How to make exercise enjoyable
kiiibbb112253
Posts: 67 Member
I am a person who overall does not enjoy exercise. I can't go out and play tennis because I don't have a lot of time on my hands. The only thing I have is a stationary bike that I can use right before work starts. I listen to music, but that gets boring rather quickly. Do you guys have any ideas on how I could spice up my exercise?
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Replies
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Get a tablet and watch videos, movies or tv shows?1
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Find something you enjoy. I love kickboxing, swimming, weightlifting, and outdoor bootcamp style workouts. There are so many different forms of exercise, try different things until you find your passion, so you look forward to it.8
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I started a zombie run app. That's fun too!5
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Try different things until you find something you enjoy2
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WATCH HORROR GAME PLAY THROUGH.
when the player starts going oh *kitten* oh *kitten* oh *kitten*, you will find yourself saying the same thing and cycling faster. keeps your heart rate, keeps you stimulated. it has been the best thing for me.
dont do it on treadmill. i almost fell from a jump scare and made a fool out of myself.0 -
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nutmegoreo wrote: »Find something you enjoy. I love kickboxing, swimming, weightlifting, and outdoor bootcamp style workouts. There are so many different forms of exercise, try different things until you find your passion, so you look forward to it.Try different things until you find something you enjoy
^ What they said.2 -
How to make exercise enjoyable:
1. Sling leg over bicycle
2. Go for rides in different directions and in different places.
I also have a trainer (bicycle on device to keep it stationary) and when I ride that, I set it up in front of a TV and ride it during a favourite show. I do "commercial intervals" where I ride easy during the show and then ride hard during the commercial. 30-60 minutes goes by in no time.
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kiiibbb112253 wrote: »I am a person who overall does not enjoy exercise. I can't go out and play tennis because I don't have a lot of time on my hands. The only thing I have is a stationary bike that I can use right before work starts. I listen to music, but that gets boring rather quickly. Do you guys have any ideas on how I could spice up my exercise?
I second, third or whatever finding something you actually enjoy.
I have an exercise bike, I tend to do intervals on it as I find that more enjoyable than just pedalling... crank up the music and crank up the resistance!0 -
I find that when I think of exercise as "exercise" I get very bored and hate it. I seek out things to do that I enjoy, instead, that get my heart rate up. I love walking and especially hiking in the mountains. I love yoga (which isn't terribly strenuous but is better than sitting on your butt), and get my butt kicked at least once a week in my dance lessons with my coach (hoping I'll be able to dance that hard more than once a week soon). I do do a couple of days of things that are more like "exercise" but I've had to work to find something I don't mind doing. I also do it because it improves other things in my life that are important to me (strength training makes me a better dancer, or at least that's my theory, as I've just started a new program that I am enjoying). You have to like it OR have the personality to be able to slog through boring. I don't have that personality.....so it has to be enjoyable!0
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I have found I really like a variety of group fitness classes to hold me accountable and form a nice community. Good luck finding something you enjoy!0
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Find something you like so you will make time for it. Walk outside, hike, jog, cycle to work, leave the car/bus/train a few blocks away and walk from there, lift weights, swim, dance, play football, try martial arts and so on.
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Couldn't agree more with the general sentiment expressed above. It sounds almost too simple to say explicitly, but if you enjoy a given activity, you'll gravitate towards it because it's fun. The less you enjoy an activity, the more it will feel like "work," and the less likely you'll be to engage.
I actually enjoy running, which I recognize as a character flaw. Because I dig it, though, I don't have to fight myself to go out for a run. I also regularly do Zumba. Because I enjoy dancing, Zumba classes feel less like an exercise I have to do to maintain fitness than like a fun way to spend an hour that, as a side effect, is a damned good workout.
In my fitness tribe, however, I know a number of people who will gladly swim for hours, but for whom running is an activity best suited for those in the inner circles of hell. I'm also typically the only guy at Zumba. For whatever reasons, most guys wouldn't find it enjoyable. The most effective exercise regimen for you is the one that you will do. Figure out what that is, and do it. Do it enough, and it becomes a habit.1 -
Try some group classes to see how you like that environment. Try different kinds of classes too.0
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kiiibbb112253 wrote: »I am a person who overall does not enjoy exercise. I can't go out and play tennis because I don't have a lot of time on my hands. The only thing I have is a stationary bike that I can use right before work starts. I listen to music, but that gets boring rather quickly. Do you guys have any ideas on how I could spice up my exercise?
I do not enjoy exercise.
However there are a number of things that I enjoy doing occasionally, when on vacation, etc, that exercising regularly make it possible to do.
I wanted to -
snorkel in the Caribbean- I learnt to swim and do it on a regular basis.
Hike through tropical rain forests- I took up walking/ hiking and do it on a regular basis.
Not be the nana that sits and watches her grandson play - so I took Zumba, Pilates, aquafit, etc so I am flexible and have good stamina and I can chase and roll around on the floor with him.
I weight train so I have a better chance of not being the little old lady that has fallen and can't get up.
Some of us just aren't naturals when it comes to exercise, and like and love are not part of our vocabulary, that is when you look for your why.
I get satisfaction from accomplishments at the gym, and joy from the activities I can do because I choose to go, and that is a good enough impetus for me.
Spice it up by adding variety.
Cheees, h.10 -
For me, the key was starting with something I love. I bought a bike. That worked for a while, but deep down, what I really wanted to do was swim. I was nervous and didn't have the confidence to join a gym for access. I didn't have access to a pool year round, so I finally bit the bullet and joined a gym. It was like an epiphany for me.
Once I started swimming, it opened up a whole new world for me regarding fitness and exercise. Now, I am getting into weights to supplement my swimming days. Swimming has become my "just for me" activity that I enjoy, find relaxing and it re-charges my soul. The weights are something that I always wanted to do, but didn't have the confidence to pursue. Once I shimmied my butt into a swimsuit and didn't die from public embarrassment, I decided that I could pursue the weights too.
So, I say don't force yourself to do something you don't enjoy. Find something you love and just start, no matter how non-conventional. Do you love nature? Start hiking. Do you love the water? Start swimming. Do you enjoy a particular show? Make it a goal to only watch that show while you are on the stationary bike.
If you really enjoy it, it won't feel like such a chore.2 -
Fitness classes are the magic key for me! Hate the gym, running is uncomfortable and lonely, not into biking. Fitness classes? I can dance! I can Spin! I can bounce on a mini trampoline!0
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EVERYONE HAS TIME! How bad do you want it? MAKE IT HAPPEN!.1
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Ride a bicycle to work. That way, it isn't "exercise" it is just part of your commute.0
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KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »EVERYONE HAS TIME! How bad do you want it? MAKE IT HAPPEN!.
Lol not when you have a little girl with tennis lessons and a teenage son who is the drum major of his marching band.0
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