How do you get the energy/motivation to exercise?

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  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
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    Personally, I just treat it like a job. I'm sure 99.9% of people can relate to having days when they wake up and think "I don't want to go to work today" but you do it, because it's your job. I've got specific days and specific times when I expect to be at the gym. I don't enjoy going to gym. I don't like the cardio equipment, I don't like the free weights, I don't like the weight machines. Still I go, because it's my job.

    I fully acknowledge this isn't a lifetime sustainable approach to exercise. Once I've met my goals I'm going to modify exercise to make sure I do something and that it's not torture. However, I'm nowhere close to my goals, so tomorrow morning, I'm going to put on my workout gear and head to the gym. Because right now, that's my job.
  • weinbagel
    weinbagel Posts: 337 Member
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    I think once you get into the routine, you'll realize you crave it! It probably takes a while to develop this addiction though!
  • mlg1712
    mlg1712 Posts: 14
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    I like to look through the 'success stories' thread on here. So many times in my life I have started a 'diet', but gave up because it was too hard and I thought my body would look just as bad after losing the weight I want to, but MFP member have posted REAL photos of themselves, they look INCREDIBLE, and they have done it by putting in the effort!

    My goal is to be able to add my own photos to that thread. That's all the motivation I need (and my partner does nothing but whinge at me until I exercise)! I don't always WANT to exercise, but I do it anyway.

    As for energy, good food make me feel energetic, bad food makes me want to sleep, so I've been eating well.
  • rdcphone572
    rdcphone572 Posts: 75 Member
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    I'm with Edollah. Because right now, that's my job. Getting fitter is work and I'm trying to go to work for the payoff.

    Maybe, when I get really good at my job, I may decide I really like it. I hope so.

    But, right now, my mirror, my Mom passing from diabetes, my family and friends needing me, tells me to get up and go to my job.

    I get up and go because right now, that's my job.
  • parmoute
    parmoute Posts: 99 Member
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    Gold stars, just like grade school :smile:

    When I started adding workouts, I decided I'd just walk every day for three weeks. I printed out a blank table with 21 squares and taped it to the fridge. Every day I walked, I put a shiny star sticker on my "workout calendar". After the first few stars, I didn't want there to be any gaps in my progress (since I had to look at it every time I went to the fridge...). It seems I wanted my gold star for the day (and what it represented) more than I ever wanted to skip my workout because I made it something like 35 days before missing my first workout!
  • Jessica_D_Shadow
    Jessica_D_Shadow Posts: 138 Member
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    Thank you all so, so, so much for your replies! The support and motivation is so amazing here with MFP! Music, I LOVE dancing! Maybe I'll just start my day off dancing during my morning routine. Perhaps that will get me moving and awake enough to do something. And I totally understand that ..."job" feeling exercise can bring. I'm going to look into finding an exercise I like, but until I really find one I'll force myself to do morning routines. Otherwise it won't get done I don't think. I'll get back to you all in a week or so, and let you know how it's going! Music, Morning, Good Food, 10 minutes...That's what I'm going to start with. Wish me Luck. I CAN DO THIS!
  • KAYRRIE
    KAYRRIE Posts: 201 Member
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    Simple, I want extra Calories to eat. Bottom line, if i do not exercise i only have my set amount of calories and when I do exercise i can have more. That is all the motivation I need.

    Lol! This is me today. I know I want to eat certain things because I skipped breakfast like an idiot (rushing out) and therefore I've felt hungry all day. So I know I'm doing a Zumba video today to make sure I don't over do it.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    For me, the hardest part is getting started. I just tell myself that 5 minutes is better than nothing. It's hard to commit to a full workout when I know I'm already tired. However, I can always do a few minutes here or there. Usually, once I'm going, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is never easy to get started.
  • auteurfille22
    auteurfille22 Posts: 251 Member
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    Sometimes, what helps me more than looking at the terrible body I do have is to look at the awesome body I COULD have if I worked out. Print out some pictures of people whose bodies you'd love to have. Be realistic; find people of your height who are built somewhat similarly to you. Put them up next to your weights. Set them as the background of your phone - that's what I do. It's totally embarrassing when someone else sees, but honestly, it's worth it. Also, like someone else said, make a schedule and a routine. Make it a habit. Plan when you'll do it and what you're going to do. Good luck. You can do this!
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
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    you dont need to be motivated if you are committed to your goals

    LOVE THIS!!!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    Hello! I'm 5'8" & 207.2lbs as of last week. I want to really go hard and start working out a lot. But, I can't find the energy & pure motivation to do it! I mean, I WANT to. I really do. But, I sit here and look at my weights and just sigh...I stand up walk over to them, look at them, then go back and sit down. I don't know what my issue is. I want to, I hate the way I look, I really want to get back into shape! Where do you get your energy & pure motivation? I need some help figuring this out. I really do.
    Tough love here:
    You'd LIKE to not WANT to. Big difference. If you really want something, then NOTHING stops you. If someone held you underwater what would be the only thing you'd think of? AIR right? You'd fight, kick, bite, etc. to get it. So if you apply the same to weight loss, you'll do anything to get it done.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    A healthy dose of masochism helps.

    :bigsmile:

    I sign up for races... or competitions: arm-wrestling contests, dance-offs, UFC, fitness competitions and the like... Okay, maybe just obstacle races for me... and road races. But the competition aspect helps me.
  • Jessica_D_Shadow
    Jessica_D_Shadow Posts: 138 Member
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    you dont need to be motivated if you are committed to your goals

    LOVE THIS!!!

    :noway: Oh my bad. Thought this was the motivation & support thread. I must have posted in the wrong forums then? LoL. If you don't have support to give, or something motivating to say when people need the motivation then maybe you shouldn't post at all. Yes? :laugh: :bigsmile:




    :flowerforyou: Anywho, to the rest of you, even the tough love. Thank you all for the support & motivation tips. I appreciate all of those her on MFP willing to lend a hand when I'm just not feeling it. The tips have really helped me! I haven't gone a day without working out yet since I began this post. Thank you all so much! :flowerforyou: :heart:
  • conniehv40
    conniehv40 Posts: 442 Member
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    Alightenedsha:
    Do you, by chance, have a friend that would commit with you? I started with baby steps- needed to lose 25 very stubborn pounds-lost 10 in a year, so, like I said, baby steps for me.

    I met friends for walks. We actually chose a lake that had a sidewalk with a 3 mile walk around. THAT way, we couldn't "quit" half way through the work out!

    I also think, you are like sooooo many of us--If it was easy and something we really wanted to do, we wouldn't gain back weight or gain weight/get out of shape, in the first place : )

    Maybe get up tomorrow, Friday, and add it on your HAVE TO DO list, like grocery shopping, getting gas in the car, work out 15 minutes etc. That is what I started on Sunday: so I am doing a youtube, Leslie Sansone 1-mile walk in my living room. It is ALL I can motivate myself to do : (
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
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    you dont need to be motivated if you are committed to your goals

    LOVE THIS!!!
    True... I literally had to drag myself to the gym last night. I had a long crappy day and just wanted to go home and have a glass of wine:( But I know from experience that if I let myself fall out of my routine, I will blink and a month will have passed with no exercise. I won't do that to myself again. You must make a commitment to yourself.
  • torymichaels
    torymichaels Posts: 79
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    The first couple of months on this current journey, I didn't exercise much, just changed my eating, and saw some of the weight come off. Then I started walking. Only a mile or so. And then I got my FitBit One, and I soooo don't want to see it register less than 10k steps in a given day. By taking my 3-mile+ walk in the morning, I can be past the 10k mark by 11 in the morning (I'm a paralegal) with very little effort on my part.

    It's become a bit of a game for me, pushing a little bit more a bit at a time. Sure, there are days I flat out don't want to exercise. Today's specifically a rest day for me (trying for a 2 on/1 off, 3 on/1 off, rinse wash repeat cycle), but what did I do? I climbed stairs. I work in a 42-story building. One of my back-of-my-mind goals is the be able to go up the entire 42 flights with minimal/no stops. I started this month able to go...4 or so flights in a single shot. As of this morning, I can go 9. And THAT excites me. Seeing the progress. That's what keeps me/gets me motivated. I'm competitive, and most of the time I just compete with myself. I have ultimate control over whether or not I "win", and I loooove to win.
  • crazypeachs
    crazypeachs Posts: 55 Member
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    you dont need to be motivated if you are committed to your goals.

    make goals and make a decision to do something daily that will help those goals come to fruition.

    if you're starting out then fake it until you make it. force yourself to do something everyday 45-60 minutes a day until it because habit.

    i agree, basically. 45-60 min is a big chunk of time and feels daunting. when i'm not motivated, i tell myself i'll walk for 10-15 min. sometimes i can keep going, but sometimes that's really all i can do. also, i tell myself i need to walk in the morning to boost my metabolism for the day (not sure if it's true), and then i walk over lunch to keep myself awake for the afternoon. i would have been the last to believe exercise could wake you up, but after walking evenings with a couple friends and seeing how my sleep suffered (i couldn't sleep for the longest time, then i didn't sleep well), we moved it to mornings, and all that improved. right now i'm usually at about 20-30 min walks, a couple times a day...and it's increasing. sometimes i change it up with biking and i've recently started weight lifting a bit.
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
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    I have to sign up to something that I can't do and the thought of not being able to finish it gets me out the door on a regular basis. Started running last November, did the 5km jingle bell run in 40 min. Then did another 1-2 5k races in the new year. Found myself sitting at home a bit more, so signed up to a 10km, did that last month. Found myself not getting out the door again, so July I'm doing a triathlon, just the sprint distance.

    I just keep signing up to something new and setting myself a challange around it.

    Without that I'd still make it to the gym to lift weights, but other than that I need something to get my butt in gear.
  • tbstathis
    tbstathis Posts: 1
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    Well, I hate to exercise. Yes, having good music can help, but I find that the gym is boring and the scenery isn't enough to keep me interested.
    I love taking dance classes and my husband and I recently got a puppy. He is now my motivation as he runs the house. When he goes to the door, you better take him out or you will be sorry. :sad:
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I used to not like exercise, at all. Could not understand people who loved it, could not understand the "high". But I made myself do it. Sometimes I was more consistent than other times, it would go in phases. But one day I woke up and it was the first thing on my mind, the first thing I thought was "I can't wait to get up and work out!" I was like OMG, where did that come from, now I'm one of *those* freaks. Ha!

    Really, what helped me was just the realization that nothing was going to change unless and until I made that change happen. Nobody could do it for me. Excuses, not being motivated, not liking it, not wanting to take the time, if I kept doing that then I would still be stuck unhappy with my body and unhappy with myself. The desire to change that, REAL desire, had to overcome all the rest of that.

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