To not understand how anyone enjoys exercise??

[Baileysoncereal]

How do you motivate yourself to exercise when it’s horrible being out of breath and sweaty

I’m not moving around at work anymore (covid related furlough/unemployment) and after a few months, I’m really noticing a difference in how unfit I am and how easily I’m out of breath. I’ve tried a ton of sports, and there’s nothing I enjoy and I can never be bothered putting in the effort anyway
Eg. Why run if you can jog, why jog if you can walk.

I hate being sweaty, I hate being out of breath, I hate not being good at something and I love sitting on the couch and watching TV.
So how do you motivate yourself or even shock actually love exercising?!

I hate exercise and I'm fat so need to sort myself out

I discovered spinning last January and loved it.... found myself improving loads after 3 weeks. Then covid hit and I've not been since.

I'm shopping for a spin bike i can use at home at the minute!

I run about 40km a week but there's actually not much about the process of running itself I enjoy, especially in this weather. However,

• I love the high you get afterwards - the endorphin rush is real
• I love the feeling of accomplishment - if I've had a shit week or I'm feeling down, I can at least hold on to completing a properly good run
• I feel worse if I don't run at least weekly. I was never sporty at school - and I blame the horror of school PE for doing an absolute number on so many people's fear of exercise - and only started exercising properly in my 20s. So it was a real surprise to me to find that if I go too long without a really intense, sweaty run/workout, I feel like absolute shit mentally and physically.

When I think of exercise I actually enjoy the process of... I've loved dance classes in the past and I enjoy playing tennis. But there are so many ways to get the body moving, and you have to really work out what suits you. Exercise in a group vs solo is a big one - ultimately I want to be alone, which is why I never kept up with dance classes!

That said the breathlessness and sweat weren't problems for me - they're what tells me I'm pushing myself hard, they give me that sense of accomplishment. Is it the physical sensation you dislike or what you think other people are thinking of you? If the latter - it really is something you forget about quickly.

Not being good at something - well no one likes this, do they? But this actually ends up as motivation. When I started running I could barely do a kilometre in one go without keeling over. I increased that gradually and every time I noticed I was going further, faster or both - that's what kept me at it. Ten years later I run 20km at a time. I imagine this will be even more satisfying if you take up something that involves technique or skill!

It's definitely about finding something you enjoy. I am most definitely not a runner, but ride regularly which is very good for the core and also open water swim in the warmer months. I find it is so much less boring than just swimming lengths in a pool and it doesn't feel like a chore.

I 'enjoy' exercise in the sense that I enjoy how it makes me feel after. So I might not want to go to the gym but I will grab my earphones and go because I know I will be glad I went after my workout.

YABU I don't have to motivate myself have always exercised, I love it. At the moment I'm cycling, jogging and yoga. I feel great after working out. If I didn't exercise I'd be bored, lethargic and overweight.

Walk, briskly in the fresh air. Great exercise and easy.

@LongPauseNoAnswer yes I think this is definitely part of it for me. As soon as I get out of breath I get scared I’m going to be out of control, vulnerable, pass out or something else, like with a panic attack. And if I do that on a run, far away from home and I have to get back..that all feels a bit terrifying.

But there are ways round that so I can’t pretend that’s all it is!

I always used to say I didn't want to live longer if those extra hours of getting fit to live longer were spent exercising!

Now I exercise a LOT because I feel so much better all the time - I don't get the ordinary breathlessness you describe, for example, very often these days. And somewhere along the way I found an exercise I enjoy and found myself actually looking forward to doing it

I completely agree op. It does make you feel fitter and healthier after a while and I have had regular repeated periods of around 4-8 months at a time of getting regular exercise and feeling better for it ( around 10-15 of those in my 57 years of life since the age of about 20). but without fail I usually stop for at least a year in between each effort . It never ' sticks' into a routine for my lifetime. I just eventually stop because all that happens is it sems to get harder and harder to.motivate myself to actually do.the exercise, despite me getting fitter, it never seems any easier to.do. in fact,.it just gets more and more boring and harder and harder to do it, despite the good after effects . I can't really explain why but I pretty much loathe every exercise I have ever tried except for walking in the countryside which I enjoy but not miles and miles . I get bored with any walk longer than about an hour or so.

So I am afraid I can't answer your question as I am as puzzled by people who manage to make exercise a regular part of their life over many years either because they love it or because they can make themselves do it even if they don't much like it . I have never managed to do it .

I notice I hate struggling and being out of breath when it's not intentional exercise (I.e. walking up a big steep hill on a walk) but when I go to my classes (Spin, Hiit) I want to be as sweaty as possible. I feel powerful in the moment and have a high afterwards
Give it a try, OP. In addicted now.

I run most days or get out for a walk if I’m feeling tired. Also weight train.

I got into it because I was putting on weight and hated it, after spending my twenties being able to eat what I liked and staying slim. Now it is a habit but also always feels great after. I can honestly say I’ve never felt bad after a run, but have felt bad for not going. It helps to clear my mind and those endorphins must exist! As I’ve got fitter I have also challenged myself with marathons and half marathons, which are a nice change from the usual work related ‘goals’. I’ve also made a lot of friends along the way.

Ultimately, I do it because even though sometimes it’s uncomfortable and hard, I feel worse when I’m putting on weight and being lazy!

Also worth bearing in mind you won’t feel out of breath forever. The pace I ran at 5 years ago I could comfortably hold for miles and miles now. It’s worth sticking with something to push past this barrier.

The warming up, breaking into a sweat part is my least favourite bit of exercising, especially at this time of the year when I feel hot-cold. Once I'm past that it's good. If the weather is grim, then I feel defiant about it. Spring/ autumn are best as a runner.

I like outdoors, changing scenery.
With people or on my own. Not competitive against people.
No balls. Saying that, I enjoyed a kickabout with the DCs last week but then DS2 is good at taking turns and DS1 is dyspraxic and about the same level as me

Exercise makes me feel awake and alive. I get a runner's (or post-workout) high which is a great feeling. Life feels easier and better when I'm fit. I also get a lot more flexibility about enjoying an unrestricted diet.

@Baileysoncereal

How do you motivate yourself to exercise when it’s horrible being out of breath and sweaty

I’m not moving around at work anymore (covid related furlough/unemployment) and after a few months, I’m really noticing a difference in how unfit I am and how easily I’m out of breath. I’ve tried a ton of sports, and there’s nothing I enjoy and I can never be bothered putting in the effort anyway
Eg. Why run if you can jog, why jog if you can walk.

I hate being sweaty, I hate being out of breath, I hate not being good at something and I love sitting on the couch and watching TV.
So how do you motivate yourself or even shock actually love exercising?!

I could have written this post a couple of years ago. Aged 47 and I had tried every exercise going, hated them all, hated my face going red, hated sweating. I loved sitting still, not moving at all, reading and watching TV.

Then I had a big health scare and it was either change my lifestyle or go on lifelong medication and shorten my lifespan. I forced myself to join a couch to 5k programme with a local running club and literally had to force myself on every single run. I HATED it. It was SO difficult. I couldn't even do the 30-second runs. But I stuck it out because I was frightened about my health and I managed the 5k at the end of the 8 weeks.

I still didn't like running but I joined the club after graduating the 5k and forced myself out on runs with them. But then eventually, something switched and I found myself buzzing after the runs and starting to look forward to them.

I can't describe it. That feeling of being fit and strong, like you could just run forever, it's astonishing. Your heart rate settles into a steady rhythm, breathing is easy enough that you can have a conversation while running, your legs are strong. It's addictive. Nothing else beats it in the world. I was nearly 50 before I discovered how amazing being fit is and I'd never go back now. I'm entering races, running marathons, hiking long distance trails, signing up to adventure holidays.

The confidence, travel, the friendships I've made, the boost in my mood. All from being fit and strong.

@sirfredfredgeorge

Walking is good exercise too

Walking is not vigorous enough to achieve your government guidelines, or significantly reduce your risk of death unless you are very unfit (and as soon as you do it for a bit it will then make you fit enough that it's no longer particularly beneficial) you have to be breathing hard, walking up very steep hills might be enough.

Maybe it's not vigorous exercise but it's a lot more exercise than sitting on the sofa doing nothing.

The government run advertising campaigns where I live encouraging people to walk for exercise (don't know if that is the case elsewhere in the UK) and NHS direct suggest it as well. Going walking regularly obviously isn't going to equip you to run a marathon or lift weights but if your aim is to keep your joints moving and get your heart rate up a little bit surely it has its place.

I discovered in my 50s after being very ill and loosing all my fitness to the extent that walking along the street was an effort that I love zumba, I also like tai chi which is what I started with as at beginner level it is very gentle.
I am now much fitter I can go for a proper walk and go up hills without being out of breath.

Maybe it's not vigorous exercise but it's a lot more exercise than sitting on the sofa doing nothing

Oh absolutely, it'll give you about a 15% reduction in the risks of death, but some moderately vigorous exercise will give you about an 60% reduction - It's much better than nothing, and for people who are already sedentary it may well get you out of breath enough to give you that bigger boost. It's also of course helpful to do in addition to that out of breath part, and in addition to the strength building part.

I wasn't trying to knock walking, just for real health benefits that some of your exercising needs to get you breathing hard and your heart rate up.

Loads of walking as well is even better, and if the alternative is sitting, then walking alone will give you big benefits!

I think its finding what works for you.
I love zumba and running but only discovered that a couple of years ago (I'm 30)

All exercise is not the same for me. I remember trying a Zumba class once and hated it with a passion - I felt clumsy and uncoordinated and sweaty and out of breath - but I love power lifting because I like to see measurable gains and see the numbers tick up, and I love to swim because I don't get sweaty and icky and instead feel really peaceful and chilled out - I do an hour of lengths every morning at 6 am and it is the best start to my day. I think a big step to liking exercise is finding the particular kind that works for you - no one thing works for everyone.

I xan relate think, I don't love cardio either but think you can improve your fitness without getting too out of breath. Yoga, weight lifting, swimming with a regular walk and you'd be a lot fitter. It what I do and I hate running. There are loads of home workout that can be very effective as well, then you'd only be sweaty/ out of breath and feeling out of control in your own home.

Thank you all for you answers

What seems clear is that almost no one actually enjoys the exercise, at least at first, and some people never do.

So what do you all do to make it a bit more bearable?
Is it a case of just gritting my teeth and thinking about living a bit longer / that I may feel better afterwards (not my experience so far..) and hoping that is motivation enough?

It's horrible being out of breath and sweaty.

It's more horrible being out of breath and sweaty when you've only pushed the vacuum cleaner around for ten minutes or have walked from the bus stop to work, though.

So I exercise because doing it means I don't get out of breath and sweaty doing normal, everyday things. And I've grown to love the feeling after about twenty minutes where you start getting endorphins course through your body, which continues for a good couple of hours after I've showered, dried my hair, put some makeup on and bought something really nice for dinner.

Do you like dancing OP? Just hopping around to music is good exercise if you like it, and the kind you don’t realise you are doing.

*bopping! Fat thumbs

So what do you all do to make it a bit more bearable?

I listen to a podcast. it's my 'me' time
unless I'm out with the teens. then for some reason they become talkative and start telling me about what's bothering them.

I don't get sweaty or out of breath if I exercise steadily. Its a bit like anything really...its easier not to brush your teeth or shower, but when it becomes part of your daily routine, you feel better for doing it (endorphins make you fell good).

I feel the opposite - why walk when you can run? I get so frustrated when stuck behind slow moving people. It must take them ages to get anywhere.