Exercise that doesn't suck?

2

Replies

  • lil_lizt
    lil_lizt Posts: 275 Member
    I really enjoy some of the classes at my gym, particularly body combat and boxercise. I also love going out for long walks on the moor or in the woods
  • Dory_42
    Dory_42 Posts: 3,578 Member
    I only run if I'm being chased, and I hate gyms.

    Joined a karate class and LOVE it! I feel like I am always trying to improve, working towards a goal (grading for my next belt)

    In the gym I would start my workout saying "I'm going to cycle for 30 minutes." I hate cycling nowhere watching tv, so would get to 24 minutes and say "yeah, that's enough" At karate, I try to keep up with everyone else, and people encourage each other. Plus Sensei kicks my butt if I am not pushing hard enough - always get a good workout!

    So finding something you LOVE is the key :)

    This is exactly what I was going to say. Similar thing happened to me with Brazilian Jui Jitsu (maybe its a martial art thing), fencing and MMA style fitness classes. I would suggest you find various different sports and exercise classes in you area and try them out (most places let you try the first class for free). Training with other people is also incredibly motivating. I push harder and see more progress when I am dying next to someone who is also pushing as hard as they can because we can encourage each other (and of course the Sensei is telling us to keep going!)
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
    Spin Class. Weight training. I used to hate running, now I love it. But that took time.
  • caroldavison332
    caroldavison332 Posts: 864 Member
    My favorite type of exercising is making love, but I'm single so I walk six miles daily. 3 are dogger walks and 3 are walks to public transport. Could you borrow a dog? The dog and its owner would very much appreciate it! I also climb 8 stairs daily on my commute. I also do bumps, grinds and shimmy in the elevator when I go to lunch unless someone is on there with me. I play fetch with my dog every night, bending over 10,000 times to pick up the ball for him to throw. I also do that for 4 hours each weekend at the dog park. I also do high intensity interval training m, w and f where I sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 60 ten times and alternative that with calestehics. I do these because they maintain your metabolism longest afterward. I'm getting my bike fixed so I can pedal to the library which I do at least once a week. I intend to add belly dancing because I have injured feet and can't stomp them like in regular dance.

    HOWEVER as I eat for health (I eat a pound of raw veggies daily, homemade veggie based soup, steel cut oatmeal and a homemade burger and NOTHING PROCESSED) I HURT REMARKABLY LESS. Great incentive to exercise.
  • Wytcher9
    Wytcher9 Posts: 40 Member
    Have you considered mall walking for variety? Wait, it's not just for senior citizens. I've enjoyed walking local mall early Sunday mornings where I could enjoy window shopping. I would walk 5K aka 3.1 miles making 2 loops of the upstairs and downstairs corridors.
  • bigtone89
    bigtone89 Posts: 104 Member
    Basketball and walking.....sex, too
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    you have to find some activity that you enjoy doing. personally, i really enjoy cycling.

    also, maybe give it a rest on the hours...you don't need to exercise for 2 hours to be fit and healthy. i take a long ride once per week, but other than that, most of my rides are in the 60 minute range. trying to do too much of something can lead to burn out, even if it's something you otherwise enjoy.

    an hour on my bike is very enjoyable...1.5 hours is nice...2 hours and I'm still feeling pretty good, but I'm also kind of done...more than 3 hours and i'm really not having fun anymore.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Rebounding (mini trampoline) - hula hooping - pole dancing

    Just keep trying new things. That's the great thing about on-line videos. Lots of different things to test drive.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    If you don't like running, walking is a good option. You basically just have to figure out what you like to do. Just realize that exercise isn't for weight loss. It's for fitness and health. You want weight loss, then just eat less than you burn.

    Which, of course, happens when you exercise ... burning calories. :)

    Unless you eat them all back, which many of us do and still lose. :)
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    Most people who claim they hate running probably hate it because they suck at it.

    You can change "running" to anything else you suck at, or think you suck at, and have decided you don't like.

    A great many non-runners have come through MFP and turned into runners. (change "runners" to any other exercise pursuit). Figure out what you might like to be good at, even if you suck at it now, and pursue it.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Do you belong to a gym? Try a few of the classes. I love the Boot Camp classes at my gym. I also belong to a kickboxing gym that I love. I go hiking almost every weekend too - hardly seems like exercise when you're out in beautiful nature.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Find something you do like. A half hour bike ride is perfect exercise. I do it every single chance I get.
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Exercises that don't suck:

    skateboarding
    snowboarding
    deadlifts
    squats
    bench press
    overhead press
    pull-ups
    surfing
    running (I disagree with you OP)
    badminton
    basketball
    baseball/softball
    ice skating
    hockey
    football
    soccer
    hiking
    canoeing
    kayaking
    bicycling
    martial arts
    skiing
    swimming
    rock climbing
    dancing
    flying trapeze stunts
    golf (if you walk and carry your clubs)
    rollerblading
    volleyball
    wrestling
    rugby
    water polo

    just to name a few, I'm sure I missed lots of them
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    I enjoy so many forms of exercise that I don't have time to hate. I need more time in the week to do all of them, lol.
  • rebjessja
    rebjessja Posts: 15 Member
    I LOVE 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, and CIZE - only 30 minutes a day! I lost 16 lbs.
  • Lvqt
    Lvqt Posts: 1 Member
    See this kitten (profile pic)? Feel free to punch it any time!
  • dianahaynes925
    dianahaynes925 Posts: 22 Member
    I'm obsessed with jumping rope!
  • AvalonsUnicorn
    AvalonsUnicorn Posts: 425 Member
    Lvqt wrote: »
    See this kitten (profile pic)? Feel free to punch it any time!
    As some one who has owned abused animals in the past I do NOT find this funny and have reported you! Have a nice day!

  • TnTWalter
    TnTWalter Posts: 345 Member
    I love pilates. If I could I would paddleboard. I do enjoy running but have been known to walk also. Some people love zumba [I hate it]. I also enjoy spinning in the winter.
  • amr32r
    amr32r Posts: 245 Member
    I hate running tried a bunch of different exercise until i found something i love doing .the result weight lifting and kickboxing.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Lift weights.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I hate cardio-so I don't do it. I run across the street when the light is going to change once in awhile and that's good enough for me. I love to lift, so I do that.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    I only run if I'm being chased ...

    I only run when I'm chasing my bus! :grin:




  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I walk and lift weights. ;)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    One thing I try to do is to incorporate exercise into my day rather than (or often, in addition to) "doing exercise".

    In other words ... I walk as part of my commute to and from work and university. I have to get there somehow, and the walking is really quite pleasant.

    I walk at lunch, often running errands. Today, for example, I have to dash out and buy tickets for a couple events, and I'll probably do a brisk walk and some window shopping while I'm out there.

    I try to take the stairs up to the 5th floor where I work at least once a day. It's not much, but it is more exercise than riding the lift.

    We've got a small grocery store not far from where we live, so if we run out of one or two items and don't really want to drive to the big grocery store, we'll walk down there and pick them up.

    All these little things do help. :)
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    My favorite exercise is lifting weights, not because of the calorie burn, but because I want to keep as much muscle mass as I can while eating at a deficit. It's also quite empowering. I can squat more than 1.25 x my body weight and deadlift even more than that! :smile:
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    yusaku02 wrote: »
    Exercises that don't suck:

    skateboarding
    snowboarding
    deadlifts
    squats
    bench press
    overhead press
    pull-ups
    surfing
    running (I disagree with you OP)
    badminton
    basketball
    baseball/softball
    ice skating
    hockey
    football
    soccer
    hiking
    canoeing
    kayaking
    bicycling
    martial arts
    skiing
    swimming
    rock climbing
    dancing
    flying trapeze stunts
    golf (if you walk and carry your clubs)
    rollerblading
    volleyball
    wrestling
    rugby
    water polo

    just to name a few, I'm sure I missed lots of them


    Love your list but you missed running. :smiley:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    Rowing (on the water, but I love it so much that I'll actually do rowing machine in winter, or other sorta boring forms of aerobic exercise to stay in shape for it, or lifting for the same reason . . . I even occasionally swim despite totally hating to swim because you need to be able to swim if you fall out of the rowing shell). Keep trying different things until you find something you love that much; it's out there.

    I also like spin class, and bicycling, and I used to love Kung Fu (which dropped out of my life for reasons other than lack of loving it).
  • gtheisen
    gtheisen Posts: 1 Member
    What does and doesn't suck is totally your own definition. In order to maintain an active lifestyle, happily, you need to find so.ething you enjoy doing. Running isn't for everyone. Try a variety of things. You may find that you need to switch out your exercise in order not to becime bored.

    I use a treadmill and have the TV or audio books for company. I also do yoga and Pilates and Leslie Sansone workouts. That combination works for me. Yours will likely be different.

    Everything in moderation. You don't need to workout for hours at a time. Start with 20 or 30 minutes of some activity and add on as you get more fit. Break up your exercises throughout the day...a 20 minute walk, then 20 minutes of yoga, then 20 minutes of something else later on.

    Good luck!


  • natlierees
    natlierees Posts: 31 Member
    I do spin twice a week, 3 days of weights sometimes I do legs, bums and tums or Zumba. Spin is my favourite but weights give me better results. I pay £16 for my gym membership I think it's reasonable
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