How much exercise do you do & do you notice a difference in how you feel?

[uka888]

Looking for some tips on how people motivated themselves to get into a regular exercise routine?
How much / what exercise do you do a week?
Do you feel better for it?

Yoga with Adriene has lots of beginner's videos.

@Malacath - a good weights one is popsugar 10 minutes weights workout on you tube

Adrienne is good for yoga and has tutorials on specific poses.

I walk a lot day to day but we also go for long walks on days off. I do shorter yoga sessions about four times a Week about 30 mins.

I also do some strength training ( nothing heavy heavy I use resistance bands) and I’m hoping to get on my spin bike again now it’s cooler for cardio.

Absolutely feel better for exercising. I don’t do it for weight loss, I do it for mental and physical health. There are benefits to body shape with regular exercise though.

Never exercised til this year. I used to be thin, but middle age piled on pounds. Do 10mins twice a day beginners workout with Lucy Wyndham on You Tube. My energy levels have come back & together with diet change its made massive difference to my health.

I hate exercise, don't think it makes much of a difference to me, have never got those good feeling vibes everyone seems to get from it!

Can't really tell you how to get properly motivated as I have to force myself to do it. But I tell myself it's for my health - I do want to live a healthy life and that motivates me enough to do what I need to do :).

@Taswama thank you, I'll go check those out. Yay, I have a plan now!

I definitely feel better since I started exercising more in lockdown. I was doing various things at home like YouTube workouts, exercise bike etc although struggled to get into a proper routine so it was just doing what I felt like.

I am back at the gym now and yoga, adding aqua fit and swimming (hope to do each once a week). I’m also walking more and finding it easier which is boosting my self esteem a lot. For context though I have had ME/fibro for quite a few years

I had a sporty hobby before I had a baby, so usually trained at least 2-3 times a week, 5 if I had time off work. Also competed at amateur level and did summer camps. Absolutely loved it, it brought so much positivity to my life - met some lovely people through the club, visited some great places for camps that I'd never have thought to go to otherwise and always felt refreshed after each training session. Also I hiked up Munros, swam and went skiing when I felt like it.

Now I'm on maternity leave so I do a Zoom fitness class once a week that is run by the club, and I try to run at least twice a week (only 15 minutes around the local park as I feel like a 90 year old woman at the moment).

I'd say the key to being motivated is pick an activity you like, then it won't feel like a chore. Also do little and often rather than loads in one session and then nothing. I definitely feel better after exercise, couldn't live without it as I get all stiff with a sore back if I don't move.

@RadioActiveBrain

I hate exercise, don't think it makes much of a difference to me, have never got those good feeling vibes everyone seems to get from it!

Can't really tell you how to get properly motivated as I have to force myself to do it. But I tell myself it's for my health - I do want to live a healthy life and that motivates me enough to do what I need to do :).

I think the pps were right. You need to find the right exercise for you. I hate running. A LOATH walking. So bloody boring. I like swimming, but swimming pool is far now. Bit errr about cycling. Rowing. 🙄🙄🙄 Etc. I realised I enjoy weights! And hiit. I think it's because these I can actually feel after. I can feel the strength getting better. It's not like I am all excited when I am about to work out, just feel better overall.

If you told my family that I am ok with exercise and do it willingly, they would ask you if you hit your head😂

Yes that sounds like me. Except I've got to 47 and still hate them all 😂. If they invented a pill tomorrow that gave you the health benefits of exercise without having to do anything, I would never put on another item of sportswear again!

I started power-walking on a treadmill over lockdown.
Having been a person who doesn't do walking' I've really enjoyed it, lost weight and got a lot fitter.
(The downside is that my slightly knackered knee is now very knackered. )

It's really hard to find the motivation when you're not a natural exerciser, but once you do it once or twice and realise how good you feel afterwards you begin to enjoy it and look forward to it.

No one ever regrets doing exercise, that's what i tell myself when I'm trying to find the motivation

I started doing PE with Joe Wicks over lockdown (with my DSs) and have carried on doing his HIIT/7 days of sweat workouts. I do them every other day (ish - sometimes every day, depending on what else we are doing). They are only 20 mins long.

I feel great! I love having a bit of an ache in my muscles and can see myself toning up (I'm size 8 so don't need to lose weight, but I can see a difference in how I look).

@BlusteryShowers

Not enough! I've got a baby and just as I seem to be getting into a routine, her routine changes and it really knocks me off my stride.

About 3 weeks ago I was doing couch to 5k 4 days per week with one weights session at the gym. I like to get it over with first thing in the morning so that was working for me, as she was sleeping until 10am so I could take DS to Nursery, leave her in bed and exercise, even if DH was sleeping off night shift. Now that she's up at 7 I've lost that opportunity.

I'm really missing it, but I'm going to have to force myself out when I find a window, even if I don't fancy it.

Same here. My 1 year old used to sluggish then. Then he started sleeping til 6.30 every morning so I had a great few weeks of setting my alarm for 6 and getting up early to exercise. Now he’s back to waking any time from 5 and sometimes in the night and I’m too tired! Trying to force myself to do it during his nap but it’s not a great time of day for me and I don’t feel like I’m getting the most out of it

It's so annoying @Piratetree . I'm a morning exerciser really, however I'm not so keen that I can get up for 6 purely for exercise. I go to bed with such good intentions but when I'm only accountable to myself I don't stick to it!

I went at 4pm today which wasn't bad, and it sort of killed that long bit of time when it's not quite time to start dinner but you're starting to countdown to bedtime .

Not sure what happened to my post should have said he used to nap around 10 and I’d exercise then but when he moved his nap to after lunch I felt too sluggish!

I do pole, it’s the first exercise I’ve ever enjoyed. Despite still being overweight and starting it when I had low fitness levels and no strength I’ve become addicted to it and the difference it’s made to me mentally and physically is incredible.

I try to do 4 classes a week- one dancing in heels which is choreography based, two which are more strength and fitness based and one flexibility/splits class.

I jog. I restarted (I've done it in the past)during the daytime during lockdown and started really small with 1.5km but now have found early morning runs suit me, I run between 3.5 and 5km roughly every other day. I use an app called mapmyrun and have paid for a service which sets a programme for you based on the info you give it. I pay £5.99 a month.

Yes it has massively improved my mood, in fact I think it has combatted my depression. I haven't lost weight but I think I have a smaller waist and am a bit less flabby. My jeans aren't as tight.

I’m terrible for getting into good habits exercise-wise then just finding excuses not to and giving up. It’s always Youtube HIIT and c25k. When the pools reopen here I will try swimming.

I absolutely do feel better mentally when I’m exercising. It’s amazing what it can do for you.