, I'll be sure to post back here.

Cheers.

amy1612

No offence anti,but whats going to make you feel more terrible.....manning up and just doing it, or becoming more and more overweight. It'll be more uncomfortable the joint aches and pains your body will suffer from being under the strain of extra weight. Not trying to be harsh,its just true. Find something you enjoy, I love working out....not a big fan of running, but I really enjoy spin, its just a case of finding what works for you.

On a side note...I'm very interested in making sure my body is in good shape,and I'm an academic, so not all gym rats are brain dead

alantin

Bleh. I can't do it. The thought of sitting on that bloody bike 308 times just makes me feel terrible. What an absolute waste of time and effort, in addition to the discomfort that I'll need to put myself through on a daily basis. Damn it, I am NOT psyched up for this whatsoever. I can't think of anything more mind-numbing than 'working out'.

Anyone else feel like this?

I do martial arts. It doesn't feel like exercise at all even thou I get a pretty decent amount of it.
Ditch the damn bike and find something else that you really love to do!

You could also just start eating 500 Kcal's below your BMR and just watch the weight come off. I began that way but got hooked to exercising later. I did gym for a while on and off but got bored and began taekwondo again after ten years. I do still stop to do some moves when ever I find those outside gym equipment in the park.
Now I'm looking forward to a kendo or karate class this fall.

batty5

I can see what you mean! If it doesn't work for you of course you can still lose weight but you won't be so fit or toned.What a shame you can't go swimming or how about a wiifit ? Without knowing more about your lifestyle it is difficult to know what to suggest & if you are so busy you may well be getting more of a workout naturally than a lot of people. Good luck.

misty589

I hope you are feeling better today.
Not to be blunt, but in reading your replies it seems like you have an answer (excuse) for everything. If you really want advice or ideas that's great, but it seems like you just want someone to justify your reasons for not exercising.
If you really want to be healthy and feel better, just do it. Most of us were in the position at one point where we didn't like exercising, but if you stick to it and plug away, you will find something that you like. For me it was classes that keep me accountable and are fun, but believe me at first they were awkward and I almost left. I'm glad that I stuck with it. There are still times when I feel self consciouss, but the reward is greater than that.

sifu33

this topic is a fascinating one, and very difficult to conceive, because on the most part, people hate exercise becos they use it as an excuse, or are heavily out of condition. BUt you seem to have a genuine distaste for the pointlessness. I wonder if I might suggest a couple of things, firstly, if you can exercise and want to work on those calries, have you considered hypnosis, to reprogram your mind to give you the buzz that everyone else seems to get. That aside, I found my time in hospital (6months) an equally pointless time, so wot I now do, is listen to educational podcasts that stimulate and grow me, which was a better use of my time, I now set this thinking time/problem solving for my brain to engage whilst Im doing the drudgery of exercise. Becos like you im quite focussed at work, its sometimes very difficult to let go and mull over the difficult things.

I realise everyone is different but these posts are all to get different view points and form an informed opinion. I absolutely do not intend to upset people with my views, as Im sure everyone else feels to, we just like to express and share, Good luck

anti

Yep, there are some really good suggestions and perspectives for sure. Lots to think about.

I'm really quite jealous of anyone who can have a bad day at work, and then feels that going for a workout can somehow turn a hard, stressful day into a successful, enjoyable one, as though the exercise is some kind of reward that 'saves the day' and makes it all worthwhile. The only thing at the moment that saves me from a bad day at work is half a bottle of red, a big slab of cheese, and half and hour of Eddie Izzard or George Carlin!

Well, taking the advice from this thread, I'll try to diversify the exercise - a workout video, the static bike, and a run in the park (with the couch25k mp3s maybe) to start with. I'll also try to listen to language cds whilst cycling - I can't concentrate properly, but it might be better than nothing if I'm going to have to spend 300 hours on the damn thing. I'll also try changing my spreadsheet to record 1kg goals at a time, rather than the whole 12kg.

Cheers.

podgirl

What an excellent post!!! I totally agree.......... I'm fanatical about exercise & cannot imagine life without it!
The health benefits of regular exercise are immeasurable, the first few weeks into a new exercise routine are always the hardest but it does get easier remarkably quickly!
My advice to anyone struggling with exercise is to stick at it......... you can do it, you will achieve your goals!

Jamiecfc1

You should maybe try at least talking to a Personal Trainer, I know that the first thing people think is the financial aspect but they are there to motivate, tell them what you like and what you don't and see what they recommend for you, you don't have to take them on or commit to sessions with them. Personally there are some aspects of Gym/fitness that I absolutely hate (running for example), but then if I play squash then I run - albeit in short bursts - and I love squash. So think of things that you might like, give them a go and you never know.. one of them might be the right one for you. They don't HAVE to be Gym-based.