I hate to exercise -

2

Replies

  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    My idea of a good evening is a warm fire and a good book. I spend a lot of time staring at the exercise bike but not much time on it. Any suggestions for getting motivate to work out?

    If exercise isn't your thing I would suggest walking. Even better - get a walking buddy, make a walking date! Try dancing, swimming, yoga. Leslie Sansone has a great line of walking DVD's. Super easy to follow and low impact.
  • susannahsutton1
    susannahsutton1 Posts: 372
    My mum walks with an iPod and headphones that she has audio books on. She ends up walking miles to find out what happens next
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I DVR certain TV shows and only allow myself to watch them if I am on my elliptical. I love The Biggest Loser, but I have to watch it from my elliptical, not the couch.
  • flying_inside
    flying_inside Posts: 67 Member
    I openly hate exercise and doing anything that doesn't jive with me. I'm really learning the "baby steps" method as of late, though. Something I do like doing is walking. So, I'm starting there. I'm planning to do more, when ready. In the meantime, calorie counting has worked well. Best of luck to you!
  • flying_inside
    flying_inside Posts: 67 Member
    My idea of a good evening is a warm fire and a good book. I spend a lot of time staring at the exercise bike but not much time on it. Any suggestions for getting motivate to work out?

    If exercise isn't your thing I would suggest walking. Even better - get a walking buddy, make a walking date! Try dancing, swimming, yoga. Leslie Sansone has a great line of walking DVD's. Super easy to follow and low impact.

    agree!
  • GurleyGirl524
    GurleyGirl524 Posts: 578 Member
    find someone to exercise with. Someone to either walk with, do an exercise video with, go to a class with. Make an appointment with each other and then you are obligated to one another and will hold each other accountable.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    You either want to or you don't. No one but YOU can motivate you to do something - especially something like exercise. You know the benefits of exercising. You know what you like and don't like. Now, the rest is up to you. I prefer to be still very active when I move into my 70s and 80s. I'm in my mid 50s - and I feel like there's a lot of water under the bridge. Mostly, I don't want someone to have to push my fat self around in a wheel chair or lug me in or out of bed. But, that's just me.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I get up at ungodly hours and exercise in the morning. I have no motivation at night.

    Me, too. And on my lunch hour at work. I have a great boss that lets me eat at my desk after.
  • LaDarby11
    LaDarby11 Posts: 13
    I also despise exercising, but since it's necessary for effective weight loss, I've gotten out my Just Dance on the Wii and I do that every day and try to get at least 2,000 sweat points. I will soon break back out my Wii Fit and do those exercises again. My hubby and I walk at the local park every weekend for at least 2 laps (It's nearly a mile long). Once I get over this feeling icky, I'll dust off the ol' 30 Day Shred. I had success with it before, I'm sure I can do it again!
  • wooface
    wooface Posts: 12
    I bought a cross trainer for home, and I watch TV when I work out. I work such long/demanding hours and by the end of the day I am so drained that going to the gym may as well be at the top of Mount Everest. So far so good. I am breaking it up with exercise DVDs, and walking.

    I think you just have to find something that works with your schedule, and your likes and dislikes. :) Good luck :)
  • chrisvinci
    chrisvinci Posts: 49
    Simple. You have some equipment in your home it sounds like. Do it in the morning shortly after getting up. Make a small breakfast with coffee to get energized then do the exercise.
  • pudgeylou
    pudgeylou Posts: 202 Member
    I am the same way, would much rather have a book than exercise. Even having all the eqipment and everything at home, I would still sit and read. I tried reading while on the treadmill/elliptical/bike but it just made me dizzy. My solution was to take classes. Aerobics, Zumba, Belly Dancing, Yoga. You name it and I signed up for it. If I had an obligation that kept me out of the house I did so much better than trying to exercise on my own.
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
    Instead of telling yourself you're going to exercise for 20 or 30 minutes, just say you're going to do 6 minutes and then you'll be done. You'll find your motivation and want to keep going while you're on there.


    Good luck!
  • FitbitRed
    FitbitRed Posts: 13
    As per an above post; If you want to lose weight, it’s all about the diet ~ The benefits of exercise are a bonus.

    Apparently studies have shown that to increase your insulin sensitivity, the minimum you need to do to get significant health benefits is 3×20 second bursts of all out effort, That's 1 minute of all out effort interspersed with slow cycling to recover.

    Do that 3 times a week and that's a grand total of 3 minutes of "hard" exercise a week... by "hard" i mean during those sprints peddle like your life depends on it!

    What an easy way to start your exercise routine, can you spare the above time component......you already have the bike ;o)
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    Find something you like to do. I love walking (not hill/mountain walks) and find i can do it daily, it's free and i can go just about anywhere i like! I do have a bike too to join the family on a cycle ride around the local wetlands however we're trying to teach my youngest to ride without stabilisers so my role is to hold the back and run - not my favourite way to spend an afternoon but bloomin useful to burn off the calories! I would prefer to be on the bike, needs must however.

    Have you got a local friend that can join you for a swim/game of badmington or something else that you fancy trying? I quite fancy aqua zumba but planning that for easter time as the location is a good half hour walk away (and not that well lit!), one of the girls also fancies it - unusually neither of us drive so easter classes it'll be!

    Good luck xxx
  • terrie_k
    terrie_k Posts: 406 Member
    Make a promise:

    "I will only read if I'm on the bike"
    "I can only watc _____ if I am moving"
    "I will go jumping jacks during commercials for this entire show"
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    On the bike, I fire up my kindle app and read while I bike. Easy peasy. Or, you can do the tactic I do with laundry. I hate folding it, so I only allow myself to watch episodes of a certain show while I'm folding laundry. You could try that with the bike :)
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
    If you don't LOVE exercise for its own sake, then the trick is this: tell yourself that you are only going to do 10 minutes and then you will be back on the couch reading your book. In most cases, after 10 minutes you will not want to stop and will go ahead and complete your 30-45 minutes (or more) workout. (Barring getting injured), it is very rare for anyone to say after a workout, "Gee, I really wish I had stayed on the couch and hadn't done that workout."
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    Have you tried reading the book while you're on the exercise bike?
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    Read your book while you're on the exercise bike.
  • caitconquersweight
    caitconquersweight Posts: 316 Member
    I like being rewarded for working out. I do Wii Fit and a dance game every day. I make it into a game. "Let's see how many calories I can burn in an hour." I like earning achievements and seeing if I can beat my high score.

    You have to find a way to make it fun. I struggled at the gym just walking on the treadmill. I never was able to do a full hour in the gym. But by playing these games it's pretty easy for me to do an hour or more of physical activity almost every day.
  • _KATzMeow
    _KATzMeow Posts: 336 Member
    My idea of a good evening is a warm fire and a good book. I spend a lot of time staring at the exercise bike but not much time on it. Any suggestions for getting motivate to work out?


    then don't
  • jeningrey
    jeningrey Posts: 5
    Everyone always says you'll learn to love it. I never did. I always fall off the excersize wagon because I hate it. I need to do it to loose weight but I despise working out. I have 30 more lbs to loose so I am back on the wagon again LOL. Good luck.

    I'm exactly the same! I hate exercise, and I've never learned to love it, or become addicted to it. I had a PT 5 days a week for 2.5 years once, and at the end of it, I still hated exercising. That whole time, the only thing that actually got me to the gym was the fact I had prepaid and would lose my money if I didn't go. And that someone was standing around waiting for me. If I didn't have those two things, I wouldn't have gone.

    I also really hate the outdoors (my idea of hell is camping, with dirt, dogs, spiders, and retracting vacuum cleaner cords thrown in somewhere). I hated trying to go for a jog outside. The further I got from my house, the more annoyed/frustrated I was, because I knew I'd have to turn around and go back at some point. At least on a treadmill, when you're done, you can just get off and not have to worry about the return journey!

    And like some others have said, exercising in the morning was better for me, too. At least I could get it over and done with and not have to worry about it for the rest of the day!

    I don't know OP, I think some people are just never going to like exercising. But maybe just do it to achieve your goal, and perhaps at the end of it, you'll be able to maintain a slightly more active lifestyle to maintain your goal.
  • cstrickland68
    cstrickland68 Posts: 12
    Having a buddy system makes me want to exercise because I don't care too much for it myself. But I do know that I have to exercise as well as eat right. One of my co-workers and myself meet at the same time every a.m. and power walk for 15 minutes during break time. It goes by fast because we talk as we walk. I also find the Wii Fit alot of fun to do. We recently just got Dance 4 and it's fun.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    My idea of a good evening is a warm fire and a good book. I spend a lot of time staring at the exercise bike but not much time on it. Any suggestions for getting motivate to work out?
    Gotta hate being fat and overweight more than you hate exercise. That's pretty much it.

    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
  • Dawnrobinson1996dr
    Dawnrobinson1996dr Posts: 13
    Get a dog, all my exercise is walking my dog :) Very enjoyable
  • swissmiss8
    swissmiss8 Posts: 13 Member
    If you like to read - read on the bike. Another thing that works for me - play your favorite smartphone games to pass the time. I sometim es play suduko, or word games, anything to distract me. While playing the games on my smart phone I also listen to up beat music.
  • L_Stradford
    L_Stradford Posts: 156 Member
    Just do it (and I'm saying this to myself, too). I don't particularly like brushing my teeth, but I do it.

    Good point! But just do it and also find some things that interest you. I know that I cannot get on a treadmill every day. I would get bored and quit. So, I do Zumba, I do the 30 Day Shred, I still use the treadmill sometimes but throw weight lifting in there too. I take long walks outside with a friend and just talk and walk for two hours.

    Also, I find that surrounding myself with like-minded people makes it even easier for me to work out. You have to just start. Start somewhere. I hated to exercise too when I initially began, but now, my day just doesn't go well if I don't do some kind of physical activity.

    Good luck!!!
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I have a photo on my fridge, right where I can stare at it while on the computer. Taken 11 months ago when I started losing weight....I'm at my biggest. 95kg..... taken right after a zumba workout here at home, I'm looking wrecked, sweaty & just not happy. Under it is written "try harder cow".

    I use it as motivation. As well as my fat face photos.

    356 days of working out in a row so far. It takes 3 months to re-train your brain to want to workout daily. If you can't make 3 months.... then you need to really find some way of just cutting down your eating.
  • juliedor
    juliedor Posts: 72 Member
    Hi I wasn't an exercise person but now I love it.
    My tips are "just do it" if you think about it it doesn't happen.I get up in the morning put my shoes on, have a drink and go.
    If I don't exercise in the morning I probably won't.Like you I find I want to relax in the evening.
    Track it and see it.
    Hope this helps.

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