How did you get from the couch to the gym?

kgillis87

Awesome, thanks ya'll! What I'm hearing is just make it happen, kind of fake it till you make it. Which is excellent, since I was fairly certain I was missing the gene that codes for motivation. Very happy to hear that I have to build that up at the same time as my fitness. Reassuring, and inspirational. Again, thanks

GenF32

For me it was starting to see a personal trainer that did it. The first step - finding her - was easy because a friend recommended her. So no particular courage required there. Then of course I had to do very little in our sessions except move the way she told me to. Easy! Exhausting of course, but easy in that no particular motivation or brain power was required. And we met in the park too so we were using park benches, play equipment, etc, for most of our work outs.

Then as someone said above it just became habit, routine, and once I started seeing results THEN the motivation to work out 6 days a week, in addition to seeing my trainer, kicked in and now I just get in the gym every night, on auto-pilot, and Just Do It.

Good luck

castelluzzo99

My husband got me a gym membership. I didn't want to waste our precious money, so I went.

However, what really did it for me was being challenged to do an extreme workout (P90X). I said, "Hey, I can do that. Even if I can't do all of it or every move perfectly, I can try." And I did. I bought the workout and worked out hard to prepare for it. Then I did it. Morning sickness made me quit early, but I was over half way when it hit, and I was feeling better than I ever had before. I loved working out with the videos.

Now, you maybe don't need something that drastic (P90X has an X for Extreme, and it i!), but if you can find something that is fun--whether it's a class, where people will miss you if you don't show, or a video that you really think is fun to do, or something, then it could make all the difference. I'm currently working from a "prescription" in a book, and it's doing pretty well for me. Though I'm getting tired of doing the same thing every day (this phase is cardio and strength combined in one workout), and when I finish the 4 weeks, I'm going to do something else. But that's what keeps me going--changing things up, trying different things.

kgillis87

As I was walking through the park today, there was this guy doing plyometric training on some of park equipment. And he looked like he was really having a great time! My reaction was "oh god, how can you possibly enjoy that?" but it made me think - why not me? How can I go from hating the idea of anything more than a moderate walk to doing plyometrics in the park? So I thought I'd ask you, MFP community: how did you get started? And what advice do you have for someone who would rather sit on the park bench than jump onto it repeatedly?

1) wait for the zombie apocalypse
2) try not to get eaten by zombies

Or this. This also looks very motivational.

BrunetteRunner87

It's really hard to get started, but once you get started, you get excited about how good you feel and that's your motivation, so that's probably why he was enjoying it. I'm sure he didn't enjoy it the first time!

Lupercalia

I started with just walking around the neighbourhood. Did that, lost a bit of weight and got really interested in kettlebells, so I bought one and added a few days of kettlebell training to my walking. After a few months of kettlebell, I'd lost more weight, got a bit stronger, and decided I really wanted to get back to lifting. Joined a gym. I walk to and from the gym, still work with kettlebells at home (got a couple more now), and lift heavy at the gym.

iamspdd

At first I hated exercise. I would look at the timer (I forced 30 minutes 5 days a week) and moan, "I still have 15 minutes!?" UGGH! But back then it hurt to do jumping jacks, and I would feel like I would die after 5 minutes. Then I started getting stronger and stronger. The stronger I got, the more fun it got. Now I have started running (outside! in front of people!) and I am getting addicted to it. For me, I just had to get through the initial, "OMG I am going to die" stage. Now I look forward to my work outs and rather enjoy them. Especially when I knock time of my running records.

Good luck and it will happen to you too!

Warchortle

C4 or N.O. Xplode combined with walking or a vehicle.

Assume for a moment that I'm a complete noob, and I have no idea what any of those things are aside from walking... Which is exactly what is happening haha

What do you mean, exactly...?

Pre-workouts that turn a day into a day and you'll be in a bad place if you don't have an outlet to burn off that energy.

erinsueburns

For me, it was realizing it was ok that I hate cardio, that I never had to force myself to jog or run another lap. So I started with pushups and the nerdfitness beginner body weight routine. It was stuff I could do in the privacy of my own home in whatever state of undress I preferred. All of the sudden, I could do 10 then 20 pushups, I could go through the entire nerdfitness routine with relatively little effort, and my little hand weights were weightless, even if I used both of them in one hand. Now I love going to the gym and picking up the weights and putting them down. And since I'm doing heavy compound lifts, it takes no where near the time that I used to spend doing myriad isolation machines. Plus, I'm actually seeing real results, both in strength and in body shape and feel.

mopedgirl007

As someone else posted "I walked". Walking started all of this for me. First there were at home walking DVDs (Leslie Sansone) and then I started walking outside. After that I discovered workouts like 30 Day Shred, Zumba, and Hip Hop Abs. Now 2 1/2 years into my weight loss/fitness journey I have joined a gym, I go almost everyday and take group classes several times a week. Somewhere in there I went from hating exercising to looking forward to my daily walk or my nightly exercise video! It's a lifestyle change and hopefully you'll find a workout that makes you excited about doing it. I really think it comes with time.

jayce54321

I stood on the scale. peered around my gut and saw that I weighed 220. That and having relatives lose lives and limbs to diabetes made me start.

LoraF83

Find something you like to do. Then it's not torture.

Project_Jodie

Just do it - you WILL feel better.

Don't wait for motivation because it will never happen

ninerbuff

Once you COMMIT to the decision, it happens.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

DalekBrittany

Just did it. I thought I'd hate it forever and ever amen, but then the past week I haven't gone, and though I've still exercised, I've missed it. Tonight we are ACTUALLY going, and I'm excited. You just get comfortable doing it, it's kind of like somewhere I'm used to going now, and I get grumpy when I don't get to go, lol.

clarkeje1

I started with c25k and 30 day shred. just made a decision to do it and started. it was something new and a little scary (because i had seriously NEVER exercised in my life, never played a sport, only had gym class up until the 10th grade and i never tried in it, just did the minimum didn't even break a sweat). but now i'm glad i have started because i have come a long way! running a 10k this saturday and couldn't even run for 1 minute without feeling like i was gonna die before.

judtod

I had to really push myself to do even 5 minutes a day in the beginning. But, then I started liking it. I just made sure I did things I liked. For me walking with friends or a book on tape or watching tv while on a machine did the trick.

kgillis87

I love all of these stories about "I didn't think I could" to "now I can't stop". Really gives me hope that I'll get there too! Thank you all for sharing

mrdexter1

To cut to the chase I needed something to take my mind off sat infront of the computer and watching a $230,000 paper loss on previous profits as a private investor --- gym work releases "happy hormones" and boy did i need some to cope and its ironed out the phsycological highs and lows of the risk i expose myself to whilst this blip is there to anoy me.

MissMormie

You don't need motivation, you need to make it a habit. There will always be days when you're not motivated. But like brushing your teeth, there's basically no days where you skip habits. So, start small.

Say you want to be the type of person that works out at the gym 3 days a week? Then start by going once, for example every Monday night for 30 minutes. Stick to that. Put it in your agenda, put a warning in your phone. Do not allow yourself to skip it. Push through it for the first month and you'll see that it becomes a habit. Not going is something you need to actively think about, rather than motivate yourself into going. Keep telling yourself "Not going is not an option, I am the kind of person that goes to the gym". Especially in the first month do not accept not going, you're building a habit.

Then, add in another day and make it into a habit again, than increase the time from 30 minutes to an hour for example. Then add in another day. It does take time, but it's much easier to make small changes than a big one like suddenly going to the gym 3 nights a week.

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When I do need some motivation I always think about myself tomorrow. Tomorrow morning will I say 'I'm so glad I was lying on the couch all night." or "I wish I went to the gym'. Go to the gym is the answer every single time.