"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