Exercise! What do you do? How often? And how the b'jesus do you stay motivated??

1. Find something you really enjoy
2. Find something you can realistically fit in to your routine and stick to
3. Find someone to do it with or get some good music on in the room or on your headphones
4. Have some goals if that suits you, either a weight/measurement goal or a PB for a distance
5. Build exercise into your life - cycle, walk, use public transport whenever you can. Get a bikeseat and/or tag-along.

I have done all of the above and am certainly in better shape than I was 3-10 years ago! (I am 46 and have dd 13 and ds 8)

Started running on my own, 1st thing in morning works best for me.
Went back to hockey after 22 year break and that gave me the motivation to stay fit, as well as giving me the social aspect
Did a x-country 10k.
Cycle to work up a hill 4 days a week, and cycle when I can on small shopping, bank errands etc.
Walk to collect ds from after-school club 3 days a week, which involves climbing 80-odd steps
Do a Parkrun (5k) most Saturdays outside the hockey season or if not playing
Run with a group of mums from the school gate on my non working day.
Play tennis in summer and book a holiday where I can play every day.

OP, just a quick suggestion, which helps/helped motivate me: if you have a smart phone, try the app," Endomondo". It will log your activities, calories burnt etc, so you can see what you have achieved even by only doing a little bit. Then you might want to see if you can better your last time etc. I have the app with my history going back to May now (when I first started getting more active) and it is most gratifying to scroll down and see everything that I have managed to do.

magenta
my underlying motivation is much more selfish.
I had my kids when I was over 30.
I want to be fit and well enough to spend time with their children .... so I have around 30 years to maintain fitness for - that will take me to nearly 80.
By starting now I can do it.

A friend at the gym got lean for her 70th birthday and now enjoys time with her grandchildren as she can go on the swings and slides with them.
That is a good thing to aim for.

SusannahL see now that really doesn't motivate me-knowing that others look at me as a' vastly overweight waddling blob' makes me want to stay inside and hide, not to go out running in public or in swimming costume to pool in public and try and do something about it.

As well as the physical aspect of regular exercice there is also the psychological one of knowing that you are doing something really beneficial for your health. You only have to look around at all the vastly overweight blobs waddling around (and a lot of them young women) to feel determined to do anything it takes not to end up like that.

I agree with everyone else who has said that a regular routine is the key thing so that it becomes as natural as brushing our teeth, say.

shakespeare I totally understand, it has taken me a process to enjoy exercising (not to hear that tempting voice beforehand), rather than it be a task. I think it is about having the will power to start with, talk to yourself about the benefits to override the side of you telling you to go back to the sofa. Don't set yourself too much too early on. Short bursts of exercise regularly are better than ending up not doing anything because of lack of time or the thought it too overwhelming. After a while it will become a norm in your life, you'll start seeing and feeling the benefits, which will spur you on even more. It has definitely worked for me and I feel so much better now than I did a few years ago.

if it were possible to weigh the two factors I doubt that the result would be an 80/20 diet/exercise ratio

my money would be on a 45/55 diet/exercise ratio

Kelly, 'It's also worth saying that body shape etc is 80% food, 20% exercise'

yes diet and exercise are both factors which contribute to body composition but it is not possible to quantify the contributions like this.
For one thing everyone is different with respect to the relative importance of diet and exercise.
Diet and exercise also interact and exert their effects via different mechanisms, so it's just not possible to separate and delineate their effects.

Lizzy, could you use the rowing machine or cross trainer in the gym?

This thread is really motivational. I have 3 dc's. Am struggling with fitting exercise in at the moment as dd2 is 2 year old and in the not really wanting to stay in her buggy stage so long walks aren't really an option during the day which I could do when they were babies.
I used to plug in my ipod and walk for ages whilst the baby slept felt brilliant.

About 18 months ago I lost 2.5 stone and felt great and felt so much healthier-I did 6 mile walks with friends in the evening 2 or 3 times a week and a Zumba class once a week and I really noticed the difference.
However again It is a struggle to do this at the moment -I had 3 different friends that I walked/went to class with -1 is now heavily pregnant, the 2nd has split from her husband so has evening child care issues and the 3rd didn't really enjoy the classes /walking so isn't fussed about going back.
I can't really do the 6 mile walk myself as it is through woods etc and I wouldn't feel safe on my own.
I might start going back to Zumba class but some of the routines require partnering up with someone so that puts me if off If I am on my own.
I work one day at weekends and older dc's have sports etc the others so don't have lots of spare time then.

Next year DD2 will be in pre school nursery/playgroup for 2 hours a day so I will be able to do something then but I need to crack it before next summer as I am so tired and feeling rubbish at the moment.

I guess maybe doing an exercise DVD at home 3 times a week may be my only option at the moment but I know that I am rubbish at being motivated at home.
hmmm this isn't very positive is it!

I'm really missing running, have done a couple of marathons and quite a few half marathons and 10k. Have an anterior knee issue now and can't run at all as it causes severe pain. Am swimming once a week and static cycling (not great for the knee). If anyone has any suggestions for exercise for me, please let me know. I used to run for relaxation and nothing less aerobic seems to be doing it for me.

OP, I am with you. I work full time, 12-14 hour days. The last thing I want to do at 8 pm when I finish work is go for a run. It means that I don't get to sit down and eat or relax until 930 and by then it's almost time for bed!

I set myself realistic goals, it's great that others can exercise 6 times a week but that is never going to be me.

I aim for twice in the week and once at a weekend.

I run, always hated running in the past but I have a nice route (live near a beach) a well stocked iPod, and I find that this, of all the exercise I have tried over the years, gets the best and fastest results.

I also have a friend who I run with after work sometimes....the thought of letting her down when I know she is waiting for me spurs me on!

It's also worth saying that body shape etc is 80% food, 20% exercise. So I also keep a very tight watch on my diet. This helps the fact that I am not exercising 7 days a week.

smurfmother if you look on the nhs website there are some good apps, for weight training etc (bodyweight stuff) - I use them for cross training.

Also just trying to work exercise into your day is good. The old trick of not taking the bus etc works - even working in a very f/t job with small kiddies, as a minimum I would walk 3 miles a day. It meant I didn't put on weight, at least.

We have just inherited a Wii, so yes could actually do that, thanks for the tip

wii fit with them ?
hula hoop ?

I work full time and have DD (2) and DS (6). I struggle to exercise because I feel guilty leaving the house more than I do already. DVDs won't work for me as I couldn't get to the TV until 9pm which just wouldn't work for me. I'm thinking of getting a skipping rope and sneaking out to do 10 minutes each morning in the garden during the general chaos of the morning routine (like the tip about going straight from pyjamas to sports kit). My aim is just to contain the spread for a couple of years when the kids are less (differently?) demanding and I can do more outside the house

I've tried everything over the years, get bored easily! Can usually find many excuses not to go for a run/to the gym etc etc. Stumbled upon a very very lively Zumba class at the leisure centre whilst dropping DS1 for football training - def not a Zumba class for older folk. Fantastic music, hilarious instructor, nobody gives a monkey's whether you're in time, everyone just throwing themselves around for an hour, sweat buckets just from the warm up! Usually finishes up with Gangnam style. Not aggressive and loud like combat classes, just really good fun, great music. So far I haven't got bored. I think it's a question of finding something that's actually enjoyable, then changing when you're in need of something different.

Yes, OP, starting slow and doing it even when you don't want to are great places to start. But it takes a while to stick.

I have always loathed exercise - but I allowed that loathing to get in the way of doing it. Then I had to get, if not super-fit, at least in reasonable shape as I signed up to an expensive and physically challenging trip with some friends.

I was terrified I wouldn't manage it or would ruin it for them, so I dusted down my trainers, signed up to a gym and did a whole lot of different things.

Turns out I do really hate the treadmill and step machine and I am not cut out for boot camp type classes, but I absolutely love the Body Attack/Body Combat classes and am actually not a bad mid distance runner. And although I've got no core or upper body strength I am getting some satisfaction from improving it with a personal trainer who I really like. I managed the trek better than half the people I was with, and I am still running and going to the classes because it's become a habit. And next year I'm doing an even tougher trek and am looking forward to it.

Nice kit helps. Motivating music helps. But actually just doing it is the only thing that really makes the difference. The minute you think "shall I?", you won't. Don't think, ever. And as someone else said, if you do, tell yourself that if it is awful you will stop. I've only done that once (I ran two miles and caught the bus home!).

There is huge satisfaction, for me, in seeing that my body can actually do way more than I thought it could. I would never have thought I could run 5k, never mind run it in less than 25 mins.

tomatoplant I've had a similar experience. I had a lot of hip pain while pregnant with DS, and then experienced sciatica after he was born, mainly because he was a big baby, and I'm quite small and carrying him around and in and out of car seats etc (and he didn't walk til about 14 months) buggered my pelvis up. I still get sciatic pain now, 5 years on, BUT it's much worse when I don't exercise. I have to be careful with running as it can set off an episode of sciatica, but otherwise exercise has been hugely helpful, especially Pilates.

Do you walk your DC to school? Or could you? I used to sometimes walk them in wearing my gym kit and then run home.
Once they were older I had a gym class which I went to every week and paid in advance. It became part of my routine, plus I enjoyed it so it wasn't hard to motivate myself.

Have always been reasonably fit and have tried lots of different things - I get bored easily but can really get into something for a while. I love feeling really fit and running was a bit of a constant. I then had really bad hips through pregnancy and stopped exercising. My hips took a long time to recover and I developed back problems and decided that losing weight and getting stronger might help - in June I gave myself 3 months to lose weight through walking and yoga/Pilates regularly (in the yoga centre around the corner) and 3 weeks ago I finally stopped feeling in pain. I love my yoga sessions - it's time away from dd (I arrange them for when dh is around) and I'm feeling stronger. I want to get as strong as possible before ttc #2 in an effort to stave off the spd.

So much good stuff on this thread already, I can't add much.

But like Nike say, Just do It.

Get out. Move. Run.

I started running two yesars ago and, even though I work full time, I make sure I get out and run for an hour four or five times a week. I run four or five times a week for an hour at a time, that is an hour that even most busy people probably sit down and watch tv in the evening without even noticing it.

Great thread! Have lost over 2st since June through lots of hard work and watching what I eat, with not much cheating! Did nothing before, started walking everyday, then gradually introduced more exercise - Wii Zumba, a Joanna Hall DVD. When I felt ready for a challenge, started and completed 30DS, and have just finished ripped in 30. I work full time and get up at 5.45 to fit in DVD before DSs get up - I exercise almost everyday but have found plenty of variety is key for me.

Other top tips:

• change what you 'normally' do. We booked a multi-activity holiday this year which gave me the kick up the backside to get fitter, and I loved it!
• have persuaded DH that it's a good thing to take DSs out for a walk every sunday morning. We did over 3 miles last week and all enjoy it (well DS2 spent the last mile moaning but we ignored him

Life much much better now for putting the effort in, I am happier and healthier and like the new clothes I now need!

I agree with the mantra - stop fking thinking about it and how much you don't want to do it, reasons why you should be doing something else (and btw nothing could be more important than your health) and just DO IT. Tell yourself that you are someone who exercises regularly - you just are ...then choose what its going to be today - 30 minutes or more of anything - a run, a swim, a yoga session, 30DS, give yourself a choice and it doesn't feel so bad and soon it will become a habit, you will be that person you told yourself you were and you will probably start doing a favourite thing more often than the other stuff and may even come to love it .

I'm with you Angel

I've also spent a fair bit of time on the sofa with a spliff:o

(and the rest )