Those who exercise: 💀💀💀💀

DingleSean_Ambertoodles

friggin tuff

AnnPT77

Huh? Mine is mostly pretty fun, honestly . . . and not because it's not effective.

Maybe pick a different exercise. Any exercise we enjoy (or at least find tolerable and practical) so do regularly is 100% more beneficial than some theoretically ideal exercise we hate, so procrastinate, skip, or give up altogether.

Also, if you're going for punitively intense, lengthy daily exercise sessions - or close to it - in pursuit of high calorie burn or fast fitness . . . maybe reconsider.

Over-exercise for our current fitness level can trigger fatigue that makes us drag through the day, resting more - possibly in subtle ways - and moving less, so we burn fewer calories in daily life than usual, effectively wiping out a chunk of the exercise calories. (It's called calorie compensation for exercise, or energy compensation. You can look it up. There's research.)

On top of that, over-exercise isn't the best way to build fitness, either. Gradual progression works better, and it's how serious training plans are designed, even consumer friendly ones like couch to 5k. All of the "go hard or go home" nonsense is blogosphere clickbait designed to sell us "optimal" extreme exercise programs that we will buy, try, give up . . . and then buy another. Don't fall for that.

Why? Recovery between exercise sessions is where the magic happens: The body rebuilding itself better. Under-recovery means slower progress. Under-recovery happens when our overall exercise schedule combines too much total intensity, duration, and frequency in context of our current fitness level.

Elite athletes don't train at the very extreme of their capability every single day in every way, and they have the best professional advice money can buy. Instead, they use a well-planned combination of small-ish amounts of work that's very challenging for them, and lots of work that's more moderate, as a generality.

Why would we regular duffers do otherwise? Doing otherwise is counter-productive for both weight loss and fitness both, plus miserable, not sustainable. Why?

Exercise can be fun, and feel good. The sweet spot is an overall schedule that's manageably challenging, doing fun (or at least tolerable/practical) things we want to continue long term. The challenge creates progress, and being manageable helps avoid over-doing. It's OK to have a few minutes of "whew" right after the exercise session, but we should feel energized, not fatigued, for the rest of our day(s). Suffering is 100% optional.

Best wishes!

neanderthin

It takes a lot of dedication to come to that realization. Maybe use that discipline and go for a walk, it's a beginning.

yirara

Can you tell us a bit more? You seem to have a gripe with exercising. A certain type of exercising or every bit of movement?

RuatyShackelford

Find something you enjoy doing, and keep goals realistic and managable. You cannot expect someone who just started jogging to run a marathon.

Even taking a walk for 20 minutes a day is something that will help your cause. When your get used to it, then you can add more.

Corina1143

Isn't anything worth having? Muscles! Healthy body!

Alatariel75

I'm finally doing exercise that I love and enjoy. Hiking because it gets me out in nature and challenges me, Taekwondo because kicking people is good for the soul, and pilates because nothing feels better than a damn good stretch.