what do you do when you dont feel like exercising

LiviLou2011

I feel tired and lazy and sore from all the exercising ive been doing, i didnt feel like doing it last night but i did, and tonight i feel like this again, but i feel like if i dont get up and just do it that im going to fail, and gain all my weight that i have lost back in one day (even though im sure thats not completely possible..ugh i just dont wanna move, how can i stop feeling like this, i feel drained of energy.

Replies

mssharonkay

draining of energy comes from a lot of different things..have u talked to ur doctor about this? It could be ur diabetic. If thats not it and u check out good to go..could mean u need a supliment like iron. If thats not it, look at what ur eating. Is it breads? Pasta? or even turkey has a tendency to make us feel drained. I just found out if I am eating right, and working out, I have more energy! Protien shakes work too! I eat every 3-4 hours a little something. A lot of carbs and some protien before I workout, and A LOT of protien and a few carbs after a workout. Listen to your body...I workout because it's fun and I have become addicted! I workout 6 days a week and the one day I take off I wish I was there cause I'm missing all the fun! Yes im sore after, but i am also energized! I figure if im not sore i didn't workout hard enough! But I also take a day off. one day isnt going to set u back unless u eat stupid crazy that day too! Remember! You can eat or drink anything you want, IF your willing to work it off!

LabRat529

"Rest days" are often a great idea. If you are pushing yourself hard every single day, your body doesn't have time to rebuild your sore muscles.

If you don't want to 'rest' completely, then very the intensity. Work out hard one day, easy the next, hard again, then easy... you get the idea.

Alceriniel

"Rest days" are often a great idea. If you are pushing yourself hard every single day, your body doesn't have time to rebuild your sore muscles.

If you don't want to 'rest' completely, then very the intensity. Work out hard one day, easy the next, hard again, then easy... you get the idea.

Agreed. While the idea of working out everyday seems like a reasonable goal, if you are moving from an almost completely sedentary lifestyle the sudden strain of overtaxing your muscles (and not giving your muscles time to heal and repair themselves to become stronger) is usually the killing blow for many people who are trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

In order for a person to build muscle, you tear muscles (note I do not mean ripping them from the bone, I mean small microscopic tears). As these muscles tear and rebuild your body releases lactic acid, which is what causes soreness. Muscles then re-knit and become stronger, and build upon themselves. More muscles = higher resting metabolism, because muscles require more nutrition to stay healthy.

Rest periods are a must. Stretching is also important. Overtaxing or overexerting strained muscles can actually cause you to damage them over time. If you feel to sore to work out for a day, then by goodness gracious please take a day to relax and heal, and pick up your workout again tomorrow. If you are afraid that if you skip a day you will loose complete focus and stop working out, do something like a light Yoga workout instead of a cardio/strength training workout.

beckylawrence70

I just don't exercise and try to not feel bad about it, tomorrow's another day! Sometimes I'm just too tired........

becoming_a_new_me

You can still go for a walk or something low-impact that still burns calories.

Jo2926

It depends why you don't want to exercise.

You might need a rest day as others said. Which does your body good.
You might be tired from work - in which case I find exercise wakes me up again. I just try and remember the feeling I get at the end of a good session.
You might just not be bothered, and no actual reason. When this happens to me I tell myself I'll do 5 minutes, and stop if I still feel like that. Very occasionally I stop, but 99% of the time by 3 minutes I forget about it and do the full hour!

Good luck

funkycamper

"Rest days" are often a great idea. If you are pushing yourself hard every single day, your body doesn't have time to rebuild your sore muscles.

If you don't want to 'rest' completely, then very the intensity. Work out hard one day, easy the next, hard again, then easy... you get the idea.

Agreed. While the idea of working out everyday seems like a reasonable goal, if you are moving from an almost completely sedentary lifestyle the sudden strain of overtaxing your muscles (and not giving your muscles time to heal and repair themselves to become stronger) is usually the killing blow for many people who are trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

In order for a person to build muscle, you tear muscles (note I do not mean ripping them from the bone, I mean small microscopic tears). As these muscles tear and rebuild your body releases lactic acid, which is what causes soreness. Muscles then re-knit and become stronger, and build upon themselves. More muscles = higher resting metabolism, because muscles require more nutrition to stay healthy.

Rest periods are a must. Stretching is also important. Overtaxing or overexerting strained muscles can actually cause you to damage them over time. If you feel to sore to work out for a day, then by goodness gracious please take a day to relax and heal, and pick up your workout again tomorrow. If you are afraid that if you skip a day you will loose complete focus and stop working out, do something like a light Yoga workout instead of a cardio/strength training workout.

Excellent answer.

Also, you might want to look at what you're eating and see if you're properly fueling your body. If I start getting sloppy with my nutrition and/or if I've simply not been eating enough calories, it effects my ability to work out. I become fatigued and find my exercise performance slipping.

Unlike another poster in this thread, I do better with less carbs and more protein. I think this is one of those things where we're all a bit different and need to try different things until we find out what works for us.

Best wishes.

david081

Have a good, energy-supplying breakfast, and remember to eat plenty of protein in your diet. Exercising when we don't feel like it is a phase most of us go through, and built-in rest days are useful to recharge, and just allow muscles to repair, and grow...

kritterxx

I agree with the idea of a rest day. Though I haven't really been doing that myself - I don't think I work out hard or intensively enough to have one.

I woke up feeling that way today though, I got to the gym, and my heart just wasn't in it. Yesterday had been a really long and tiring day,work was draining etc. SO, I came back from the gym after just half an hour, watched some TV, and then had a good two hour nap! Woke up feeling so much better, and am currently on my way out, back to the gym (: Naps are great.

Sometimes some inspiration works too. If you do want to work out but your body might be feeling heavy, maybe just remind yourself why you do want to lose weight. Or use the time you don't go to the gym usefully - look online for new exercises to do to target certain areas, or make yourself a plan for things to do tomorrow (:

dg09

Edit: Just read promoting "illegal" drugs was against forum posting policy, sorry about that

jfluchere

Rest /eat less or more if you are building and repairing muscle

engineman312

there is taking a much needed break, and then their is laziness. if i get out of my house and start my work out and five minutes in i'm not enjoying it or not feeling well, i stop and go back home.

Nerdy_Rose

Sometimes I need a rest day.

Otherwise, I look around, thank the Lord that I have two functioning legs and arms and that I have the opportunity to go work out, and I go do it.

lewandt

I have days like that too. I usually just get on the treadmill and start walking slowly. After a bit i start to feel better and can move on to something more strenuous. If i can't, i take a break. Maybe it is my body telling me something.

kateroot

When I don't feel like exercising, I exercise anyway. Just tailor your workout to how you're feeling. If you're not "due" for a rest day, but you're feeling tired and sore, just go for a walk or do something light. I don't give myself a rest day every time I'm tired and sore. That said, definitely factor a rest day or two into your week.. But keep in mind, it's easy to fall of the exercise wagon with too many workout days OR too many rest days. Find the balance that works for you

Jipples

what do you do when you dont feel like exercising

Exercise

stephelan

While I definitely promote taking a rest day, I feel like the days where you don't feel like working out are where it's MOST important to make sure that you do. As long as you're not sick or in pain, find a way to do it! Making excuses and not doing it because I was tired is 90% of the reason why I got so big in the first place. Sure, one rest day isn't going to hurt and out of a seven day week, you're not supposed to work out more than six days. However, even just going for a little walk is mentally getting you up and about and very important.

Helloitsdan

"Rest days" are often a great idea. If you are pushing yourself hard every single day, your body doesn't have time to rebuild your sore muscles.

If you don't want to 'rest' completely, then very the intensity. Work out hard one day, easy the next, hard again, then easy... you get the idea.

Be sure to have at least 2 rest days a week! "Do as much quality work as possible while being as fresh as possible." Damaged muscles are less efficient as fresh muscles so rest! Youll have better results!

missikay1970

in answer to your question...what do i do when i don't feel like exercising?

exercise!

steamingcoffee

there are days where I've been at work all day or I am still really sore from the day before but still want to get some sort of workout in
I usually try and challenge my sister to a game on the wii, or dance or take my puppy for a nice long walk. Still counts as exercise even if it doesn't feel like it

mallory3411

If I have already had a "rest day" I will just do it. It's tough to start but (at least for me) once I start I'm good. Make a deal that if you exercise after 10 minutes you can stop if you want as long as you start. Most of the time you keep going.

foremaar012

i often dont feel like exercising bc a couch and potato chips sounds a lot better after work.....buuuuttt thats how i gained all this weight. i force myself to go and say to myself " just get on the treadmill or elliptical for 15min if you really really really hate it after that you can stop but just get on it..." always after 15min im feeling in the zone and feel better and just finish the work out

Kirkajuice

I think to myself "What would I like to eat right now?" Then I go burn the calories for it and eat it! It's very motivating for me to think that the more I exercise, the more I can eat.

TriciaMaina

When I don't feel like getting to the gym, I take account of why and then I go from there. I always get dressed like I'm going to the gym. Sometimes just being in the clothes puts me in workout mode. If I'm tired I take a quick 20 minute nap. If I'm too lazy to make the 20 minute walk to the gym I find a workout video online to do. If I'm just bored with my routine, I pick something more interesting to do like hiking, swimming, or call up a friend to do some workouts together.

maryjay51

i just read your food diary .. i can see why you dont have energy. you should take a serious look at changing the foods you eat . there isnt many healthy things in there. fueling yourself properly makes all the difference in the world when you are trying to be healthier. i compare this to fueling a car. if you put water in a car gas tank the car wont take you very far before it either doesnt start or it poops out. when you put in the right type of gas then it starts and runs ..when you tune it up it runs even more effectively.. when you put the wrong food in your body you become sluggish and even sometimes get sick and your body just doesnt run right. when you tune yourself up by eating right,exercising and drinking water then you will have energy and you will find yourself feeling better