How did you get from the couch to the gym?

Find your motivation and use it to amp yourself up. I know my buddy and I will do these retarded park workouts like that, when we get ready for those little mudruns. Explosive hops on picnic tables and benches. All kinds of stuff the average person would laugh at. But it just comes down to being motivated and excited, probably stating the obvious, my apologies. For me personally, i just get excited to jump up and climb stuff, lol. When i play pickup rec soccer, i'll run up and grab the frame of the soccer goal as though i were dunking a basketball. Then just hang or do a pull up. Just because. I don't know. What motivates you?

I drove. Then I did it again.

There's no magic, just DO it. Then repeat. Soon, it will be a habit.

Yeah, just get up and go. Then get up and go again. And again. Then, you will feel great when you go. Then, you will feel it missing when you don't.

The first week or so could be difficult, but after that... !

i walked

My Car.

the gym is 10 miles away...i could be a bad *kitten* and run there, but i'd rather hop in the car.

i started working out more and harder; then i realized that i can do it; that my body is strong enough to lift weights and that made me want to do more.

For me, I started walking to maintain my sanity/for the anti-depressant effects during a rough time.

Then, I started hula hoop dancing and it got me back into dance, which I used to do from the time I was little through college and just sort of let fade out of my life. When I started hooping, I realized I couldn't practice very long without getting really tired, so I started to add running into my routine (in like 10 second bursts at first!) to improve my endurance. Then I started to notice certain tricks and techniques I was trying were really hard to do with my weak muscles, so I started working on some strength training.

For me, tying my fitness routine to a hobby I enjoy has been fantastic! If there is any sport or physical activity you are interested in, it makes a great jumping off point to get started and then cross-train to improve. Now between hooping, dancing, running and strength training I am working out all the time and I'm loving it!!

Just start.

My SO said I wouldn't have to do certain things anymore.

That was all the motivation I needed.

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.

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!

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!

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.