To think you can't enjoy exercise if you just ... don't?

[catscurledupbythefire]

I would be interested if anybody ever has because I. Hate. It.

I hate - classes (am a bit thick slow to pick things up, so can take keep up. Plus can see myself in the mirror) the gym generally as I just get bored and it hurts and I can't focus on anything like music or a film because all I can think is 'ow this hurts, ow, ow, ow' walks (get bored on my own) running (no chance) cycling (hurts my backside) swimming (I just can't be doing with all the faff.)

So - any ideas? Or should I just write off exercise and moderate my food intake RIGHT down?

I hate it and don't get the endorphins thing. I go to the gym because I hate exercise so much. I confine it to the gym, I make it part of my routine - so I always go at the same times every week - and then I don't think about exercise for the rest of the week.

I also do the 5:2 diet. I think I'm just better at thinking 'today will be shit but when it's over it's done with and tomorrow will be better'.

I find classes the best as well because I can just go in, get it over with and get out. There's an end time, so I know when it will all be over (I'm literally counting down the minutes in my head from the moment I get in the door!)

All the classes at my gym are populated with tanned, lean twentysomething girls!

My exercise is rock climbing. I love it. Gym would be hell on earth for me!

You need to choose what times you attend. Our gym is most definitely a younger, fitter crowd in the early mornings, evenings and weekends. During 9-5 hours it's people like me - 40 something mums and dads grunting their way through Body Balance or Yoga, or much older retired people at the Aqua aerobics.

Well, I think classes are best avoided anyway!

With you. 100%. Sorry, but I won't do something that I literally hate, such as regularly going to a gym. I have never liked any sport with one exception but it's not one that is particularly "exercising" (no, not darts!) and is very weather dependent anyway (sailing).

I would probably swim if there was a sensibly priced pool within a 40-minute drive that had decent times for adult swimming.

I don't know the answer. I am 52 years old and really struggle with this. In the past I have had periods of 6 -,18 months where I have managed to do exercise of some sort (mix of gym, swimming, long walks, regular classes etc). Probably done this about 10 times in my life (since about 20yrs old). I always always stop eventually. I hate it, even if I get quite fit (which I have been occasionally).

At about 6-8 months into it I usually find myself sitting outside whatever activity I supposed to be doing almost in years at having to go through with it again. Sometimes i get through the crisis and keep going but have never managed more than 18 months in total. Then I give up and go back to no real exercise for a year or two. In my late 40s I stopped trying completely and haven't done anything except walking an hour to work 2-3 times a week. I am not particularly happy about it but I just cba to put myself through it again. No post exercise endorphins for me either ever. I wish I had the answer.

Sorry, but I won't do something that I literally hate, such as regularly going to a gym

You don't have to apologise to anyone for not exercising, its you that it will affect long term.

Exercise for exercise's sake is dull and torturous.

You need to take up an enjoyable past-time that happens to incorporate movement. There are a fair few options out there, from downloading Pokemon Go on a smartphone (which works just as well as getting a dog, without any poop-scooping or vet bills) to badminton, ballroom dancing, kickboxing and martial arts, and tennis.

I do a lot of exercise and that's how. As a result, last summer, for the first time ever I wasn't last in the mums' race at the childrens' school sports day!

OP do you spend a lot if time online?
I know having young kids isn't great for your focus and concentration but being online a lot, impacts it even more. Better to enjoy real life.

You don't need to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy but really, you shouldn't be sedentary either.

Just be more active in day to day life. Go up and down your stairs more often, walk to shops, play in the garden with the kids, have a dance with them etc.

Ecureil said "You don't have to apologise to anyone for not exercising, its you that it will affect long term."

And you know that how? I suspect there are people for whom genetics may play a huge part. My nan lived to 89 and had never done "exercise" or sport beyond walking on a "normal" daily basis. Ditto grandad who is currently 98 and smoked into his mid-60s. I've also known very healthy sporty people drop dead of heart attacks and of course they tend to get more injuries than I do through playing sport.

Conversely, some years ago I agreed to do a 32km walk up and down the Black Mountains with two friends, one who plays a LOT of sport three or four times a week and one who didn't play any sport but did a lot of long dog walks. They went into some "training" doing long and steep hill walks; I didn't. The dog walker said I was foolish and would suffer. Yet who was the one bounding ahead and had to keep stopping waiting for the other two to catch up? Similarly, group of friends and I decided to do a 26-mile walk two years ago. Said sporty friend was there, plus a few others, two of whom did a fair bit of walking, plus two more people who did a fair bit of sport. Who had to leave the others half way round because they were just going too slow and I found it uncomfortable?

Just because someone doesn't take a lot of exercise does not automatically mean they are unfit or unhealthy.

Exercise for its own sake is probably really boring if you're one of those people who doesn't enjoy it, but I'd weigh it up against spending the majority of old age practically housebound or reliant on relatives/carers to get around. Of my two sets of grandparents, one has always made the effort to be active, the other avoided it like the plague. Now they are very old, only the active set are able to get around independently - my mum's parents can't do anything alone at all, not even going to the shops.

I think it's worth the faff just for that, I couldn't bear to end up like my granny and granddad if there was a possibility of avoiding it.

You don't seem to understand probabilities and correlations Shatners

On average, generally speaking, all other things being equal people are healthier if they are physically active
What your grandma did is besides the point

Yes genetics are a factor, baseline fitness, response to training and the magnitude thereof are all influenced by genetics but that doesn't alter the fact that all other things being equal people are healthier if they are physically active

I was the same but I've got right into it with the help of a personal trainer. I've just done a good, heavy weights session and I feel STRONG!!!
It's a wonderful feeling for a weed like me.

I absolutely hate exercise. It hurts, it's hard, I get too hot and sweaty. It's boring.

I spend all day dreading exercise, I spend the whole time I'm doing it thinking about how horrible it is and then it's over and I'm dreading the next time I have to do it. Fuck that.

This thread has been the kick in the arse I needed, my hard-won fitness from last year is slowly dribbling away. Already 1/3 through my daily steps, about to go for lunch time walk, gym tonight and pilates class with a friend on Friday.

Thanks everyone

If it was easy or really enjoyable everyone would look like a fitness model! It's hard work and most of us don't enjoy it. I am 52 and exercise 4 times per week (also walk a fair bit). I would far rather not but like to look and feel as good as possible.

My nan lived to 89 and had never done "exercise" or sport beyond walking on a "normal" daily basis. Ditto grandad who is currently 98 and smoked into his mid-60s

What about their quality of life though Shatners? Were/are they able to get out and about without family or carers to help? Can they get the bus into town alone?

Whilst there will always be anomalies, it's certainly true that people who don't exercise tend to die younger than those who don't, and that their final few years will be spent in poorer health.

Yep, exercise is boring.

It's confirmed it to me that all the people who are addicted to the gym never fucking shut up about it. It's the ONLY interesting thing about them. I'm convinced the gym is for people too boring to have an actual active hobby.

I only went to the gym once or twice and hated it. Then I found ballroom dancing and loved it because it doesn't feel like exercise to me even though it's keeping me fit. I also do yoga, which doesn't feel like exercise because I don't feel knackered after it. I only dance once a week and do yoga once a week and I'm around the right size for my height, which I'm happy with.

I spend the whole time I'm doing it thinking about how horrible it is and then it's over and I'm dreading the next time I have to do it. Fuck that
Don't do any then, no one else cares, it only affects you

Very interesting thread.

I'm 40 and don't do any exercise. I realise that I need to rectify this but like others, I hate running with a passion. Running would be the best option for me though, as it's free and flexible in terms of times. Just hate it though!

I do live in beautiful countryside, and enjoy walking briskly through the woods and up the hills every now and then. Am feeling inspired by this thread to get out more often.

I also walk 25 mins from the station to work 3-4 times a week, but don't think of it as exercise as it's through polluted central London. Not sure if getting out of breath is a good idea in zone 1.

I totally agree with an other poster - genetics plays a huuuuge part in it. For some people, no matter how much you exercise, your genes might make you more prone to certain things.

E.g. I have a friend who hiked a lot, went to the gym three times a week, ate well and never drank or smoked, and she dropped dead suddenly at 45. Yet I know people who don't really look after themselves and they're still alive in their 80s and in good health.

I know it's anecdotal but you have to look at the evidence in your family. If your parents and relatives all tended to drop around the same age with different lifestyles, you're obviously more prone to that. Just like I'm more prone to TB because my mum, three aunties, two uncles and older sister all had it.

You don't have to be good at yoga to do it. 20 minutes a day of one of the millions of YouTube videos would soon sort out flexibility and posture.

How overweight are you? How many steps do you do a day? How motivated are you to make any lifestyle changes? Exercise certainly doesn't have to be about going to the gym or doing anything formal or sporty. What do your friends do that you might join in with?