Hating exercise - a lifelong struggle?

sparkly_blonde

I have been thinking a lot about my struggle with hating to exercise. What is it exactly that I don't like? While I didn't come up with that answer yet I did have another realization. When I was in elementary school I was a thin child. My parents enrolled me in various sports including soccer and tennis over the summers. Every single day I dreaded when it would be time to leave for practice. I hated running, I hated sweating, and I hated the overall activity. What I did enjoy was being outdoors, by myself, so that I could explore, create, build, and learn. As a freshman in college I went to the gym every single day to work out. Same scenario, I hated it and once Christmas break hit I stopped going. What could possibly be the reason behind a lifelong hate of rigorous exercise? For the record I do enjoy dancing, water aerobics, and white water rafting.

wanttolose40lbs

Do what you enjoy, as long as you're moving that's all that counts. Dancing, water aerobics and white water rafting are your exercises, go for it.

MsBetteDavis

I have been thinking a lot about my struggle with hating to exercise. What is it exactly that I don't like? While I didn't come up with that answer yet I did have another realization. When I was in elementary school I was a thin child. My parents enrolled me in various sports including soccer and tennis over the summers. Every single day I dreaded when it would be time to leave for practice. I hated running, I hated sweating, and I hated the overall activity. What I did enjoy was being outdoors, by myself, so that I could explore, create, build, and learn. As a freshman in college I went to the gym every single day to work out. Same scenario, I hated it and once Christmas break hit I stopped going. What could possibly be the reason behind a lifelong hate of rigorous exercise? For the record I do enjoy dancing, water aerobics, and white water rafting.

For me, the thought of exercising is never fun. I hate being tired and worn out and sweaty, I just don't like it (my only difference is I'm too stubborn so I don't allow myself to just not do it). I'm like you, I enjoy being outside and if someone says, "let's go for a swim at the lake" then I'm all for it but not if they say, "hey, let's swim laps today."

So you're definitely not alone. I agree with the previous poster. Find exercises that you like to do.

Elsie_Brownraisin

If you like dancing, water aerobics and white water rafting, you don't hate exercise!

I think school, slimming clubs and gyms do a number on a lot of people, making them think there is only a narrow range of things that qualify as physical activity and excercise.

Whilst it's probably not practical to go rafting a few times a week, there's nothing stopping you form dancing alone or joining a group (if you have these nearby) , attending a water aerobics class regularly or trying to find a day off every so often to go rafting with a local adventure sports centre or something.

It's tedious and difficult getting worked up and sweaty over an activity you detest and are counting down the minutes to end. It is possible to find a physical activity difficult and enjoy it at the same time, but for some people (me included) that ain't on a football pitch or on a treadmill and you shouldn't beat yourself up for it.

evsplava

Could it be you like exercise but don't like certain kinds? I consider the walking I do outside exercise. If you are hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, rock climbing etc I consider that exercise. Do what you love.

TelJanin

Do what you love.

I love to sit on the sofa, reading, while mowing down on popcorn.

Sadly, this doesn't count, and is in fact now forbidden to me. (The popcorn, not the reading).

777Gemma888

I have been thinking a lot about my struggle with hating to exercise. What is it exactly that I don't like? While I didn't come up with that answer yet I did have another realization. When I was in elementary school I was a thin child. My parents enrolled me in various sports including soccer and tennis over the summers. Every single day I dreaded when it would be time to leave for practice. I hated running, I hated sweating, and I hated the overall activity. What I did enjoy was being outdoors, by myself, so that I could explore, create, build, and learn. As a freshman in college I went to the gym every single day to work out. Same scenario, I hated it and once Christmas break hit I stopped going. What could possibly be the reason behind a lifelong hate of rigorous exercise? For the record I do enjoy dancing, water aerobics, and white water rafting.

IF that is the case, then keep to your MFP recommended calories and you will still lose the fat weight you need to. Good luck!!

MarshallLuke

You don't hate exercise, you just haven't found what you love yet.
I was once a football player and thought there was something wrong with me because I hated it. (I'm a guy, I'm supposed to like football.) Well, after having my neck nearly broke and being knocked unconscious, I switched to wrestling and loved it. I went to practice every day looking forward to it. Worked harder than ever because I loved it. I wasn't the best you'd ever see, but I was good because for me it wasn't exercise, it was passion.
Then high school ended and I went to a college without a wrestling team. I had no motivation to to do anything besides go for hikes on the weekend.
One day I lost my job and to keep me from being cooped up all day, I took up running. The longer I ran the longer I was out of the house and not relentlessly checking my email with the insane hope someone emailed me a job offer in the last 30 seconds.
I soon discovered I loved running. I got to see parts of my town I had never really seen before. I was losing weight and I was able to eat more.
These days running has become my passion, not my workout. It is a time for me to be by myself and sort out my thoughts or sometimes, once I get into high mileage, to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
So, long story short (too late!) find your passion not your exercise. Find your reason to move, not your reason to make excuses. There are a million great exercises out there, like fencing, weight lifting, kickball, competitive hopscotch, whatever.

JosieRawr

Could it be you like exercise but don't like certain kinds? I consider the walking I do outside exercise. If you are hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, rock climbing etc I consider that exercise. Do what you love.

I agree... I quit the gym because I just don't enjoy it... I like to dance in my living room with my daughter or clowning with my boo or just by myself jamming out. I love going to the club and having a good time, but bad drinking habits have stopped me from doing that for a bit(and I quit smoking and clubbing was how I fell of the wagon last time so I was avoiding it for that reason too). I love swimming and ambling through nature. I like to jog on grass and struggle up hills and believe it or not I enjoy working in a warehouse doing all the hot and sweaty "mans" work. I cannot tell you how many people are astonished that even though I'm trained in the easier departments, I prefer being in doors, loading, and working my as$ off(literally)
No need to spend money on something that you don't enjoy. Just figure out how to get to do the things you like regularly.

cardinalsfootball

It's mind over matter. It's all about fixing your mind around exercise, and coming to love the benefits more than you hate the process.

weightliftingaddict

You like to dance. What about Zumba?

csuhar

I think school, slimming clubs and gyms do a number on a lot of people, making them think there is only a narrow range of things that qualify as physical activity and excercise.

Not only that, but a lot of the PE programs I was in felt very competitive. It wasn't about getting better physically. It was about playing sports. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you happen to not be very interested, talented, or practiced in the sports they have you partake in in the class, you begin to associate exercise and activity with losing, feeling embarassed, or being the last one picked for a team.

I was generally neutral about gym class, myself. I liked playing games and did okay, but there was nothing about PE that motivated me to do anything on my own. It was when I started lifting recreationally with my dorm-mates in college and it became a matter of simply doing better today than you did last week that it became enjoyable. Over time, I found some activities I didn't really care for (running) and others that I did (rowing / lifting / martial arts). But none of that was aided by any classes or school programs. (In fact, the irony is that my college, where I began to be interested in exercise on a personal basis, had no PE requirement as part of the agreement with the man who donated the money to build the new student gym.)

wkwebby

You like to dance. What about Zumba?

^^This^^ Also, try swimming but for a longer period of time. Voila! You don't need to do anything else. Work in the water aerobics with swimming laps as well and you've got some great non-impact movement (we won't call it the dreaded "E" word). Just stick to your calorie goal MFP provides and swim or zumba and you'll be set! No "E" word in this post. :bigsmile:

AliceDark

Instead of thinking exercise, think activity. You listed several activities that you enjoy and that burn calories. Even just going for a walk outside counts. Anything you enjoy and will stick with is better than something you hate. I love lifting, dancing and Pilates, but I'd rather gouge out my own eyes than play a team sport. Just find an activity you like to do, whether or not it's "exercise." (Just so you know, if you can't or don't want to find something, you can still lose weight without doing anything other than monitoring your caloric intake).

VeryKatie

Maybe you could try hiking with a few friends! Great exercise, and it includes the outdoors and partial solitude.

shanell3827

I'm in the same boat.recently got a fitbit and have been walking ever since! Consider getting one