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 am not keen in exercise but have found different things over the years that have helped:

Having a goal e.g. wanting to run 5k or looking weight
Having a routine e.g. doing a class 2 a week or running on a certain day.
Cross training- mixing up the type of exercise you do.
Trying to fit in more activity like walking rather than using the car
Focusing on the feeling after exercise.
Certain ex's- swimming, yoga, Pilates.

All the things have changed with my life circumstances, the time I have available, post babies etc. Generally whatever exercise I will do is the best.

Motivation can still be hard. I have colleagues who run 5k into work. I can't imagine doing that!

I hate feeling sweaty too but am determined to get into good habits. This year I decided to be that person who goes to the gym at least 3 times a week. Took me until February to eventually sign up and paid a year’s membership.

Of course lockdown happened.. which gave me an excuse to give up!

However, have returned as membership extended and have got into the habit of going swimming, spinning and kettlecise weekly.

Just need to motivate myself to get back into the gym...

Also can anyone please explain what body combat and body pump are? These classes are the next ones I might try

I could've written this post, I feel exactly the same. I HATE to sweat and I overheat easily already so exercising when it's warm is a no. I also can't stand being out of breath and my knees swell up and my chest hurts (arthritis & costochondritis). I love yoga but how anyone can enjoy anything else is beyond me

I really enjoy exercise where there's a skill element to it. Concentrating takes your mind off the fact that you're out of breath. My favourite is tennis, but love squash too

I currently love going to the gym! Go 3 or 4 times a week as childcare allows! Sweat is calories getting burnt = weight loss!! 😍

Completely agree. Exercising in a gym type way is just awful. You've just got to find something that feels good to you. Long walks outside make most people feel nice I think, if you're able to. Especially if you live somewhere rural or with a nice park. I used to love yoga classes but admit I struggle to do it at home or online. Swimming, wild swimming? Dance? Something that doesn't feel like exercise is the key

I’m learning to like it, in small doses (I have various health issues so can’t do a lot in one go). I have to keep it varied. What I really like is seeing that I’m improving.

Listen to a good audiobook or podcast while walking, it feels like such a luxurious break from the kids to me, being outside on my own with a book that it barely feels like exercise!

There is no exercise I enjoy. Any exercise is a chore.

There is no endorphin rush, I have never experienced any such thing.

When I used to jog (running, is too strong a word for it), I used to do it in a foul mood and swear vilely at anyone or their dog who got in my fucking way.

Exercise most definitely sucks.

Couch25k is great. This guide, and the community around it, is really helpful: healthunlocked.com/couchto5k/posts/136914770/faq-post........how-to-run-c25k . One of the key principles of C25k is to go slowly enough that you could hold a conversation, even if that's slower than your walking pace. A lot of people think they have to go fast when they're running, but a steady pace where you don't get out of breath is perfect for building up your fitness. Alternating running and walking is great too, particularly for building up the confidence that you could get home again even if you're too tired to run another step.

On not liking feeling sweaty, do you have proper sports clothes? Proper sports fabric that wicks the sweat away from your skin will be so much more comfortable than a cotton tshirt, and stretchy leggings give you freedom of movement. A headband helps keep sweat out of your eyes. It's best to be lightly dressed - you may feel a bit cold when you first leave the house, but it's amazing how much you warm up when exercising. Some wireless headphones to listen to music or podcasts as you run/walk.

Finally I'd suggest keeping some sort of a log so you can chart your progress and notice the small improvements - getting from "couldn't do more than 30 seconds of that first run" to "ran for 90 seconds" is an amazing way to build up that sense of achievement that comes from doing something that last week you'd have sworn was impossible.

It's the boredom that gets to me. The only way I've found to cope with that is to walk using audiobooks.

I don't always enjoy it during, but I always enjoy that smug tired feeling afterwards and my hearty breakfast. I started to enjoy it when I realised I wasn't doing it to have a perfect body, but just one that functioned better and a clearer mind.

I never "exercise"' but I do make a point of twice daily walk. It used to be school run walking or errands, shopping with heavy bags, now it is two dog walks one long. About.2 miles a day.
It is enough.
Ditch the car when you need to shop.
Magical free gym.

Do low impact exercise like barre core

Tricky!

I like feeling out of breath and sweating and achy muscles (I will just have a sower, clean clothes, and as a reward I get to feel smug and eat carbs )

So I associate exercise and sweating with feeling great after

It’s also very motivating to improve your fitness and push yourself

You get a sense of achievement

But bloody virus means they keep shutting gyms and then I keep having to start all over again

You don't have to enjoy it. You just have to do it! We do loads of things in life we don't enjoy but we do them anyway. Stop thinking of it as optional and just make time to incorporate it into your weekly routine.

I run - i don't enjoy it whilst I'm doing it but I love having done it. I also hate it when I can't run (e.g. injury)

The only exercise I really enjoy whilst doing it is team sports like hockey.

I avidly hated exercise and I mean loathed it until around 3 years ago when I started working out at home and was hooked. I go through bouts of I really cba and have a week or so off then change my routine up and start again.

The times when I don't exercise I notice the difference in my mood immediately it definitely does boost your mood. It's discipline and habit that make exercise a part of people's lives not motivation

I adore it, always have. Played football with the boys when I was little, was a sprinter and relay runner in high school, and have been going to the gym five times a week since I was 18, taking time off only for illnesses and after giving birth.

I love everything about it—the high, the glow, the muscle tone.

Never been keen on exercise for exercise sake. Used to run at national level, but I was very good at it and it didn't feel like a chore. Once I got into senior level races I wasn't so exceptional and couldn't be bothered to try enough to be exceptional

I climb and bmx as well, both of which I've done since I was a kid. I love them, I'm pretty good at them, they don't feel like exercise but have definitely kept me fit. I do one or the other, or both, every day

Exercise doesn't need to be aerobic, although to be truly fit you do need some level of aerobic fitness.

I think in general the key is finding what you really enjoy doing

I'd honestly rather do nothing than go to the gym, it's so fucking dreary. I'd give up exercise and drink and smoke loads if the only available exercise was going to a gym

I HATE exercise but I need to do it for my mental health, the buzz I get from it is incredible. I signed up to Davina’s exercise plan (I think it’s £10 per month) and I now do on average 2 workouts a day. Something different every day, some I like more than others.
Having a fitness tracker really helps me too. I hate seeing that I’m not achieving my daily targets.

I’ve now started couch to 5k, I’ve never been a runner and I still have some lockdown weight to shed but I’ll give it my best go.

I also the worst looking exercise person . I sweat BUCKETS and turn red in seconds. Glam gym was never my kind of thing.

I enjoy a long walk, though its taking forever now as I'm 33wks pregnant. The only form of exercise I really enjoy and keep going back to is yoga. I can do it at home. You tube had videos of varying lengths and degrees of effort. I'm looking forward to getting back to it on maternity leave. Is it something you've considered?

Few years ago, working in a stressful job, I was struggling with shortness of breath and tight chest. My GP, instead of handholding that it was due to stress and anxiety (which likely contributed), bluntly told me that I could get fitter. Oh how I clutched my pearls
But I got a fitness tracker and got walking. The app would mark my daily goal completed at 10000 steps or after a 20 minute run, so I started running to save time. In the first weeks the motivation was just completing the daily goal, but as I got fitter, I continued to run for how it made me feel - fit, strong, healthy. I went from hating running to being able to easily run 10-12k.

I like the feeling of being fit and healthy, and hate the sluggish lethargy that I get when I don't exercise.
There's so many different ways to exercise.

I hate it too, can't motivate myself to spend my free time doing it. I love walking, I also love cycling but only really enjoy proper off road paths so never go in the city. Looking into a folding exercise bike because I only really exercise for 20 mins a day and have put on half a stone + this year from homeworking. Not into exercise videos because you need space and I'd have to tidy up first. The living room is the only comfortable place to do it with softish floors etc. I really got into skipping for a time and was amazed when I could hardly do any and managed to do a lot of felt a good sense of achievement in only a few mins. I like the wiifit too - skateboarding is my fave and does get my heart rate up, and Hula hooping. Ok for maintaining movement but not really losing any weight

Afterwards I feel great. Even after a long, boring walk. I can always wash and change my clothes if sweaty.