I do not like exercise; motivators?
 

Exercise. I need to do it, but I don't want to. What are some ways you've helped motivate yourself to START? What are some ways you've motivated yourself to stick with it?

Ive exercised my entire life until now ,due to a health complication at first it was this is crazy and had major withdrawals but the brain and brawn soon adapt .It was never difficult for me ,as a child I spent all of my waking time running every where ,hardly ever walked we had great hills where i grew up and spent years rolling down them or sliding down them on cardboard ,oh yeah and the sled dad made ,anyway I played hockey as a teenager wasnt that great at it but it was fun, did heaps of bushwalking and waterfall discovering through my twenties and thirtys,Have been doing yoga for 20 years and can still do some gentle stuff,and always loved light weights , have just started gentle horse riding ,so the horsey is doing most of the work ,Ill be back one day though ,so StormNexus I would say just start tying things maybe stuff you would not usually pick ,think outside the box so to say,maybe go trampolining or get a dog then youll have to walk everyday but most of all make it enjoyable because its part of life ,Good luck ,Id love to say i will roll down a hill again before its all over :)................

I just thought to also say that weights ,sit ups etc much more fun to music ,but instead of counting repetitions I always found it more pleasant to say the alphabet and they fly by...........

Oh 'exercising' is so boring! Particularly if looked on as a discipline, which must be done....so many sit-ups....so many pull-ups....crunching and groaning, and paying gym membership.....oh no.

Just drive out somewhere really nice that intrigues you. Park the car and go for a circular walk. Make sure it's at least a two hour walk. You don't need walking sticks, you don't need food, you don't need bottles of energy drinks. You might need a map and compass, depending on where you're going (and if going anywhere remotely dangerous then yes -take survival essentials in a back-pack including food & water)
But generally for a nice walk you don't need all that caboodle. Just get out there and walk for the fun of it.

Getting a dog is a good idea so long as you will love the dog. You will have the best walking buddy anyone could ever have.

This may sound horrible to most people, but where you like to walk may depend on where you grew up. I grew up in Manhattan, lived there, or major cities most of my life. I am NOT a nature person--the idea of camping quite horrifies me (my husband and I agreed--the idea of roughing it was a motel instead of a hotel, and that was not appealing!). When I finally left Manhattan for another state, I found walking in nature the most boring thing ever, and horribly difficult, but when I was in NYC I ADORED walking, and walked everywhere! It finally occurred to me that it was just not what I was used to looking at. I loved walking around stores, big buildings, in museums, etc. So now I walk in malls, in zoos, around places with lots of architecturally interesting buildings, etc. Much more fun for me :D

When I decided to make exercise a part of my life, I started simply with walking around my neighborhood for 20 minutes (briskly) then I increased the time as I wanted to challenge myself. I did it 5 days a week. Slowly, I continued to challenge myself by wanting to be able to do things (kayak, hike, etc.) and realized exercise can be fun. It grows on you.

Dancing is the greatest non-exercise exercise in my opinion (and many agree who have discussed this with me).

You move, you dance to the music, interact with partner, get very sweaty at the all night big parties and yet it never feels boring or like exercise!

I dance salsa, but lindy hop, swing, tango or whatever will likely have similar results!

Dance !!

...

I look to things that I'm interested in or are fun. For me, & as has been said, it's walking & hiking.

Sunshining in spring motivates me to go out and have a walk but... I don't like work-out exercise!

Do something that you like doing. I bought a longboard and do that everyday now, it's freeing and great exercise. Walk/bike to places instead of driving, I cycle to the supermarket that is two miles away just for the exercise. Make it a way of life, that's natural. Appreciate your body for being a vehicle that can take you from A to B, feel the freedom of it. Don't label it as boring. Create a new perspective. It's a choice.

Exercise is a great way to feel good not only physically, but also mentally because it improves mood and outlook.

Get yourself a notebook, jot down how you feel prior to exercise, and write down how you feel like 15 minutes after you've completed exercising. Read it each day...it will make you want to exercise because you will want to feel good!

Someone close to me was in an accident when we were 19 and he was paralyzed from the waist down. I believe that has a lot to do with my feelings of gratitude for an able body and a love of exercise. I am 48, now and have been an avid exerciser for most of my life. When I hit a slump and start to feel unmotivated, I remind myself that I am so blessed to be healthy and have a body that allows me to move and do the things I love to do. Find something that you like to do and be grateful for it and your body.

I hate exersizing myself as well, I find it boring.
What does motivate me is knowing that if I don't I'll never reach my weight goal, nor would I be fit and healthy.

Isometric exercises.
Assume a position where muscles are constantly under strain. Just hold yourself in such a position until your muscles can't keep up anymore. Breathing will naturally intensify and deepen also.

For example push-ups. Start doing the push-up, but instead of going all the way down you stop somewhere in the middle where your muscles are working hardest, and just maintain that position for as long as you can.
Muscles are constantly working hard and in need of energy. For this reason these exercises are best for losing excess body fat, and also very good for gaining muscle mass.
These exercises are easy to do and they train muscles quickly. No need to spend hours at the gym or whatever such "up-and-down" exercises. 10-30 minutes of exercises at a time is enough. Also very good as morning exercises.

How much excess fat one has, has nearly nothing to do with exercising or not. It has nearly everything to do with what one eats. To lose excess weight, diet has to be right, and exercising isn't even needed to lose the excess weight.
If muscle mass-weight is wanted, then exercise is absolutely needed, but even then diet has to be right.

Whoever does??

For me it's the potential to lose a bit of weight......+ you do feel better for it after. there are few things I hate more than feeling stodge d up.

For me it's 6th sense thing. We all eat too much, too much stuff with additives in. Added to that the stresses of life and we need to be burning off the stress and calories. Remember we don't need to go to the extent of hunting for our food. We don't now even need to walk or ever cycle for it. My body soon tells me when I need to do some cardio....

Good point.

I call in on an old guy who has major back problems and is basically wheel chair bound now...

When I leave there ( a fairly fit male early 50s) and go home it does make you feel differently about what you've got. I've few illusions I'll be where he is one day. One day but not yet.

I hate exercising but what I do is yoga,tai chi and dancing, and I go on walks at least once a week.Try and find something you really like doing.

StormNexus - I don't like exercise either, but I make myself do it. Once a person starts exercising, the body can't help but change or improve in health. Cardio is good for the heart and circulation, eliminating toxins. Resistant, weight lifting helps building strong muscles and bones to prevent such things as osteoporosis. There are days that I just don't feel like exercising and I remember something I recently heard: "If you think exercising isn't making a difference, just stop exercising and see what happens." That motivates me because I want to continue to fit in my clothes and I don't want to end up like my parents have who are obese. Those things are what motivate me to exercise. Do you have specific goals? Once you start working out and see a change, it's hard to stop. That's what has worked for me anyway.

This is going to sound weird but hypnosis works pretty well for this. There are quite a few CD's out there for weight loss and exercise motivation. I like D Sutphen's myself. Paul McKenna and Kelly Howell from Brain Synch aren't bad either. I hate to exercise but those CD's really did help me get around that...

"If you think exercising isn't making a difference, just stop exercising and see what happens."


Nice one.

May I use that in my signature?

Once, people didn't have the luxury of being able to consider whether or not they liked or disliked exercise! They simply had to do it to get through life!

It is quite surprising to me that a neighbour of mine exclaims "Oh my goodness! Have you walked down here?" when they see me pass their house a quarter of a mile away, to go to the next house where I do some work.
If I have to quickly dash back because I have forgotten something -if that neighbour sees me, they say "Oh! Do you need a lift?" I thank them because it is very kind of them, but mention that by the time we have got in the car, done up the dratted seat belts, gone through all the car-starting stuff -I would already BE home and on my way back! They then gaze at me and say "That means you will have walked a mile to and fro!"
A MILE? Is that all?
It goes to show me that general exercise is looked on in a far different way than it used to be. It is now looked on as....an inconvenience....a penance....a way to get slim, or for some special 'fitness' regime.....a thing one does on sunny days at the weekend (and probably only if you're training for something, or have dogs)....or if your car has broken down.

Or have people become too impatient? It might take an hour to walk somewhere that in a car would take 5 minutes?

It seems people have become more detached from their natural state; a state in which we walk as a general part of life, just as much as we rest or eat and drink because we need to.

Which is maybe why there is such a varied state of health among st young people near me.

I suppose once one does it's ok for the another to do it but we clearly have an obesity issue with young people in the 18/30 year age gap.....among st women there are approx 50% either severely over-weight or morbidly obese. Among st young males (bizarrely) a personal estimate would be 25%.

[NB For the PC brigade that isn't being sexist I'm merely stating what my eyes tell me]

We buy cars, they build roads. We fill the roads up, so they build more, so we buy more cars. It's a fact of life work is no longer on our doorsteps (although I tried to keep it thus for 10 years ....to my own mental health cost) so we get in our cars , drive to work, get out , go to work etc etc. It's a fact of modern life we are no longer getting enough exercise. Cycle to work?? Not round here you wouldn't. Correct , far too many cars for it to be safe.

Yes , cardio exercise is a necessary evil but for me it also necessary for getting out the zone and finding some peace.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend is a motivation!
If you are single, the possibility to find him or her could be a motivation too.

Walking, especially somewhere in nature in peace, or at night when people are off the streets, can be its own motivation after you get used to it. You realize how it clears your head and helps organize your thoughts, and how your entire body works better after doing it. It's different from running or jogging. You also get addicted to the point that eventually you want to go longer and longer distances. I went from barely being able to do a couple of kilometers on my own to doing 6 on a regular basis. Sometimes last year I went out on combination bikeride/walks that took me over 20 km. Some of my best memories have been walks.

It doesn't matter what age or how weak you think you are. Walking is the ultimate thing that will show you that you have strength and endurance beyond what you thought. It will change you. It is a spiritual experience unto itself.

I do cardiovascular workouts twice a week on a stationary bike inside, just did 9.1 miles yesterday, and my workout days are shower days too. Now that the snow has melted off the roads and fields I can go for a long walk with the dog and be in nature again.

I totally agree. Walking is a very balancing and nice thing to do. It doesn't even matter if it's raining or snowing so long as you wear waterproof gear etc. You can always dry off when back home and glowing...and have some hot soup!
Many a pain has been walked off! Many a 'grunge mood' has been walked off !

Do what you loved doing as a child. Ride a bike, or a skateboard, or skates, or sports, swimming... don't call it exercise, call it fun. Find someone to throw a ball around with if you like baseball, find a wall to hit the tennis ball against if you can't find a partner and like tennis, find a way to do it by yourself and then if you find someone else to play with, it's a bonus. I loved hopscotch as a kid, I loved to run on the grass in a big field, I liked to swing. Pretend your a kid again and just play.

For myself, I started small and focused mainly on getting myself in the mindset of exercising on a mostly daily routine (5-7 days a week). I started exercising for 5 minutes a day...Yep, you got that right...just 5 minutes, because anyone can find 5 minutes in their day to commit to exercise...

After my "workout" became more and more routine, I gradually added more time...I went from 5 minutes, to 8 minutes for a couple weeks, up to 10 minutes for a couple weeks, and now I'm up 12 minutes set at a fairly high resistance...

To keep myself motivated I don't view exercise as "exercise" but rather as meditation...I focus on deep breathing and there is a pattern of breathing I use while I am exercising so it feels more like meditating for me...

So far, I've noticed significant changes in my overall physical health. I've dropped about 25 pounds since last November, I have better stamina, I can walk longer distances, and I don't get out of breath when I'm walking up steep hills. I have also significantly reduced alcohol consumption, I've stopped stress eating, and I eat healthier foods and drink zero calorie beverages, mostly water and unsweetened hot/cold tea...I still drink my morning coffee with minimal sugar and creamer...I can not stand artificial sweetener, and I avoid that stuff like the plague (LOL)...

If you are not a fan of "exercise" in the traditional sense, I really like what Nameless suggests in finding some kind of physical activity that is more "fun" but keeps your body moving...

My favorite exercise machine is the elliptical, mainly because I do the work myself (I am scared of treadmills, LOL) and you can add resistance to your workout which helps burn extra calories and helps build muscle...

I really want to get back into hiking again...when I lived in WA state, Utah, and vacationed in CO I loved hiking in the deep woods and mountain areas...

Measure your self in the morning.

It does the trick for me.

It doesn't need to be accurate, just always in the same place..... around the belly button for me. I'm sure it's not the RIGHT place

Exercise is out for me i live in a village near the mountains they only thing you had to do here was walk ,it wasnt just straight up and down either its all hills, i used to love walking now i cant walk very far i have osteo arthritis and fybromygela,somethimes it hurts just to stand up, im not a big believer in following trends or exercise dos and dont,i do as i want and what suits me,you have to find a way that you are happy doing .

Namaste

Distance is unimportant. What matters is pushing yourself bit by bit, not allowing whatever it is that's brought you down to keep you down or take more of you than it already has. In Finnish we have a concept called "sisu" which is finding the inner strength you didn't know you had, and using it to do "the impossible".

I always had motivation to get started but sticking with it was somewhat of a problem due to life. Home, family, work. Made it hard to stick to a routine especially if I was alone. So, I started martial arts. We stretch, meditate. It's like yoga and the gym rolled into one with a bonus drill sergeant. Plus the goal of achieving the higher belts. I didn't start till my mid 30s, and I'm 5ft 90lbs and I do quite well. Anyone can do and its loads of fun.

Excercising would probably be easier in nature and outdoor homes. Suburban life kind of makes me lazy haha

The best way to stay motivated is to find something you actually enjoy doing. Whether it's walking, running, or playing a sport. Any activity is better than none. Then just stick with it until it becomes a habit. At some point you should find you're looking forward to doing it.

Decide on a day, write it down, and then mentally prepare yourself to start when that day arrives. Also, the best way which I have found to stick with it is to exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY. This means it becomes a part of your routine, keeps up your momentum and also your motivation. If you take rest days then this slows momentum and you're more likely to get lazy and skip your workouts.

Try exercising while listening to music or watching some series. It helped me a lot to start :)

Remember this: a habit takes about 60 days to be formed (this is from study but from personal experience as well). This means, that even if a habit is good or bad, useful or not... but in this context, hard or easy, you just have to force yourself to go 2 months. Now listen this, the hardest part is to get there. You will rationalize many times not to go 'today'. But once you are there, you won't just say 'oh well, I'm gonna go back home'. No, you will just do your things. Also is very important that you have a partner to go with, especially in your case, this is very essential to stick up.

After 2 months, you will finally understand and literally feel the benefits of it. You will want to go actually, and it will be easy to do so. All it takes is to break this mental block of ice you created yourself.

Hope you take this as a wise advice and perspective, and not rationalize my advise into proving me wrong because it would be very irrelevant. Cheers!

Obviously, if you hate doing something, you're never going to be able to force yourself to like doing it. Seeking motivation is the biggest mistake people make. There is NO reason to motivate yourself to do something you hate.

There are so many different kinds of exercise in this world that you are bound to find at least one that you do enjoy.
When you do find a form of physical activity that you enjoy, you won't have to motivate yourself to do it, because you will actually enjoy doing it.

Seriously, there are billions of different kinds of exercise out there, so many that it's quite impossible for you to hate them all.
Just be creative and find a form of movement that you do like. No one said that you have to go to a gym and work out like the majority of people do.
You can take some fun dance classes, maybe find a sport, get paid to walk dogs, garden, do some housecleaning, go shopping (following my mom or exes around while they shop was like a workout in itself LoL), hiking, swimming... there are so many kinds of fun ideas that you can do to get you more active.

Me, I actually enjoy pushing myself, so I love lifting heavy weights. I also love mastering speed and endurance, so I love doing high intensity cardio, it makes me feel amazing. My favourite thing in the entire world is badminton. I could play badminton for eternity, it's so fun.

I never thought weight lifting actually helped you to lose weight. I thought it was just to build muscle. I was wrong. I started lifting weights for my New Year's resolution, and I can't tell you how much I love it. I'm addicted. It's not so hard that I dread it. I love the euphoric feeling afterwards. The only drawback is I end up being VERY hungry lol =)