I hate exercising but I know I NEED to
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I can understand how you feel. I HATE exercise. I mean, I loate it with all my being. It's hard, my joints hurts, I get sweaty, I'm sore after...
But I also feel great. I feel like I accomplished something. And I know I am doing something good for my body and my mind. I started by making myself go on the advice of my doctor. He said start slow. 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I figure if I can give the TV or computer 3 hours a night, I can give myself 30 minutes!
I started by walking on the treadmill. It's boring, so I bought a tv for the room I keep the treadmill in. I started watching dvd's of half hour shows I liked. Before I knew it, my half hour was up and I was done. I watched the entire series of Sex and the City while I walked. After a while 30 minutes was pretty easy so I increased my speed. It got a little harder but I kept going. Then I started to increase my time.
I wanted a new challenge so I started going to the gym after work. I found I liked the elliptical but it was sooo hard for me (I started at 357 pounds). I started at 3 minutes. That's it. That's all I could do. I was embarassed I could not go any longer. There were peole at my gym going for 2 straight hours. But everyday I went in there, with my head up and I kept trying. Now I am up to 35 minutes. I started adding weight training. I discovered I LOVE to lift weights.
I still don't love to work out, but I go to the gym at least 3-4 days a week and I have tried to find things I enjoy doing so it's not so much like work. I ride bicycles at home or walk while I watch my favorite shows. I reward myself for small victories. When I logged for 90 consecutive days I bought myself a Polar HRM to more accurately track my calories burned. It makes a big difference, I find myself competing with myself to up my previous burns for the same workout.
I won't lie, I still have alot of days where I'm tired and don't feel like going, but I MAKE myself do it. It's starting to become a habit for me and just like another part of my day. I always feel a great sense of accomplishment after a workout and I try to remember that feeling as much as I can. Good luck with your journey and I hope you find what works for you! :flowerforyou:0 -
Have you tried the Sweatin' to the Oldies DVDs or something like Wii Just Dance? My friend made me do Wii Just Dance at her place once and even though I felt so silly at the beginning, it was so much fun. I didn't have a Wii, so I got myself the Sweatin' to the Oldies DVDs (super cheap on Amazon or eBay) and they're just as much fun. I find them more lighthearted than regular workout videos, I love the music, I can laugh at myself when I make mistakes (in the privacy of my own home), and I know I can't get hurt if I do something wrong. They're about 40 mins long and include warm-up and cool-down tracks. I don't use them much anymore, but they're still my fallback when I just can't get motivated to work out.0
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I think if you even have that "want" to be a runner, you can do it. I so desperately wanted to be that person who just threw on her sneakers and left her front door for a run. So I began. I would leave my house and i always measured my runs in distance. I would say told you have to run 0.75 miles without stopping once. Or whatever you absolute max distance you can run without stopping, you do that. EVEN if it's 0.25. But keeping a pace and breathing in your nose and out your mouth will make A WORLD of a difference. Also, I couldn't recommend getting the Nike plus GPS app on your iphone (if you have one) and set the app to tell you every time you reach 0.25 miles and it will help keep you motivated. I would keep pushing myself to get those little milestones accomplished in my run. I also set goals for myself. I wanted to be able to finish a 5K without stopping. Took me a little while but I did it. I struggled very hard getting past 3 miles, I was always dead when I got there. Then I had a friend who was an extremely good runner come for a run with me to push me in running further distance. Again, I kept a very slow but steady pace. She got me to run 6 miles! Then a week later I pushed myself to run 8! I'm now training for a 1/2 marathon... and this is coming from a girl who once could only run 2 minutes straight. I never believed stories like this until I did it myself. Running is all mind over matter.... if you have a strong mind, you will go far. Good luck!0
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No one exercises for fun. Its work. Until you find what motivates YOU it will be tough to stick with it. c25k is a wonderful place to start. Access to a gym is a bonus. Someone suggested finding out when it is least occupied by men who are serious about why they are there. Do what you can outdoors,walk ,run, cycle, and trx straps are versitle mobile and use only your body weight for resistance. pick up a hrm for an accurate burn if you want to track it.
It all starts wherever you want it to. Hope you start and stay with something soon...look into the mirror and ask yourself what you see and how you want to REALLY change it..( I am a 50 year old grandmother who simply is not going to look like or feel like it)
Best of luck finding your motivation...its in you to try0 -
I so needed this thread. I also can't stand working out. There isn't a single exercise that I see as "fun" aside from swimming and I don't have a pool. My mom does but she lives 40 mins away so it's not feasible to drive there every day. I hate gyms, treadmills, jogging, lifting weights, circuit training (the worst yet the one I do the most)...zumba I couldn't even follow all the moves. I just stood there looking around at what everyone else was doing like an idiot. I don't mind ellipticals but I know that's using the same muscles over and over...but at least it burns more calories than a treadmill. I'm also all about instant gratification so if I do work out and don't see results, I stop. Or I'll go to the gym for a week and get a cold and stop "to recover" and not go back for months. I hate being in pain for days after working out. And I DO stretch. If I don't work out as hard to "'pace myself", I don't sweat and feel it was worthless. People that say "it feels good" are masochists. It doesn't feel good. It hurts and I can barely walk or sit down, nor can I breathe. I know it's all excuses. I know this. But it's how I really feel.
Bump.
The only thing that has worked for me is that I am learning Tae Kwon Do. I know it seems a little OTT but I started as a beginner and I still am very inexperienced but the reason I keep at it, is because there are people now expecting me there when I tell them I will be. Also, my physical ability is still very limited but you pick up the little things very quickly and get the instant gratification of learning something fast or getting closer to doing the BIG move that looks really cool. It might not be a martial art, maybe it's dance or a sport like volley ball. But it makes you part of a team and then it's not just you that you're letting down it's the people expecting you to be there and you feel the gratification of mentally learning something as well as physically working out
X0 -
I so needed this thread. I also can't stand working out. There isn't a single exercise that I see as "fun" aside from swimming and I don't have a pool. My mom does but she lives 40 mins away so it's not feasible to drive there every day. I hate gyms, treadmills, jogging, lifting weights, circuit training (the worst yet the one I do the most)...zumba I couldn't even follow all the moves. I just stood there looking around at what everyone else was doing like an idiot. I don't mind ellipticals but I know that's using the same muscles over and over...but at least it burns more calories than a treadmill. I'm also all about instant gratification so if I do work out and don't see results, I stop. Or I'll go to the gym for a week and get a cold and stop "to recover" and not go back for months. I hate being in pain for days after working out. And I DO stretch. If I don't work out as hard to "'pace myself", I don't sweat and feel it was worthless. People that say "it feels good" are masochists. It doesn't feel good. It hurts and I can barely walk or sit down, nor can I breathe. I know it's all excuses. I know this. But it's how I really feel.
Bump.
hey girl, i totally get where you are coming from and these frustrations, but i just wanted to warn against promises from the elliptical! the burn is usually very overestimated on this machine (at least from the ones i have encountered and from others i have spoken with). in general, the more you sweat the more calories you're burning. i don't find that i sweat nearly as much on the elliptical as i do running or even walking on an incline on the treadmill or outside. i just wanted to mention it since the burn seems to be really high on it from not a lot of work.
do you like walking? i try to walk as much as possible. it helps!
and its relaxing!
Thanks for the reply. I do like walking actually. I get out and walk outside sometimes when it's nice out (but how often is it really nice out? lol). But I also have serious self-conscious issues. Like the OP said about not wanting to go to the gym because of all the military guys there working out? I feel weird going to a REGULAR gym! I actually like seeing people less in shape than me because then I think "Okay they're here! They're doing it! if she can do it, there's no reason I can't!" And when I walk outside, with every car that drives by I'm like "are they looking at my fat *kitten*?" LOL BUT IT'S TRUE!! UGGHH! I'm so ridiculous I piss myself off.0 -
When I started my fitness journey, walking to the mailbox was too much exercise for me. I was detirmined to lose weight without getting off my *kitten*. Clearly that didn't work out for me so one day I sucked it up and went for a "run". I could only run for about 30 seconds at a time but I forced myself out there for 30 minutes 3 times a week. After a certain period I couldn't even imagine NOT going out and running. It takes awhile to make something a habit. But after awhile you will fee worse if you DON'T work out.0
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If you want to run, and you want fun, look no further than the Zombies, Run! app.
You're welcome.
I didn't know I could run until I was being chased by Zombies!!! Check out Run for your Lives0 -
exercise in my house is a sware word. HATE IT! BUT.... I did find aqua classes are fun and they give you an incredible workout and you don't even know it.0
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What I do for exercise is walk to and from work (instead of getting a bus)
It's a total of 12km a day and I walk briskly, it means when I'm finished my days work and I get home I don't have to exercise anymore (I find it really hard to get up and do exercise after doing my days work)
If you live far from work and need to get a bus, get off a few stops earlier or walk to the shop instead of driving. 0 -
Lauren, in terms of swimming, I've lived in small towns at many points, and often the local hotel will offer a membership to use the pool. That's actually true in big cities as well.
For me having someone to exercise with is often the key.
And I recently started using the Wii Just Dance and Zumba games. I do love dancing so I'm more likely to do these, and they're a good work out.0 -
I hate exercise too, so I don't do it very often. I try to move a little more than normal, maybe walking from the back of the lot or going to the bathroom on the third floor or walking around town exploring on weekends (I take the train someplace so I don't end up relying on the car) or dancing with my kid for awhile, but I don't consider that exercise like people who do work out videos or spend hours in the gym. Sometimes I go to the gym and do 30 to 60 minutes on one of the cardio machines, but it's an evil chore. You couldn't PAY me to run outdoors.
I lost 60 pounds a while back with only diet. I gained it back but that was because of pregnancy and eating wrong.
There's a sign in the gym that says. "YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN A POOR DIET"
You can lose weight by diet without exercise changes, but you cannot lose weight by exercise without diet changes.
If you want big muscles or something, yeah, you'll have to lift weights... but you can lose fat alone by diet.0 -
I so needed this thread. I also can't stand working out. There isn't a single exercise that I see as "fun" aside from swimming and I don't have a pool. My mom does but she lives 40 mins away so it's not feasible to drive there every day. I hate gyms, treadmills, jogging, lifting weights, circuit training (the worst yet the one I do the most)...zumba I couldn't even follow all the moves. I just stood there looking around at what everyone else was doing like an idiot. I don't mind ellipticals but I know that's using the same muscles over and over...but at least it burns more calories than a treadmill. I'm also all about instant gratification so if I do work out and don't see results, I stop. Or I'll go to the gym for a week and get a cold and stop "to recover" and not go back for months. I hate being in pain for days after working out. And I DO stretch. If I don't work out as hard to "'pace myself", I don't sweat and feel it was worthless. People that say "it feels good" are masochists. It doesn't feel good. It hurts and I can barely walk or sit down, nor can I breathe. I know it's all excuses. I know this. But it's how I really feel.
Bump.
It's good to know I'm not the only one!!0 -
So like you, I have NEVER been a fan of the gym!! Everytime I look at the dreadmill I cringe! :frown: I had a really hard time getting back into exercising because being on cardio equipment is so boring and I am almost positive that time actually slows down when you are using the equipment. I get on that treadmill and I'm like hey its been 5 minutes I'm doing great. Next thing you know you look down and you're like OMG its only been 8 minutes and I'm supposed to be on here for 20 this will never end! :sad: Hahaha Anywho I got back into exercising regularly when I found Zumba! I am literally addicted.
It is so much fun and the hour FLIES by! Don't get me wrong the first couple classes are difficult as you need to learn the moves and dances, but most of the dances have the same key moves. Give it at least two to three classes before you give up. There are people of all fitness levels in Zumba. One class I'm in there are girls in HS as well as women in ther 70's and 80's. There is also women in there weighing anywhere from 100 pounds to 400 pounds. The Zumba world is extremely inclusive. The women are always so nice and friendly and everyone truly enjoys the time they spend there. I go three days a week and I love it. Give it a try! You never know it may become your new addiction 0 -
If you want to run, and you want fun, look no further than the Zombies, Run! app.
You're welcome.
^^this!0 -
When I started my fitness journey, walking to the mailbox was too much exercise for me. I was detirmined to lose weight without getting off my *kitten*. Clearly that didn't work out for me so one day I sucked it up and went for a "run". I could only run for about 30 seconds at a time but I forced myself out there for 30 minutes 3 times a week. After a certain period I couldn't even imagine NOT going out and running. It takes awhile to make something a habit. But after awhile you will fee worse if you DON'T work out.
Thanks so much! Knowing I'm not the only one helps a lot. I will try to do 30 mins just like you suggested!0 -
I can understand how you feel. I HATE exercise. I mean, I loate it with all my being. It's hard, my joints hurts, I get sweaty, I'm sore after...
But I also feel great. I feel like I accomplished something. And I know I am doing something good for my body and my mind. I started by making myself go on the advice of my doctor. He said start slow. 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I figure if I can give the TV or computer 3 hours a night, I can give myself 30 minutes!
I started by walking on the treadmill. It's boring, so I bought a tv for the room I keep the treadmill in. I started watching dvd's of half hour shows I liked. Before I knew it, my half hour was up and I was done. I watched the entire series of Sex and the City while I walked. After a while 30 minutes was pretty easy so I increased my speed. It got a little harder but I kept going. Then I started to increase my time.
I wanted a new challenge so I started going to the gym after work. I found I liked the elliptical but it was sooo hard for me (I started at 357 pounds). I started at 3 minutes. That's it. That's all I could do. I was embarassed I could not go any longer. There were peole at my gym going for 2 straight hours. But everyday I went in there, with my head up and I kept trying. Now I am up to 35 minutes. I started adding weight training. I discovered I LOVE to lift weights.
I still don't love to work out, but I go to the gym at least 3-4 days a week and I have tried to find things I enjoy doing so it's not so much like work. I ride bicycles at home or walk while I watch my favorite shows. I reward myself for small victories. When I logged for 90 consecutive days I bought myself a Polar HRM to more accurately track my calories burned. It makes a big difference, I find myself competing with myself to up my previous burns for the same workout.
I won't lie, I still have alot of days where I'm tired and don't feel like going, but I MAKE myself do it. It's starting to become a habit for me and just like another part of my day. I always feel a great sense of accomplishment after a workout and I try to remember that feeling as much as I can. Good luck with your journey and I hope you find what works for you! :flowerforyou:
Thanks so much! You're an inspiration!0 -
I used to hate the gym. I would get a membership, go for a few months, then not go for 1-3 years... .still paying for it though!!
I only joined gyms that had group classes. I hated cardio with a passion, so I only did classes. I got sick of classes, especially since they get so packed sometimes.
After being on here for a while I started seeing the "buzz" about women lifting and stuff. I signed up for a 1 month trial of CrossFit and loved it. I learned how to deadlift and do barbell squats and kettlebell swings, and I never thought I would enjoy exercise so much!
That ended and it was holidays and I was eating and drinking and I gained about 5 lbs, and decided that I needed to do something. Read more on MFP in random threads about lifting and finally went out and bought the New Rules of Lifting for Women. Loved it.
Signed up for the gym and started lifting. My first day I was soooo intimidated. But since I am going early in the morning, there aren't many people there. And I found that if I ask someone to spot me, or ask how to work a machine or something, the guys there were very friendly and helped me out. Started working out with a few people, and just found out that one of them used to be a personal trainer and body builder. Awesome. I don't want to be a body builder, but he can help me with my form, push me for heavier weights, and spot me if I need it. He already offered.
I understand your reservations about working out at a gym on base where all the military guys are working out.... I just got married last week to a military man and I will be doing the same thing.
Maybe the first few times you can go to the gym with your husband. He can show you around and get you used to it. Then you won't feel as intimidated. Just put on your headphones and "get to work and get out".
As for the running, I also suggest getting new shoes and doing the C25K.
I started the C25K but my knee started bothering me and I have older shoes. So I am waiting till I get new shoes before I resume that program. But I'm looking forward to starting it again!!0 -
One thing I have heard of that helps is to find a local group. People are motivated by each other in groups. Do a local google search for running groups or stop by at the gym and ask around if anyone knows of any. Of even start one yourself on base. Post up an announcement in the community boards and see what comes out of it.0
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No one exercises for fun. Its work.
Not true. I play badminton for two hours every week with a club I help run. It is brilliant fun and I burn around 1000 calories! It's a social club so we have a laugh, chat in between games and when we play it is competitive but not too serious.
I would happily do it even if there was no health benefit at all.
Try looking for local sports clubs/groups that do a sport you are interested in. People come to our badminton club from a whole range of abilities. Maybe there is a rounders or basketball or tennis club you might enjoy.0
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