What do u tell yourself when u dont feel like exercising?

2

Replies

  • Hooliekom
    Hooliekom Posts: 94 Member
    If I don't feel like exercising (which is very rare, as I love my workouts :) ) I tell myself that if I do it today I don't have to do it tomorrow if I really don't want to... then by the time I'm a few minutes in I'm enjoying myself as usual. I have never, ever finished a workout without feeling better than I did when I started.
  • Jenelle_Lynne
    Jenelle_Lynne Posts: 5 Member
    You just have to go, even if you don't want to, even if you're tired, just go. Don't let yourself even think "ehh maybe I can skip today" because it becomes easier and easier to keep skipping. You just need to make it a routine
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    joowelz wrote: »
    Any motivational advice?

    What does "exercising" mean to you? I exercise in some capacity pretty much everyday, but most of what I do is also my fun/play/recreation time. Riding bikes, hiking, swimming in the pool and chasing my kids around under the water, playing with my kids on the trampoline, going with my kids to the skate park and riding my scooter around, walking my dog, etc.

    I like to play and I'm just a big kid at heart, so it doesn't typically require much motivation and I can lose track of time pretty easily. "Workouts" are another matter...sometimes I'm into it and sometimes I just make myself go do it. "Workouts" are a fairly minimal part of my overall thing though so getting to the gym to lift a couple times per week or doing a structured workout on my bike for training purposes a couple of times per week isn't too big of a deal, even if I'm not really feeling it...
  • durhammfp
    durhammfp Posts: 493 Member
    edited March 2021
    I talk myself into taking little baby steps towards my goal. So, if I don't feel like running, I'll tell myself just to put on my running shorts and then I can decide. Then it will be my shoes, and then I will tell myself to just collect my flipbelt, earbuds, and smartphone... in case I need them. :-) Somewhere in that process, my body takes over in a routinized manner, and soon I find myself all kitted out and walking out the door without realizing it.

    ETA: What helped me in the larger sense was realizing I needed discipline, not motivation, and that I had to make exercise a habit.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    The great majority of the time I look forward to exercising and thoroughly enjoy it, but on the rare occasions I’m not really feeling it then I just take a rest day. Nothing wrong with an extra rest day as long as it’s only occasional and doesn’t become the norm.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited March 2021
    Speakeasy76 wrote: »
    For me, I've been exercising for so long now that it's more of a force of habit than anything and feel worse when I don't. I think the key is 1) Finding activities that are actually somewhat enjoyable (Or tolerable) and 2) Finding a variety of activities.

    If you feel like exercise is "punishment" or you must exercise to earn your food (not saying you do), than it will be really hard to stay motivated. Remember, even just going for a walk on a nice day can still be "exercise," even if it doesn't get your heart rate really high.

    I've also heard to just tell yourself to only do 10 minutes, and often times once you've reached 10 minutes you feel like you can keep going.

    This is where I am with it. Even if I somewhat "don't feel like it", I still notice that I've done it by the end of the day because I feel weird if I DON'T do it. Habit is a powerful thing.

    Honestly, I see it as a kick to my mental health too. I can get stressed out or anxious easily, and exercise and activity helps alleviate some of it, even if its just going for a walk.

    One final thing is that with increased activity and weight drop, I've seen my BP improve (I have hypertension). That alone is enough to keep me going! I love seeing that number drop!
  • Whatsthemotive
    Whatsthemotive Posts: 145 Member
    I remember that it is one thing I can control. If the rest of the day throws me curve balls or stressors, I know that I can exercise and take care of myself. Most of my anxiety comes from things I cannot control so it is very soothing to do I can control. Also, I look on all I’ve done to improve so far as an investment. If I don’t keep exercising, I’ll lose the investment I’ve already made.
  • FitAgainBy55
    FitAgainBy55 Posts: 179 Member
    Twice in my life I've gone from fit to fat. Both times I let excuses get in the way and I let one excuse day lead to another. And then one excuse week lead to another excuse week. Then a month. If I never miss a day, it will not be possible to miss a week.

    When I've been successful at maintaining fitness for several years at a time it has required a lot of little sacrifices. Those little sacrifices are ways to not given to common excuses. My 2 most common ones are:
    1. My excuse: I'm too tired. My response: after I workout I'll have more energy and a low energy workout is better than none at all.
    2. My excuse: I'm too busy. My response: I'm always too busy to workout. Successful people don't HAVE time to workout they MAKE time.

    Overall, however, I just give myself one rest day per week. I don't plan that day ahead of time. Once I've used it, then I have no choice -- so motivation doesn't matter at that point :smile:

    Having said that, I'm on spring break with my family and yesterday was our starting travel day and due to planned get togethers I missed my second day this week -- oops. I'm not going to beat myself up too much. It's only the 2nd time I've not met my 6 days per week goal in 3 months -- the other was the Texas SNOVID catastrophe.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    If I don't feel like doing my workout I usually can motivate myself to do something, so I'll just hop on the bike and tell myself "I'll just do a 20 minute easy ride", and 9 times out of 10 once I get started I just go ahead and do my "real" workout. But if I really am not feeling it I don't feel bad about missing a day - I walk 2 miles every morning with my dogs (they don't let me miss that) so even if I miss my workout I've done something.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    wiigelec wrote: »
    Do you need motivation to brush your teeth?

    Discipline—not motivation—is what’s required to do the things you need to do even when you don’t want to do them.

    Yes, I force myself to floss Every. Darn. Night.

    What do I tell myself when I don't feel like flossing?

    It's time to floss.

    What do I tell myself when I don't feel like exercising?

    It's time to exercise.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    Speakeasy76 wrote: »
    For me, I've been exercising for so long now that it's more of a force of habit than anything and feel worse when I don't. I think the key is 1) Finding activities that are actually somewhat enjoyable (Or tolerable) and 2) Finding a variety of activities.

    If you feel like exercise is "punishment" or you must exercise to earn your food (not saying you do), than it will be really hard to stay motivated. Remember, even just going for a walk on a nice day can still be "exercise," even if it doesn't get your heart rate really high.

    I've also heard to just tell yourself to only do 10 minutes, and often times once you've reached 10 minutes you feel like you can keep going.
    Yes, I did the "just 10 minute" thing when I was creating the habit. I always finished the exercise. Now that it is a habit, I don't need to do that anymore.
    dragon_girl26 wrote: »
    This is where I am with it. Even if I somewhat "don't feel like it", I still notice that I've done it by the end of the day because I feel weird if I DON'T do it. Habit is a powerful thing.

    Honestly, I see it as a kick to my mental health too. I can get stressed out or anxious easily, and exercise and activity helps alleviate some of it, even if its just going for a walk.

    One final thing is that with increased activity and weight drop, I've seen my BP improve (I have hypertension). That alone is enough to keep me going! I love seeing that number drop!
    Yes, I feel weird and itchy/anxious if I don't exercise at my usual time.
  • Indialove901
    Indialove901 Posts: 71 Member
    In the beginning, I would keep reminding myself of my goal. Eventually, exercise became a part of my daily routine. Once you start to love the way it makes you feel, you won’t need as much motivation. You will just do it! Good luck!
  • JohnBarth
    JohnBarth Posts: 672 Member
    MissAtomicBomb238 wrote: »
    Sometimes a paradigm shift:

    You dont have to work out; you GET to work out.

    It sounds silly but the concept of “working out” is a luxury. You get to do that. And that is awesome.

    Also, no one ever regrets a quick walk. No one. In the history of ever.

    I sometimes think similarly to this. It's more of a "I'm thankful I'm healthy enough and have the opportunity to work out!"
  • 1poundatax
    1poundatax Posts: 230 Member
    I put on a video and make myself do 15 min. I figure I can do anything for 15 min. even if I don't want to. I rarely stop after just 15 min. I try to exercise 5 days a week, I try to save the 2 days for when my days are jam packed and it is hard to fit another thing in.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,710 Member
    JohnBarth wrote: »
    MissAtomicBomb238 wrote: »
    Sometimes a paradigm shift:

    You dont have to work out; you GET to work out.

    It sounds silly but the concept of “working out” is a luxury. You get to do that. And that is awesome.

    Also, no one ever regrets a quick walk. No one. In the history of ever.

    I sometimes think similarly to this. It's more of a "I'm thankful I'm healthy enough and have the opportunity to work out!"

    Same, particularly after a recent injury, surgery, and recovery. Now I'm more grateful than ever that I "get" to be active. Still a little limited in what I can and can't do, but I'm happy to be making progress.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    JohnBarth wrote: »
    MissAtomicBomb238 wrote: »
    Sometimes a paradigm shift:

    You dont have to work out; you GET to work out.

    It sounds silly but the concept of “working out” is a luxury. You get to do that. And that is awesome.

    Also, no one ever regrets a quick walk. No one. In the history of ever.

    I sometimes think similarly to this. It's more of a "I'm thankful I'm healthy enough and have the opportunity to work out!"

    Good point. Last year I had a series of gout attacks one after another after another that went on from mid May through mid September when Rheum finally fixed me. That was an incredibly hard and painful four months...my family in general is pretty active and we all like to play...I really missed being able to participate in all of that, especially since it was summer and that's when we like to get our recreation on. We did a lot of camping over the summer and I mostly just hung out at camp...I tried once to join the family on a hike that we love as my foot was feeling manageable...I made it maybe 1/4 of a mile before I had to turn back. It's typically about a 4 hour round trip hike, and I knew I'd never make it with my foot and someone would end up having to carry me out of there.

    That really sucked...and I missed out on a lot of adventures last summer. I remember my first walk with my little doggie once Rheum got me straight...it was so great and I couldn't believe how much I'd taken for granted being able to just move around and do stuff without pain.

    I workout some, and play a lot...I namely workout so that I can play and do active stuff...so four months of nothing but pain really sucked...now I play every chance I get.

  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    discipline. that's just the way it is. not negotiable.

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