How to like exercise.....

I was like you, I hated exercise. Then I found out that I enjoy running. However, I had injury after injury and had to stop. And went a year hating exercise again and forcing myself to do it and hating every single minute of it. Then I found Chalene Johnson and she has to be one of the most inspiring people out there. She has a saying that people who hate exercise just haven't found their soul mate exercise yet and to keep looking until you find it and when you do, it won't seem like exercise, it'll be like a treat, something you are excited about and can't wait to do every day. I ordered her turbofire DVDs and have fallen in love. I can't wait to do them every day cuz they are so much fun. It's amazing what finding the right exercise for you can do. Good luck!

I lift and run and don't like doing either. But I've done it for years and will continue doing it as long as I'm able, because of what it does for me: fixes my depression, makes me look and feel better, and will make me a more mobile and self-sufficient old person.

It is personal. You have to find what you really like and then you can decide what is best for you. I can't stand running. Walking is redundant. I like to move a lot and have variation when I workout so I found some DVDs (Jillian Michaels are good). YouTube and FitnessBlender.com are also great resources to find a routine you may enjoy. Up until a year ago I only did cardio, but then I started lifting weights and discovered this was way better than cardio ever was. I enjoy working out (actually miss it when I don't do it). Everyone is different, but what ever you decide do it because you enjoy it. It will make the time fly by and you will be happier.

Honestly, once I start seeing results, I crave working out... so just keep pushing through it and you will start to love it. Also, switch it up. I do the 21 day fix workouts and the Jillian Michaels workouts. They kick my butt, are 30 min, and are enjoyable for me cause they are always changing! I also find it's a mind set. When I go into a workout dreading it, I don't give it my all. When I give myself a positive mantra about the workout I am going to do, such as" working out makes me feel amazing" or " I am bettering myself when I work out" it helps me to be excited about what i am about to do. Good luck lady. It sucks initially, but it will get better.

I walk every day with my dog. I enjoy it, she enjoys it and I look forward to it almost everyday. If it's really cold and wet not so much, but most days I really look forward to it. I have recently started a yoga dvd and I love it. I find it to be good for stress relief. I feel like I need to start doing some kind of weight training. My husband keeps trying to talk me into it, but I just don't really enjoy it that much. I do sometimes work my arms with a small dumbbell, but honestly I only do it if he reminds me. I have friends who do some kind of insanity boot camp something at the local gym. I just can't get into that. I just remind myself that the eating is for losing weight and the exercise is for fitness. I do want to be more fit, so I look for exercise that I can enjoy, but I'm not going to make myself get up at 5 in the morning to go to some boot camp. I think the key is to find something that you do enjoy and not worry about what others are doing.

kgirlhart wrote: »

I walk every day with my dog. I enjoy it, she enjoys it and I look forward to it almost everyday. If it's really cold and wet not so much, but most days I really look forward to it. I have recently started a yoga dvd and I love it. I find it to be good for stress relief. I feel like I need to start doing some kind of weight training. My husband keeps trying to talk me into it, but I just don't really enjoy it that much. I do sometimes work my arms with a small dumbbell, but honestly I only do it if he reminds me. I have friends who do some kind of insanity boot camp something at the local gym. I just can't get into that. I just remind myself that the eating is for losing weight and the exercise is for fitness. I do want to be more fit, so I look for exercise that I can enjoy, but I'm not going to make myself get up at 5 in the morning to go to some boot camp. I think the key is to find something that you do enjoy and not worry about what others are doing.

Walking is where I started too. Throw on some headphones and listen to a good podcast or audiobook. Don't need anything special and don't change before I go out. Look forward to it every day.

ashteinpeacock wrote: »

I like to dance and I think I would enjoy boxing.

There are Zumba classes around, but that's only like once a week.

I really like gymnastics

So you don't hate exercise, it's just that what you enjoy isn't available to you.

So the question becomes, how do you get access to what you want to do? Equally, what is available to you that's closest to what you enjoy?

I hated all of it for a long time but it turns out that I mostly hated it because it was hard. I pushed through for a couple months though and now that I'm in good cardiovascular shape and much stronger, I don't hate exercise because I don't feel like I'm going to die when I'm doing it anymore. I'm lifting weights and running half-marathons and it's no longer agonizing to do those things because I'm fitter, so it's not so much of a mental challenge anymore either, you know? And then being fitter means that other stuff, like taking classes with my girlfriends or hiking in the mountains with my husband or playing a random pickup game of something, is so much easier too and when I feel like I'm good at something I'm way more likely to keep doing it.

I mean, I'm still clumsy and my hand-eye coordination is not good so I'm never going to love most sports, but it's amazing to be able to just go for a nice easy run or whatever without feeling like my lungs are going to explode or my legs will collapse, you know?

I hated exercise my whole life until I found running. I love swimming too, but I still feel like it is a hella lot of work to check the pool schedule, try and get a lane at the Y, find childcare (because my little guy HATES the kids zone there for some reason and they kick your kid out if he cries longer than 15 minutes), the chlorine, etc.

I just try and go path of least resistance.

Start slow, once or twice a week and work your way up. Music helps me for running because then I don't have to focus on the pain XD

It seems you hate the idea of exercise altogether so it is almost determined before you really get into anything. Try to have an open mind and then just try things. You don't have to absolutely love lifting, yoga, dance, etc. to do it but you may love the feeling you get after it or after you see progress. Kind of like going to work sucks but you need to make money! Only you can Decide how to make it better for yourself! And how much you want results! You got this and you deserve progress always remember that!

I try to make it fun, and the wii helps with that. I play all the games and my favorite is the hula hoop. I squat down just a bit and it's a great core and leg workout. Plus it's built in that you want to beat your last score so it's progressive and I tend to want to try more than once

Also, and I know it's kinda touchy-feely, but the more I even just CARE about myself and my well being, the more I want to move. I feel the discomfort of exercise and think about how tomorrow these motions will be easier on my body and I am helping it along to my goal of health. This helps me turn the bad parts of exercise into positive thoughts so I don't get all down in the dumps about how difficult it is.