"I Hate To Exercise"... How Do I Make It More Enjoyable?

 

This is a common question we get:

“I am not worried about getting "Jennifer Aniston shoulders." My difficulty is much more basic. I hate to exercise. It's just an exertion for me to walk. (No judgements, please.) I know I *should *exercise, and I'd like to get to the place where it's easier, and therefore more enjoyable. Any suggestions?”

 

First, let me tell you that I have been where you are. And so have a lot of people. Many just do it and still hate it, every day because they have a compelling reason to do so. If you are an actress and you must be in shape to get paid and get more work, you’ll just “grind it out” every day.

If it’s just an exertion to walk at this point, then start out by just breathing. Joshua talks about this in the Point of No Return Program. The most important goal for you is to start doing something. Anything. If it’s breathing right now, then that’s what you’ll do. Set aside just 5 minutes to breathe in the oxygen and breathe out. And he says if you can’t breathe, well, then you have a problem. LOL.

I want you to think about any kind of sport or movement you liked doing when you were younger or at a different time in your life. It doesn’t have to be an organized sport. Maybe you liked being in the ocean or feeling the hot sand on your feet or making a sand castle. 

Maybe you liked going out first thing in the snow and just breathing in the cold air and plopping down to make a snow angel. Maybe you were an “inside cat” and preferred to listen to music and feel the rhythm. Maybe you like shopping which involves quite a bit of walking in and out of stores.

I want you to jot down any forms of movement that you have enjoyed in the past and describe what it was. Was it alone? Were you with a friend or family member? And I want you to make a commitment to do this for just 5 minutes this week. Besides, if you love the experience, you’ll want to do it again and again. Find the movement that you love to do. That’s how you make exercise enjoyable.

Related PEERtrainer Thread: Can I Lose Weight Just Walking?

 

-Jackie

 

www.peertrainer.com/coaching

Comments

[nneka]

I used to hate exercising as well, found it really tedious and boring. Until I started taking classes at a fitness club. I find this to be very helpful, because the classes are shceduled, and once you're in, your with other people, plus it makes it difficult to leave before the class is up. so you'd be sure to get your hour worth of excrcise. I recommend taking a class.

[Frank]

On the "I Hate to Exercise" issue, one effective approach is to do
something else that you do enjoy while you're exercising.

For me the best
combination is walking (which doesn't take a great deal of concentration: I do it on a
treadmill, which takes even less) and listening, either to music (where an up-rhythm actually reinforces the stride) or an (interesting) audio book.

The idea is to take the mind off the unpleasant activity (exercise) and turn it to the pleasant act ("Be still, my heart, it's Barry Manilow" or "This
Crime and Punishment is really a hoot").

[Shannon]

I don't particularly like exercise either. For me it's because I simply have no energy, no matter how much coffee I drink to "get me going". I just have to remind myself that it will help me to get healthier in the long run. I take my music with me so I can tune everything out. Hope that helps!

[Sonja (oh-lilian)]

"Find the movement that you love to do. That’s how you make exercise enjoyable."
That's sooo true!!! Over the last year I lost 30lbs and went to the gym - 3 times a week - and it always was a struggle. Just before X-Mas the magic happend: a new ballet-studio opened just around the corner - and that was my chance! I used to do ballet as a kid and I LOVED it. So I took up test classes at the new studio - and I LOVE it!!! Each Wednesday morning I'm thrilled that I'll go to my ballet class in the evening - I haven't been so excited to workout for ages. At the beginning I thought I should still go to the gym and do all the huffing and puffing to get a proper workout - but you know what? Ballet is probably sufficient - as it both: strength and cardio workout. So I think about adding a 2nd hour on Mondays and I'm fine. I found out that your workout doesn't only need to feed your body - but also your soul!!!

[Pearl]

I do exercise that I love, so I go playing Thai boxing. I hate running but I think it's good for my health, so i signed up for the 10km Marathon, and bought a nice pair of running shoes, plus a very nice MP3 player and fill it with my favorite songs, just make the whole thing more interesting to do.

[Stacy]

I used to be intimidated by all the fit people in the spin class. I didn't think I could be part of that group. You have to sign up online for many of the group fitness classes at my gym which I wasn't initially comfortable with. About a year a go when I had already been consistently getting to the gym 5 days a week I finally broke through. I signed up for my first spin class and actually got a spot. The instructor assisted me with adjusting the cycle. It was tough, but I sweat a ton and loved it. The best part was I could keep up with the "fit" people. I had finally arrived. Then my club added hot yoga. I love yoga and used to live near a studio in a much larger city. I went 3 x a week for 90 minutes. Getting back into yoga and adding spin totally shook things up. I lost pounds and inches and have so much more energy. I do a 60 minute spin class and a 60 minute hot yoga class 3 x a week each. I am a different person; a better mother and wife. And all because of exercise.