For someone who hates to exercise does it ever get better?

katy4399
katy4399 Posts: 136 Member
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all,
For someone who hates to exercise does it ever get better? I don't like it :( I have started the 30 day shred 5 times (Maybe more) and I only last 5 days. I am currently doing Couch to 5 K and I like it better, but I am hoping that one day I will actually enjoy exercising. Any thoughts?

Replies

  • 189andFalling
    189andFalling Posts: 58 Member
    Usually 2-4 weeks after starting a routine - especially with running - round week 4 your 5k will be a breeze!
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    Find something you like doing, it doesn't have to be formal "exercise."
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    When your body is conditioned then exercise feels invigorating. But you have to get in condition first and that takes a few months.
  • NiciS72
    NiciS72 Posts: 1,043 Member
    YES, I'm not fond of some exercise and I used to hate it all. BUT, I absolutely LOVE what it does for me. SO, I use that as my motivation to keep doing it. Try and find something you'll like. For me it's water aerobics. I kick some serious booty in class. I also can't wait for the warm weather to hit so I can take down my bike and hit the road as well as to run without snow!
  • Miss_Chievous_wechange
    Miss_Chievous_wechange Posts: 1,230 Member
    Find something you like doing, it doesn't have to be formal "exercise."

    ^this
  • Libby81
    Libby81 Posts: 734 Member
    The trick is to find something you like doing and do that. It doesn't have to be in a gym or whathaveyou, it could be netball or hockey or anything you like
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    Like others have said, find something you enjoy! This makes a huge difference. I can't stand Jillian Michael's I'd quit doing her videos too. There's so much out there. Check out videos from the library or check On Demand. I personally like Kickboxing myself. A lot of people like Zumba.
  • Annette8479
    Annette8479 Posts: 82 Member
    I hate, hate, hate exercise. I am 32 years old and have just started regularly exercising for 8 weeks now. The problem is you have to find something fun to you. I found Zumba. It is the ONLY way I can do an hour cardio without getting bored and discouraged. But not the DVDs, see those get boring. So, if Zumba is not your thing, maybe a different type of class. It stays more interesting than the same DVD over and over.
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    Find something you like doing, it doesn't have to be formal "exercise."

    ^this

    Absolutely. If you want this for life, and I hope that you do, spend your energy exploring exercise you could look forward to.
  • Allie_71
    Allie_71 Posts: 1,063 Member
    Find something you like doing, it doesn't have to be formal "exercise."

    ^^ :) There are lots of activities that burn calories, and don't have to be formal 'exercising'. I started dancing and lost 70 lbs pretty much doing that, while incorporating some weights and a healthier lifestyle. :)
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
    Exercise is 99% mental. You have to talk yourself into it. Today, for example, is 40 degrees and raining. Do I REALLY want to run 8 miles in it? Nooooo... but will I? Yep. You can do more than you think that you can do.

    Set a goal and believe in yourself.
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
    Find something you like doing, it doesn't have to be formal "exercise."

    This! If you hate it, you won't stick with it. Go hiking, skiing, kayaking, biking, walking, anything. Just get moving.
  • dvk422
    dvk422 Posts: 6
    This is a 2 part process:

    1. You have to find something that you actually enjoy and have fun with.
    2. You have to change the way you think about exercise.

    For part one, explore different venues. Think outside the proverbial box. For me for example, I joined a kickboxing class and absolutely love it!

    For part two, stop saying you hate exercise and start making positive affirmations:
    - I love the way I feel after a good workout.
    - My body is my friend and it needs action.
    - I am strong, I am healthy, I am young, I am beautiful.

    Create your own affirmations and say it to yourself again and again. Post it on mirrors, walls, everywhere you look.

    And there are opportunities for exercise everywhere! I do "counter push-up" by using the bathroom or kitchen counter to get my arms stronger.

    Don't think about the whole picture but about each step. You can only take a step at a time anyway. Good luck!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Find something active you like doing or find something you like doing that you can do while you exercise.

    I enjoy watching tv, listening to music, and fighting/grappling:

    I bring movies or tv shows with me on my tablet and watch them while I'm doing cardio, listen to music while I'm lifting, practice martial arts and play rugby.

    Tailor the exercise to you, not the other way around.
  • emmamcblain
    emmamcblain Posts: 342
    Coming from someone who DESPISED exercise with a passion and now really likes it, I'd say it's possible. :wink:
  • TheLaser
    TheLaser Posts: 338 Member
    I LOVE exercise, so perhaps I'm not the best person to answer this question. But I will say that exercise can have a snowball effect: it might feel really awful at first, but then it gets more and more fun, you start feeling better and better and more alive, and after a while you look forward to it as one of the highlights of your day.

    But I will say that even though I'm one of the most motivated exercisers I know, there are days when the startup costs seem overwhelming. On those days I tell myself: you only have to go out for 1/2 hour, that's all. And then 90% of the time I start to feel amazing during that and 1/2 hour turns into an hour.

    The moral of the story is: on the macro (overall exercise habits) and the micro (day-to-day exercise practices) scales, even the most fit and motivated people fight against inertia. That is why I think it's important to keep snowball rolling as much as possible throughout the day: take the stairs, walk the extra whatever, carry something slightly uncomfortably heavy, etc.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    I agree with others...I started a slow progression where I had to force myself to exercise - I started with Wii and things like the biggest Loser DVD's - from the biggest Loser DVD's I really liked the kickboxing moves...so I did some research and bought a kickboxing DVD...did that for awhile...found out my local martial arts club was doing kickboxing classes 2x's per week at 8pm - figured I would give it a shot - been doing that for almost a year (in true altruestic sense I love this place - they don't charge for the classes as they see it as giving back to the community to get people up and exercising - we have everything from a senior citizan that has had 2 heart surgeries to 12 year old kids)

    I have done different things using groupon deals - last year I did a month of bootcamp from a Groupon deal ($30 for the month) - it was ok - I had a good time and had a good workout and it was varied it just sort of left me blah....I bought a groupon deal in Dec for Crossfit classes....love it - just finsihed up my Groupon classes and signed up for 3 more months of classes...

    So it really is all about finding what you like...
  • SmallerBecky
    SmallerBecky Posts: 177
    I always hate it for a while when I start back up again, Katy, but usually when I start seeing some changes in my appearance, I get happier and it gets easier. I usually start out with just walking when I haven't exercised in a while. Walk, walk, walk. That brings me down a few pounds and makes me feel better and then I start adding in more and more and after a while, I'm loving some real workouts! I love to play my own music to workout videos. I usually use some fast hip-hop stuff for cardio and my loud Incubus-type stuff for weight lifting. Whatever makes me feel powerful! It also helps to think of someone who is impressed and inspired by you. It's harder to let those people down than to do the exercise sometimes! :)
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    I hate exercise for the sake of exercise. I took up boxing so that I am learning a skill and working to get better at it. Losing the weight and building the muscles are just a by-product of practice.

    Good luck.
  • jody664
    jody664 Posts: 397 Member
    This is a 2 part process:

    1. You have to find something that you actually enjoy and have fun with.
    2. You have to change the way you think about exercise.

    For part one, explore different venues. Think outside the proverbial box. For me for example, I joined a kickboxing class and absolutely love it!

    For part two, stop saying you hate exercise and start making positive affirmations:
    - I love the way I feel after a good workout.
    - My body is my friend and it needs action.
    - I am strong, I am healthy, I am young, I am beautiful.

    Create your own affirmations and say it to yourself again and again. Post it on mirrors, walls, everywhere you look.

    And there are opportunities for exercise everywhere! I do "counter push-up" by using the bathroom or kitchen counter to get my arms stronger.

    Don't think about the whole picture but about each step. You can only take a step at a time anyway. Good luck!
    I agree with this. For me it was a necessary to change the way I think. I started telling myself I that I like exercise. For me it was a "fake-it-til-you-make-it" kind of thing. Now I do truly like to exercise. Creating your own affirmations is a great suggestion too. That has helped me too.
  • XoSaraoX
    XoSaraoX Posts: 97 Member
    when i first started i HATED it, now i love it, i think once you start to see huge results thats when i started to like it more.. i love the feeling i get once i have a good workout.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I hated getting off the couch at all when I first started, now I like to get in 30-90 minutes of exercise per day and love that my body is able to do things I couldn't make it do before. Yes, it totally gets better. :-)
  • TMCELHERON
    TMCELHERON Posts: 1
    I agree wholeheartedly..it has to be something you consder 'fun' or it won't last. I play in adult league dodgeball of all things and it's a great workout and SO much fun :)
  • KW9878
    KW9878 Posts: 6
    This might sound dumb, but have you tried finding some cute workout clothes? For some reason, as I have started working out more (running and excercise), I want to treat myself to new "active wear". Not just baggy tees and my old sweats.
    I've also been doing the 30DS (for a week, I know, big whoop) now, but on days I just don't "feel like it", I imagine how much better I'll feel afterwards. I don't want to feel like a big frump, so I just tell myself "get it over with already". After it's over, I feel much more accomplished than I would have, had I just sat on the couch. :)
  • sabinecbauer
    sabinecbauer Posts: 250 Member
    When I was 16 or thereabouts, my mother, who's a natural athlete, decided she was going to turn me into a track star... or something, and I promise you, you couldn't possibly imagine a person more unsuited to that type of thing than me (=chubby nerd) at the time. Her efforts included hauling me out of bed at ridiculous hours of the morning, making me cycle 3 miles to the nearest fitness parcours, there to insist I run another 3 miles. Surprisingly, both my mother and I survived the experience (which lasted roughly a week, in total), and I promptly took a solemn oath never to run another step in my life.

    Skip ahead 30 years.

    I decided to do something about those 200+ lbs I weighed at my worst, and in addition to sensible eating I started strength training and cardio on alternating days (cardio then = brisk walking). It worked great until I fell down the stairs at my parents house and, as it turned out soon after, tore a ligament in my hip in the tumble. Nothing major, but I couldn't walk on the treadmill anymore, because my stride is fairly long and the extension was excruciatingly painful. But I could RUN--shorter stride, you see?

    So I started running. I've been running ever since. No huge distances--generally about 5k--but I go trail-running so I suppose that makes up for it. And guess what? I absolutely love it! :bigsmile:
  • stunningalmond
    stunningalmond Posts: 275 Member
    It does get better! I wasn't a fan of exercise at all, but now I love it. I love how much stronger I've gotten! Having someone to exercise with has helped me a lot too :)
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