How to love exercise?

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happyhubbard
happyhubbard Posts: 171
in Fitness and Exercise
I HATE, hate, hate exercising! Do any of you have any tips on how to learn to love it? People always tell me that I will eventually like it once I have been doing it for awhile, but that isn't the case so far:grumble: Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated!

By the way, I have an elliptical (its new) that I just started using. Before that it was the Wii Fit, Bioforce, and jogging with my dog. (I have dreaded them all, and especially hate running!)

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  • happyhubbard
    happyhubbard Posts: 171
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    I HATE, hate, hate exercising! Do any of you have any tips on how to learn to love it? People always tell me that I will eventually like it once I have been doing it for awhile, but that isn't the case so far:grumble: Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated!

    By the way, I have an elliptical (its new) that I just started using. Before that it was the Wii Fit, Bioforce, and jogging with my dog. (I have dreaded them all, and especially hate running!)
  • weasleman42
    weasleman42 Posts: 90
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    I try to distract myself by listening to music, watching TV, or watching a movie. I see others reading books or magazines. Although I still don't "like" working out, one of my motivations to exercise is for the extra calories (and extra food). Good luck!
  • Families_R_Forever
    Families_R_Forever Posts: 630
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    Well what about simple things like fast walking with a friend. Doing with somebody motivates you and makes time fly. When you start to see a difference in your body then that may help you to like it better too. I personally LOVE to sweat now. I feel so good after exercise that I really hate missing a day! I don't like the elliptical personally, I a treat for melike the treadmill so I can watch TV, it's since I don't have cable at home! Also maybe some good, fun workout music! Good Luck:flowerforyou:
  • Paeonia
    Paeonia Posts: 161
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    I used to HATE exercise as well. Believe me, before I started seriously wanting to get fit, I would never exercise. The only thing that snapped me out of my lethargy was Jillian's 30 Day Shred. Previously, I would use the treadmill, but I was always phoning it in (as Jillian would say :laugh: ) The scale was barely moving and my frustration got to the point where I was willing to step it up to the next level. Ever since I started the Shred, my outlook on exercise is completely different. I enjoy it now, or at the very least don't dread it :tongue: , because I can see the changes in my muscle tone, endurance, etc. Now I use the Shred 5 days a week, sometimes with extra cardio, sometimes not, and then on the weekends I take a break from the Shred and just do cardio. I've gone from consistently losing .5 lb / week, to now losing 1.5 lb / week, and I'm pretty sure it's all thanks to the Shred.

    Just a thought! You're not alone in your hate of exercise, believe me, you just need to DO IT and not think about it, and eventually you'll come to enjoy it as well :heart:
  • peppis
    peppis Posts: 3 Member
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    I use to dread going for a walk even. But while taking some vacation days last DECEMBER, I decided to force myself to walk 1 hr a day, no matter what the weather (either in the park or on the treadmill). I did that consistently for 2 months without fail. After a few weeks, you really feel guilty about missing a day, so you just do it. In February, I had a chance to join a "Biggest Losers" type contest in our city to compete with 9 other 3 person teams at our local Y. I thought it would be a chance for me to get back into exercising everyday, try new classes and do strength training and cardio. We do it as a team and individual. It was hard at first, but now I absolutely LOVE going to work out. You have to find what YOU love doing, even when you hate it! It's weird, but like the other person that commented above, the BEST part about working out is sweating, doing hard work, then the "reward" is not only a boost in your self esteem and your body as you FEEL yourself getting stronger day by day, but at the end of the workout, I take a long hot shower and it feels so good to get clean again. Try different activities such as biking, tennis, walking, racewalking, strength training, interval training, etc. You will find something that will put that spark in you. Good luck!

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  • Jerzeebabie04
    Jerzeebabie04 Posts: 272
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    I would say do a workout video or take a class with a friend. If you have OnDemand try some of the videos on there. Do you like to dance? They have all kinds of dancing type videos that are fun. Belly dancing videos are good workouts for your abs. I still don't LOVE exercising, but the feeling afterwards is very good.
    I recently started the elliptical at the gym, it was very hard at first, but is getting easier. I am doing a harder level now & I actually do like it. But the best thing for me is when there is something good on tv to watch or my friend is on the elliptical next to me so we can talk.
    Just try different exercises until you find 1 that you enjoy or feel makes time go by quickly
  • molsongirl
    molsongirl Posts: 1,373 Member
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    What kind of activities did you enjoy as a kid? soccer, swimming, tennis?? chances are you'll still love doing it now, if you hate the gym, per say, don't go, cause you'll quit, get depressed and feel like you're a failure at the whole exercise thing. Exercise should be something you enjoy, in the summer months I try to stay away from the gym, I love to rollerblade, play volleyball and run, so I take my stuff outdoors.
  • Shadowpaws
    Shadowpaws Posts: 109
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    I was on the elliptical for 35 minutes today reading vogue magazine. :smile:

    I went from a couch potato to a gym-addict. Can't go a day without going to the gym. :laugh:
  • angelinaz
    angelinaz Posts: 262
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    I have the same problemo yet once I get going, I get addicted to it and it's easy.

    I just went all the way to WALMART, where I have never been before, to buy the 30 Day SHRED and they didn't have it :sad:
  • Georg
    Georg Posts: 1,728 Member
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    "It was hard at first, but now I absolutely LOVE going to work out. You have to find what YOU love doing, even when you hate it! It's weird, but like the other person that commented above, the BEST part about working out is sweating, doing hard work, then the "reward" is not only a boost in your self esteem and your body as you FEEL yourself getting stronger day by day, but at the end of the workout, I take a long hot shower and it feels so good to get clean again."
    :bigsmile:
    I totally agree!
    I don't like exercise until I get started & then I don't want to quit until I burn my calorie goal. And I love the hot shower after!
    I know.
    weird
    :blushing:
  • LawBug17
    LawBug17 Posts: 26
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    if you can read while exercising, do it! i literally sometimes stop working out mid-elliptical session to find a new magazine when i finish the one i'm on! i love trashy magazines, so i try to only read them when i'm at the gym. i buy a decent amount and leave them in my locker so i can't peek early.
  • emmab3ar
    emmab3ar Posts: 110 Member
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    I'm too use to hate exercise but I've learned to like it. I like it so much some days I wish I was exercising instead of doing whatever I was doing. For me it took awhile before it became apart of my daily life. Just start slow and be sure to fill your ipod with music you can listen to over and over again. Good luck with your journey.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    What kind of activities did you enjoy as a kid? soccer, swimming, tennis?? chances are you'll still love doing it now, if you hate the gym, per say, don't go, cause you'll quit, get depressed and feel like you're a failure at the whole exercise thing. Exercise should be something you enjoy, in the summer months I try to stay away from the gym, I love to rollerblade, play volleyball and run, so I take my stuff outdoors.

    I love outdoor stuff too! I went out and bought a great frisbee, a basketball, a couple tennis rackets and balls, and hiking boots. I use them all regularly over the summer. There are two trails within 30 minutes of my house and one is great for running. I still actually love the gym atmosphere though, but I hate sitting on one machine for 30 minutes. I always do classes--spinning, Body Step, Turbo Kick, Cardio n Core--because I like the group atmosphere. When it comes to lifting, I love it and need nothing else to motivate me. I have liked exercising since I started doing it regularly.
  • MyAngelAndMe2
    MyAngelAndMe2 Posts: 49
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    Boy do I hear that one! I had to start slow.....and when i say slow.....I mean the 6 minute ab workouts! :laugh: Then when I mastered that, I moved up to the 10 minute arms/thighs/abs/butt video. :blushing: Some of u are laughing right now, but I KNOW i can give it 10 minutes....and there are even some days I'll do both for a total of 16 minutes!!!! :love: I think I'm actually starting to like it.....don't hold me to it, but i no longer gag when I think about exercise :tongue:
  • bonniejo
    bonniejo Posts: 787 Member
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    I like group fitness personnally. It keeps me motivated. Try dancing too!
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
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    Oh man... I hated exercise. Even the thought of going out to take a walk scared me because I thought that I was so out of shape that I might not be able to make it home. For me... if I had to go to a gym to work out - I would not be exercising. I really like the privateness of exercising at home... no one to see thing jiggle, no one to be offended when I toot while I'm walking, no one to see me when I'm out of breath.... lol! The other thing is - I don't compare myself to anyone either.

    I REALLY love walking on the treadmill now. It' s my time. When I'm walking with my headphones on - I'm not anyone's wife, anyone's mom, anyone's daughter, anyone's friend - it's all about me. I get lost in my music and in my thoughts. I may start out planning my day and what all needs to be done, then I think about every muscle that's working and envision the "me" that's fighting to come out. I really spend a lot of my exercise time in a semi-meditative state... just thinking about how good I feel and how proud of myself I am for doing it. There are days when I don't want to do it - but I promise myself at least 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes I don't want to do more... I don't. But normally I do...

    Another great workout for me has been doing Dance Dance Revolution with my son. I've even beat him a few times! Next week I've decided to move up to doing DDR with handweights.

    I'm like another poster who said that I like to work out so that I can get a few more calories to play with through the day.

    Find something that works for you...

    My husband downloads movies to my sons PSP and walks while watching a movie. My son walks while he's watching his tv show and jogs while the commercials are on. Play games with yourself.

    BTW - I hate the elliptical - I've tried them when we've stayed at hotels, I tried several in the stores... every single one of them hurts my knees... which is odd because they're supposed to be so much better on your knees...
  • happyhubbard
    happyhubbard Posts: 171
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    Wow, you guys! Thank you for all of the advice/tips/input! I feel inspired:bigsmile: I will read this thread every time I feel like it will never get better. Seriously, this helped a lot....that's why I love MFP- you ALL rock!!!:drinker:

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