I can't get motivated to excercise. HELP!

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9260leanne
9260leanne Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have no motivation to exercise. I set my alarm every morning to get up early and hit snooze until I have to get ready for work. I don't even have to leave my house, I have a treadmill and elliptical in my basement. I make every excuse in my head to not get up, I didn't sleep, I am cold, my dogs will bark and wake up kids.

Any suggestions???

Replies

  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    I guess you are waiting for a health scare as a wake up call then. A stroke or heart attack usually makes people take care of themselves.
  • pjcfrancis
    pjcfrancis Posts: 121 Member
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    Can you get to bed earlier? I can't get up for my walk if I don't get enough sleep. I know it's harder if you have kids. Mine are grown up.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited February 2015
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    You don't need to exercise to lose weight. If exercise isn't a priority for you then just focus on the calorie deficit you need to reach your goal weight. MFP supplies you that number so make sure you don't eat more than that on a daily basis.

    That said, exercise is what we do for fitness. The benefits from a regular cardiovascular workout go far beyond the simple calorie burn. If you don't want to get up early in the morning to fit in a workout, do it after work instead. If you dread using the treadmill or elliptical find an exercise you enjoy. I'd suggest strength training, either instead of cardio or in addition to it.
  • 9260leanne
    9260leanne Posts: 6 Member
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    MostlyWater wrote: »
    I guess you are waiting for a health scare as a wake up call then. A stroke or heart attack usually makes people take care of themselves.

    Hhmmm, that comment really doesn't sound like help, but that's my opinion.
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
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    You problem is your excuses. You have to not hit snooze and get up and exercise. It really is that simple. I have to hit the ground running or else I won't get up and go for my run.

    I never regret my morning runs, but I do regret not getting my run in. Think about how much better you will feel after working out. Plus it is done for the day and you can move on to other things.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    Perhaps you are just not a morning workout person. I can't stand working out in the morning (with the exception of Saturdays...not sure why). I much prefer going after work. I know with a family that can be hard but it works for me. I bring my gym clothes to work with me and change before evening leaving the building. I think it is all about finding something that works best for you. Good luck. :)
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,267 Member
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    You need to find something you enjoy. Sell the treadmill and elliptical if you're not going to use them and spend that money on something you will do--a class somewhere, membership at a place with a pool, whatever will work for you. If nothing else, walk the dogs. I hated exercise until I started a dance/fitness class (not Zumba) and gradually found that I really enjoyed being fit. That opened up other fitness goals/doors for me. Now I really enjoy it. Getting out of bed before everyone else is hard though. Can you sneak something in at some point in the day or evening?
  • krisalexine
    krisalexine Posts: 78 Member
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    9260leanne wrote: »
    MostlyWater wrote: »
    I guess you are waiting for a health scare as a wake up call then. A stroke or heart attack usually makes people take care of themselves.

    Hhmmm, that comment really doesn't sound like help, but that's my opinion.

    OP, welcome to MFP. A lot of people on here are like that: they lose some weight, gain internet balls, and just say rude things. Not sure why, but it seems to be the ongoing trend on this site.

    Back to your question:
    Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »
    Perhaps you are just not a morning workout person. I can't stand working out in the morning (with the exception of Saturdays...not sure why). I much prefer going after work. I know with a family that can be hard but it works for me. I bring my gym clothes to work with me and change before evening leaving the building. I think it is all about finding something that works best for you. Good luck. :)

    ^^ this. Roxiegirl, I do the same thing. I have it a bit easier because I'm unmarried (just bf) with no kids and I live alone. I tried working out before work and I was miserable. OP you might just not be a morning person. Good luck to you :)
  • ereckless82
    ereckless82 Posts: 85 Member
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    I workout at night. Workouts make me tired instead of giving me energy so I workout around 8pm while my husband gets my 12 month old ready for bed.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I kept trying different things until I found a combination I really enjoyed. You don't typically have trouble motivating yourself to go to a coveted concert, do you? Exercise can be that fun. A treadmill in the basement, maybe not so fun. Maybe your new exercise will be a walk around the block at work with a friend. Change something up and see if that pulls you out of your funk. Once you get moving, the new lifestyle can be addicting on it's own. I have trouble now not getting active on "rest days".
  • rgauthier20420
    rgauthier20420 Posts: 52 Member
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    Find a gym and go on your lunch break or something of that nature. I've got a treadmill, elliptical, and home gym and I still get 90% of my workouts in on lunch during work hours. I don't have time in the morning and I just want to have a beer and sit on the couch when I get home. You're the same as me!
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    Seconding some things:
    - you may not be a morning workout person -- I am not, I would be miserable, that's okay
    - look around to find what you really, truly enjoy
    - you really do have to make it mandatory if this is something you want to do -- do your best to accommodate yourself, but ultimately, you're sometimes going to have to do it even when you don't want to, don't have willpower, are tired or cold, etc -- you don't need willpower or motivation, you don't need to magically want to, you just need to commit to it being not optional, to doing it anyway
    - you can start by arguing back against your excuses -- exercise will warm you up, the dog will get used to your new wake up time, the kids will fall back asleep, etc.
    - you will also benefit from making a robust list of why you want to exercise -- "this is for my mental health" would get me out of bed before "but being prettier kind of eventually maybe though!" so figure out what matters to you and hold onto that
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Do you like working on the treadmill and elliptical? I don't...I could never get up for that either.

    I became far more consistent in my exercise and worked harder at it when I found something I actually liked doing.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    9260leanne wrote: »
    I have no motivation to exercise. I set my alarm every morning to get up early and hit snooze until I have to get ready for work. I don't even have to leave my house, I have a treadmill and elliptical in my basement. I make every excuse in my head to not get up, I didn't sleep, I am cold, my dogs will bark and wake up kids.

    Any suggestions???

    This is a hard topic because you can have an optimal nutrition plan an optimal exercise plan, but the motivation to execute it has to come from within. Your motivation to do these things as to come from you, not your spouse, partner, parents, kids, friends, etc; you.

    My recommendation would be to set some goals for yourself and find a way to reward yourself.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    9260leanne wrote: »
    MostlyWater wrote: »
    I guess you are waiting for a health scare as a wake up call then. A stroke or heart attack usually makes people take care of themselves.

    Hhmmm, that comment really doesn't sound like help, but that's my opinion.

    Yeah, it's obvious you want to want to do it otherwise you wouldn't have posted in the first place. Perhaps it was an attempt at "tough love"? It came off a little too harsh, though, IMHO.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Do you like working on the treadmill and elliptical? I don't...I could never get up for that either. I became far more consistent in my exercise and worked harder at it when I found something I actually liked doing.

    Yeah. I have all the equipment at home too. But I find treadmills to be deadly boring. I love to run but I woke up to slippery ice rain this morning. I got about twenty feet and went back. Did my workout on the recumbent bicycle instead. What helps is that I am running with purpose, preparing for a race. Somehow exercising "for my health" is just not enough. There's got to be some intermediate reward.

    But I'm the opposite of the OP. I'm totally a morning person and bounce out of bed in the mornings. At night I turn in to a turtle and cuddle under the electric blanket.
  • yhealthy2000
    yhealthy2000 Posts: 111 Member
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    May be morning is not your time to workout. Try evening. And only do it for 10 minutes for one week. Then reward yourself by getting a set of athletic clothing. For the next week add 5 minutes (total 15 min each day) to your workout. Reward at the end of the week. Trust me you will get to 30, 40, and plus minutes within couple of months time. Getting started is hard but starting small and building on that is key. Keeping consistent with the routine is a must!!! You can do it. Questions, let me know.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    9260leanne wrote: »
    I have no motivation to exercise. I set my alarm every morning to get up early and hit snooze until I have to get ready for work. I don't even have to leave my house, I have a treadmill and elliptical in my basement. I make every excuse in my head to not get up, I didn't sleep, I am cold, my dogs will bark and wake up kids.

    Any suggestions???

    What do you want us to tell you? You're a grown adult, you can make your own decisions. If you don't want it bad enough and you want to just make excuses, you're only hurting yourself. Nothing we can tell you is going to change your mindset. You have to do it yourself. Motivation comes from within. Period.
  • tavmom2014
    tavmom2014 Posts: 6 Member
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    I can sympathize with the excuse of waking the kids. I hurdled that one for quite a while. Then I whined to my husband that I had no time to exercise so I joined a gym... I went after work. But felt guilty. I talked myself into the guilt trip that I was missing precious time with my family, then I was diagnosed with cancer ( that's another story for another time) ... I now force myself out of bed I the AM ( 430 AM) to go. Downstairs and use the dreadmill and weight bench. Guess what? The kids don't wake up! Lol!! In fact, when they do wake up I'm showered, making them breakfast, feeling great and they tell me how inspiring I am and if they can work out on my equipment too!!
    You need motivation? feel free to friend me. Maybe you just need an accountabilibuddy. I know I do.

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