HELP! Hate Working Out - What Got you Started?

annamc18
annamc18 Posts: 198 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!

I've been on and off MFP for the past year & finally got a smart phone to make using this sooooo much easier

Anyways, I've got the diet part down 100%, but i've always hated working out. I cannot ever seem to get myself up and out to do the exercise portion of all of this. I always seem to find excuses that I just end up using to justify not working out but that seriously needs to stop -- im getting so annoyed at myself because of it...but I think I've come up with a plan I think i can stick to..

I found a cute little park on my way home from work that is also really close to my house -- so that rules out the "Dont wanna stop anywhere on my way home" that I always used as an excuse. This is also just a 2 mile trail with hills that I would love to eventually be able to jog/run the whole thing. I can barely jog for a half mile at this point, but HEY up and down hills will make the weight come off faster than if it was all level ground.

I also have the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred I'd like to complete but I keep finding myself doing it for a day or two then get bored with it and never pick it back up again. I should probably just do level 1 on one day, then level 2 or something, but I've never been up to level 2. I just keep getting bored with level 1...any suggestion for those who've tried?

Anyways, that's kind what I've been thinking lately about trying to get myself off of this pathetic excuse for everything mindset & just get out and do this! I have been so unhappy with my body for so long -- im ready to change this!!!

Im open to any other suggestions ya'll might have for helping out, or just let me know how you got out of your 'hating workout' slump when you first got started.

thanks in advance!!! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr
    WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr Posts: 2,150 Member
    All I can suggest is find something you LIKE.

    I'm the same way, I'll work out for a while, get bored and stop. About 12 years ago I decided I wanted to learn how to run. Planned to walk and jog everyday after work because it sounded like something good to do to start, went by a park on my way home... lasted a month before I got bored, and it wasn't with the workout, it was with the park. Stopped working out all together.
    Ten years ago saw a class called Bellydance Bootycamp... said what the heck... took the classes til my schedule changed and couldn't go anymore, talked to the instructor, she said that if I really wanted to learn, I should go to this studio (she gave me the name of the studio where she learned) fastforward 10 years, I dance professionally now and still love it.
    Tried a gym, loved the classes til they got too packed, quit going....

    About 4 years ago I tried a kickboxing class, loved it, had to quit due to injuring my ankle (could no longer do impact kickboxing)... gave in a year ago joined a gym... discovered Les Mills Combat (no physical impact).... still going strong after a year, even followed the instructor to a new gym.

    So again, try out a bunch of things, look for unusually named classes that make you go "Hmmm that sounds interest," if you like to walk/jog/run, pick out a bunch of places that you can do that, it may not be because you're bored with the activity, but that you need a change of scenery. I'm back to walking/jogging two to three days a week, but now I have two places I go to (one is out of my way) that way it keeps it interesting.

    Good luck!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Find something you like to do.

    Take a walk outside... go skating... bowling... golfing... basketball.. baseball.. hockey... run... jog.. play tennis... etc. Find something you like to do and do that. Or switch up your activity. Do 30DS one day, walk another day, than a different video... rotate things. Do sports if you like them. Join a gym if you can so you can do different machines, different exercises, or classes.
  • Dianescraps
    Dianescraps Posts: 84
    A local friend or 2 willing to exercise at the same time can really help with motivation.

    That helped me get started. Then when the friend stopped I was already in the habit and I continued.
  • RandiLandCHANGED
    RandiLandCHANGED Posts: 630 Member
    I have always hated exercising, even when I was a kid! Sports, workout videos, running, I have given many things a try. I still can't do cardio but I loooove lifting weights. You just need to find what YOU like to do. I hate not looking my best more than I hate working out, I've discovered.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Congrats on finding that park! Nothing wrong with working your way up to running. Walk most of it for now and keep challenging yourself to run 1 minute longer every week and you'll get there!

    See if you can find another video that you like more, something really fun. The 30DS is a good workout but it is definitely boring to listen to the same person telling you to do the same thing for 10 days in a row...seriously. I've tried many different videos over the years and really like Hip Hop Abs and pretty much anything that Bob Harper does. He has his own videos and is in most of the Biggest Loser videos. Youtube has clips of many different workout videos so you can get a preview. You could also check out your local library to see if they have any.

    There are tons of things you can do at home on your own to make up your own fitness program. You can do body weight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, plank, tricep dip, etc). If you don't want to invest money in hand weights, use gallon jugs filled with water (weight 8 pounds each full) as weights for other things like bicep curls, chest presses, rows, etc. Check out fitness magazines for ideas - they have something new every month!
  • jonchew
    jonchew Posts: 239 Member
    I now typically run a 5K 3-4 times a week, but I too hated to exercise when I first started, I never did any running at all until relatively recently (I'm 53). Here's how I started to "get into it"...

    Not last summer, but earlier the summer before, my wife & I decided to take leisurely 1/2-hr. walks down the street and back to the house, it gave us a bit of private time, to discuss how our days went, and offered exercise - which we both sorely needed. Over the weeks, we started to pick-up the pace. We finally decided to measure-out distances & start timing our walks - our leisurely walks evolved to "how much time can we trim off of our walk?"

    Fall came, then winter. We live in (WAAAYYY) upstate NY - where winter put a damper on our outdoor walks. I'm lucky, I work @ a college that has an indoor track, so I started to walk there (on my own) over my lunch hour, I listened to audiobooks to break the boredom of walking in circles by myself. after several weeks of this, I decided to run just 1 lap, just to see if I could... I couldn't - not surprising, but it bothered me.

    I decided that I was going to "learn how to run", & like many people who visit these boards, discovered Couch to 5K, which I listened-to, instead of audiobooks. The rest, as they say - is history. I've been running for over a year now - a 28-min. 5K run is just no big deal, I do it several times a week now. I even run an occasional 10K when the weather is nice and I have the time. I find myself even running outside... in the winter. This is nuts, because I hate to run!! Now I need to figure a way to ease-into some weight or resistance exercising.

    Apologies for the novel, but I just want you to know that someone who's NEVER been in any shape to run can do this, you can do this also!!

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