Page 7 | To not get why people refuse to exercise?

godmum56 · 30/04/2021 18:03

@Mistymountain

People accept that dogs need exercise every day and if you didn't walk your dog, you'd be accused of neglect. Humans are animals as well, so should also be exercised everyday; just walking for 30 minutes would be enough.

And in many cases they are WRONG. Not all dogs should be walked every day or want to be. My vet says that my old boy is in excellent health for his age and he hasn't left my house and garden for over two years because he doesn't want to. Its recommended that rehomed dogs, especially those brough in from abroad (and don't get me started on that one) are allowed at least two weeks of peace and quiet to de-stress and are introduced very gradually to what most people think of as dog walks.

Confusedandshaken · 30/04/2021 18:03

@JumpingJacky

Exercise near enough saved my life, literally, and I am evangelical about it but still people make so many excuses as to why they can’t do just a small amount, and don’t realise that they are suffering for it!

I have a relative who suffers from back pain. He spends a large majority of his day sitting. I have suggested various low impact exercises that I know through experience will help but he won’t do them while continuing whingeing and moaning about being in pain!

A friend who is overweight complains that she has pain in her knees and ankles and is finding walking hard which is stopping her doing stuff. I know weight loss is hard so I suggest she joins the gym (she can afford it and has time) to use the low impact machines to at least build some strength into her legs and get a bit fitter but she’s just not interested whilst continuing to whinge and moan!

I get it that exercise is hard and can make you uncomfortable and sweaty but for the benefits to your body that’s a small price to pay surely?

You are being naive. Knowing something is good for you (or bad for you) doesn't change behaviour. We all know we should exercise. No one needs you to tell them.

If establishing good habits around diet and exercise (or anything else for that matter) was as easy as knowing basic facts we would be a race of fighting fit supermen and women with zero vices. The world isn't like that.

It's great that exercise has done so much for you but I'm sure you aren't perfect in every other respect because no one is. Concentrate on improving yourself and let other people live their lives their way. I'm sure of they want your advice they will ask for it.

trappedsincesundaymorn · 30/04/2021 18:04

*So I kind of think I am entitled to preach seeing as I’ve been there myself

No, no you're not entitled to preach to anybody. Just because "nagging" worked for you it doesn't mean you have the right to nag anybody else.

rachelgreensroom · 30/04/2021 18:05

It's great it worked so well for you but some of us just can't be arsed and aren't looking for advice 😂

littlefireseverywhere · 30/04/2021 18:05

I’m overweight had knee pain. Sorted by regular cycling, I’m now a convert! I sleep better, eat less, feel happier! Have long way to go but feeling so much better, I bore my friends

sunflowersandbuttercups · 30/04/2021 18:07

So I kind of think I am entitled to preach seeing as I’ve been there myself.

Why do you think people want to listen to you preaching?

You've achieved amazing things and well done, you should be proud of yourself, but don't turn into a bore.

poppycat10 · 30/04/2021 18:07

@nancywhitehead

Because it's short term pain for long term gain and human beings aren't good at that particular trade off

Exactly... just look at the whole Covid/ lockdown situation for an example.

The covid lockdown hasn't been that short-term.

If you can stick to exercising for six weeks you will see a big difference. We started lockdown in March last year and we're only just properly emerging out of it now (some of us had respite last summer but not all).

We need reform from the top down to make it more attractive to walk and cycle and less attractive to drive. Then many people would just get their exercise without trying. If you drive from home to business park you don't get exercise and may not be able to go anywhere at lunchtime. However, if you drive 10 minutes because the road is too dangerous to cycle along, but your local authority built a well lit safe cycle path that would take you 25 minutes, that might change your exercise pattern.

SelkieIntegrated · 30/04/2021 18:07

I prefer sitting in a comfy chair watching netflix and a cup of tea or a glass of wine to doing exercise so...obviously yabu.
It's not that enjoyable. I've gone through phases of being exorexic. It wasn't healthy either. I used to feel really guilty if I didn't work out for at least half an hour every day. Finally recalibrated and I walk and do yoga now but that's not what keeps my weight in the normal bands. That's a different set of instructions.

pictish · 30/04/2021 18:08

I’m like you OP used to weigh over 18 stone, now weigh half that...I’m an exercise zealot too and I agree with your sentiment overall...BUT

You’re not entitled to preach under those circumstances. With all doe respect fuck off.
You’ve been there yourself...you do know why people don’t like to exercise. You don’t need to ask.

I’m a trail runner and you’re right about risk of injury but omg I love it. No form of exercise could suit me better. I’m not into the gym at all.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 30/04/2021 18:08

I've exercised all my life and do so 5-6x/week but what others do is their own business.

poppycat10 · 30/04/2021 18:09

I was (a bit) overweight and started running about ten years ago. I am a bore about parkruns, sorry. But I do enjoy being fitter, leaner and being able to eat what I want within reason. I've also made friends through it, which may be a consideration for people who feel lonely and don't have easy ways to meet people.

Zealois · 30/04/2021 18:10

Knowing something is good for me and having the mental energy to do it are two different things.

I go through phases where I workout and enjoy the feeling afterwards, and phases where I can't think of anything worse to do with my time. The only thing I can consistently do is walk, so I always keep that up and anything else I manage is a bonus.

Twinkie01 · 30/04/2021 18:11

People will do it when they are ready, it's like being a alcoholic, it is my job, so I do it all the time but have so many people tell me why they can't and want advice but unless they are really ready they just won't.

LimeCoconut · 30/04/2021 18:12

I get that this is a pure goad but to anyone else who finds themselves thinking along the lines of the OP: you really have no idea what it’s like to live in chronic unremitting pain until you do. Just trying to get through a normal day is hard enough at times, let alone deliberately moving your body in ways that hurt. The consequences of doing that can last for days.

Tianatiers · 30/04/2021 18:12

I find it really hard to motivate myself to do things like the gym, running, weights etc. I get a great workout cleaning my house, gardening and things like that and I would rather do that than go to the gym. I see a point to it and immediate results (not to my body, but to my house and garden!) I also enjoy things like dancing, long walks with friends, even a bit of tennis now and again. I think people need to find a way of exercising that is fun for them, it doesn't have to be obvious exercising, just things you like doing that get you moving. For a lot of people exercise is just not fun and you have to do so much before you start to see any results so there is no motivation and if it hurts you then there'll be even less motivation. It's a vicious cycle though. YANBU I don't think but I think it's harder for a lot of people to find that motivation.

GreyhoundG1rl · 30/04/2021 18:13

@poppycat10

I was (a bit) overweight and started running about ten years ago. I am a bore about parkruns, sorry. But I do enjoy being fitter, leaner and being able to eat what I want within reason. I've also made friends through it, which may be a consideration for people who feel lonely and don't have easy ways to meet people.

Why do you feel you need to bore on about it, though? Who do you think needs to hear you wang on about it?

PurpleDaisies · 30/04/2021 18:13

So I kind of think I am entitled to preach seeing as I’ve been there myself.

No. You have been through your experience. Who says what they’re going through is the same?

Tealightsandd · 30/04/2021 18:14

One person's pain is not the same as another person's. When someone tells you how painful they find a particular activity, who are you to dismiss their actual experience. Perhaps more people would be able to exercise if (I'm talking pre Covid) they were diagnosed and treated sooner. Too frequently, a patient's symptoms - including pain - are dismissed by doctors, until a stage when things are much worse and more painful.

It would probably also help if there was less squeamishness over painkillers. So what if someone's on them long term. Sometimes they're what's needed for somebody in chronic pain to maintain or return to a decent quality of life - and be able to exercise.

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 30/04/2021 18:14

Oh, how I love the unqualified morons exercise fans informing me how to heal my autoimmune disease and genetic connective tissue disease through the medium of exercise.

I've spent my entire life dealing with injuries as a result of liking exercise and not wanting to sit down all day. Rheumatology (who I've been seeing in one place or another - now a national specialist place - since I was 5 years old) now ask me 'can we have the list of the injuries since your last appointment 12 weeks ago first, so we can get the imaging, injections and referrals out of the way?' The local A&E got to the point of saying 'Have you ever considered taking up knitting, rather than exercising?' I've ended up at hospital from swimming, light weight training, walking, running, standing up after putting my gym kit on, kickboxing, cycling, horseriding, yoga, pilates - pretty much every low, medium and high impact sport or exercise I've ever done.

I hate being stuck in a seat unable to move without pain because I'm always trying to think of some sort of exercise I could get away with, rather than be trapped there.

But I hate people like you more.

Tealightsandd · 30/04/2021 18:15

@PurpleDaisies

So I kind of think I am entitled to preach seeing as I’ve been there myself.

No. You have been through your experience. Who says what they’re going through is the same?

^^ This

C8H10N4O2 · 30/04/2021 18:16

Two weeks straight everyday in the gym on the crosstrainer and on the lower back weight machine reduced the sciatica pain that I’d had for 5 years which kept me awake, and I could hardly walk from, by 90%.

So what?

Your smug, ignorant assumption that a solution which worked for you is automatically right for everyone, and entitles to lecture and belittle mainly says to me "don't exercise, it will turn you into a twat".

Apart from the perpetuating of disablism,

SelkieIntegrated · 30/04/2021 18:16

oh and ps, it's not that people ''refuse'' to exercise, it's not the one obvious solution to weight loss!

Far from it.

I walk a bit, do a bit of yoga, but, I must be eating about the right amount for my level of activity. Exercise has many benefits but weight loss is not one of them.

I see exercise as kind of irrelevant. You'd have to walk to the moon and back to make up for a bad diet. So just eat less. Oh, but hang on, not everybody finds that easy.

itsgettingwierd · 30/04/2021 18:17

@motherloaded

People are lazy, that's why. People are looking for instant results, instant gratification so get bored after one try and give up.

"Exercise" can be anything and everything (pretty much). Unless very serious and rare medical condition, anyone could find something they enjoy, and even sometimes they could become reasonably good at.
They can't be arsed.

Just look at kids: naturally they run, they jump, they dance, they are constantly on the go in parks and soft plays. Normal children are not naturally still and doing nothing. We give them screens and tablets and mess them up.

I would keep quiet though, you are not going to win that one. People know, they chose not to.

Agree exercise can be anything.

Inspired by the mention in here if the walking exercise vids on you tube I really thought about why I didn't do it. It's 15 minutes.

What I've done instead is when I'm cooking dinner I jog on the spot instead of sitting down in between each thing.

I can easily do 10-15 minutes a day this way. I always was one of "I don't have time" but it was more moving and adjusting my mindset to what exercise is and how I can get some.

jebthesheep · 30/04/2021 18:18

Loved to exercise for decades - then spinal condition - many things make it worse. Much worse, loss of limb mobility and function and discomfort when trying to sleep etc
People don’t always want to give chapter and verse on medical conditions to people who are not their doctor. Perhaps when something isn’t understandable, it’s because the assumptions don’t fit the logic rather than the facts not fitting the logic.
The enthusiast promoting a course of action won’t be around for the consequences, that’s for sure.

Heatherjayne1972 · 30/04/2021 18:18

I literally can’t be bothered.

Why on earth would I do something that will make me hot sweaty probably have an asthma attack and leave me in pain for days?

You do you.