I absolutely CAN NOT get into weight-training.... HELP!!!

cheegerz

Alright... I'm sure this has come up before. =\ I'm stuck.

I am a cardio kind of gal. I like to bike, swim, jog, etc. For whatever reason... I can NOT seem to get into weight training. I don't have a gym membership at the moment (I'll be getting one sometime next year in preparation for my wedding, it's just too soon for the added expense)... which makes matters even worse. All I have at home are free-weights and a pull-up bar. FORGET THAT. I can barely pull myself up once un-assisted, and if I use a stool or chair, I still can't manage more than 10 reps.

I do a few free weight arm exercises as part of my core pilates workout: Lat rows, extension, chest press, curls... but I am so devoid of muscle that it just sucks to do these. I know that the more I do these exercises, the easier they will get.... but I don't enjoy them. I enjoy activities, actually being engaged in something and having fun. I don't have any fun lifting stupid hand weights, and frankly I can't even tell if the exercises are improving my muscle tone at all.

I had this problem before, when I lost 50lbs. I still rarely did any kind of weight training... most of my weight loss and self-improvement came from cardio.

I want to do more weight training... I want to develop tone, and underneath the flab of my upper arms, butt, and thighs, I want to get some kind of deep muscle workout. I just find it to be awful and boring, and nothing stunts the quality or ambition to get in a good workout like feeling bored and uninterested.

Any tips on how I can make this more fun?? Any tips on specific exercises and the AMOUNT to do to see results? Maybe if I start seeing it make a difference, I'll feel like doing it more. I don't know. I'm just looking for suggestions and motivation. Please help.

ThickMcRunFast

I was the same way, I loved running and dancing but hated doing any sort of strength training. It hurt, I sucked at it. I couldn't do a real pushup to save my life. It was boring. It made me feel weak. That is, it made me feel weak until it made me feel strong.

I wish I could tell you that I did something to make it more fun, but the truth was, I only loved it after I started seeing results. I did light-ish weights for about a month, and was so impressed at the changes that I picked up heavier things. Now I put on some pump-up music on my ipod, and its like "RAWR weights!". I still love running above all, and sometimes those strength sessions still blow, but I would never cut down to just cardio again.

I think you just have to do it for a little while. If after a month or two, you still hate it, and that hate is enough to cancel otu the gains you see, stop and find something else (TRX, sandbag training, etc).

rileysowner

You may benefit from a my dynamic type of weight training. I purchased Turbulence Training and love it. Very fast paced, especially the 2.0 version, and the workouts in 2.0 are all done in 30 minutes. Frankly I couldn't do more if I tried. Google if you are interested. You might also want to check out something like the zwow workouts of Zuzkalight on youtube.