AIBU to think I can get fit doing 15 mins a day?

[worriedaboutfitness]

I absolutely hate exercise. You name it I've tried it- walking, swimming, classes, personal trainer, yoga, everything.

However I am really unfit, and now I'm 30 I'm aware that I don't want to end up like my parents- almost immobile at the age of 65 from a life time of not moving their bodies.

I've joined a gym in earnest, but I really cannot make myself do long workouts- because I'm so unfit it's really a horrible experience for me, and I don't feel good afterwards. However I have been for the last 3 days and done about 15 mins of cardio each time. I know that most normal people go to the gym every couple of days for a proper session but I just don't know if I can bring myself to that.

AIBU to think I can improve my fitness levels in this way? Or is it not long enough to make a difference?

@NeverDropYourMooncup why would you suggest a split body routine over compound exercises? I'm not being funny, just wanting to understand your thinking further. I would have said that a simple full body routine is best for most - a squat, a push and a pull.

If you fancy trying couch to 5k again at any point a piece of advice I always give is slow down. To start with you will feel like you could walk faster than you are running but it’s the length of time that you are running than is important at the beginning. Speed of any sort comes much further down the line, when you have finished c25k.
It may be something you can think about including in you walk to the gym.

I do 20 min a day of cardio at the gym Mon-Fri. I figure that doing 100 min a week must be better than nothing. Like you I get bored so quickly so give myself permission to leave after 20 min. I’ve been doing it for about 6 weeks and feel so much better for it. Still get bored though!

Sometimes I add on the weights machines for 5 - 10 min. I watch other people on them then copy them! The instructions on each machine are useful.

Keep doing your 15 min. You’ll know when it’s time to add a few minutes on.

Have you tried something like this OP?

There are many videos on their page. I have done them at home and lost 10 kilos in 3 months, gradually and I enjoyed it in the comfort of home. But I also made healthier food options. If you do the steel city work outs they are about 15 minutes long and don't make you uncomfortably sweaty but enough. You don't need to be sweating a rain storm. Just make your body work.

Fifteen minutes of high intensity is a million times better than nothing.

The trick is to find what you love. Les Mills Combat has me sweating like nothing else, but because it's fun, the 55 minutes pass in a blur.

Getting all the way to the gym daily only to do 15 minutes of cardio sounds like a strange ratio of getting-to-the-gym effort to actually-exercising effort. If all the exercise you want to do is 15 minutes per day I would look at a home cardio machine or video workouts at home.

15 minutes per day is enough to improve fitness for sure, up to a point at least, at which point you would likely plateau.

The real key is finding something you enjoy, I think. You could brainstorm a bit more around that? Team sports? Ballet classes? A martial art? Fencing? Rock climbing?

I find that I have to be accountable for most of my exercise. If I pay in advance or go with a friend, then I do it.

You're thinking too much about the exercise.

You hate the gym, so dont do it. Have you tried a boxing class? A jiujitsu school? Military fitness? Learning to play squash? Joining a tennis club?
Cycling outside? Anything occupy your mind while youre exercising.

To reconnect with your body, and to improve flexibility and balance, perhaps add in a live weekly Pilates class? Keep your eyes and ears open for one with an instructor and group of people you like. An hour of that once a week and your 15 mins a day will make a difference. Good luck.

if you do the 15 mins regularly you will be amazed at how quickly 15mins becomes easy to you.

January last year, I started trying to lose weight having not exercised at all for about five years. Similar age to the OP. I entered December going to the gym seven days a week, alternating running 5k and weight sessions.

However.. I spent the first two or three months in lockdown concentrating on getting steps in, long walks, Leslie Sansone walking workouts on YouTube, or Zumba or dance workouts (because that’s what I enjoy) and resistance bands in my kitchen with my other half who was also trying to lose weight and he showed me what to do. No more than 20 minutes a day. Introduced some HIIT type YouTube workouts after a couple of months to change things up. Was always adamant I hated gyms and would never run in my life and like you’ve mentioned OP - being told to do classes/complicated workouts would have totally put me off. Different strokes for different folks - i actually ended up saying to my other half, upon him telling me again that I should start running, do you want to do this 90s pop Zumba class with me on YouTube? That shut him up.. although he was right in the end 🤦🏻‍♀️. I didn’t start C25k until the end of May, and was so glad I waited until I was fitter and had lost a fair amount of weight by that point. I didn’t join a gym until September and will be back there in Jan to restart my usual routine.

Just to say - 15/20mins a day will make a difference. Increase at your own pace, you know your body best and it’s so important to stay injury free. I took the improvement of my cardio fitness score on my Fitbit as indication of when I was ready to step things up. Good luck 😊

Op I too hate working out at home, I need other people around to keep me going otherwise I just stop!

15 mins of cardio is a great start, I would recommend running or rowing rather than the bike or cross trainer. And the walk to the gym is a great warm up and cool down. I think after a couple of weeks doing it regularly you will be fitter and able to scale up slightly, either that's adding on 5 mins of time or trying to go a bit faster/further in the 15 mins.

I agree that adding in weights is a good idea, get one of the gym trainers to give you an induction so you know how to use them and they can probably do you a little workout routine to start off with. They can do you a customised workout for as long/short as you like - even just two different sets on the free weights/machines a few times a week would be a great start.

I've gone to the gym since the Summer and a programme to follow makes all the difference. Doing a mix of 15 mins cardio, plus some strengthening/core exercises as a combination. I tend to be in and out in about 50 mins and actually enjoy it now.

Speak to an instructor and get booked in. They will build a programme based on your fitness level so no need to be intimidated.

15 minutes is better than nothing I guess.

But, you have to really want it (to be fit) and get over the excuses/mindset of, 'i can't bring myself to do x, y and z'.

Everyone starts somewhere and plenty of people go to classes with poor fitness levels and have to do some beginner variations, persevere at it and over time get better.

What do you enjoy doing?

For me it’s being outside, I’ve always liked swimming and just being in water but was never great at it, 10 years ago age 40 I forced myself to learn crawl. This year I’ve started open water swimming, actually wearing a wetsuit has made a huge difference to my technique generally and swimming in cold water a huge difference to my mental health and I will try and do periods of proper swimming to burn calories and periods of heads up breaststroke watching the world go by., yesterday I had a guest pass to an outdoor heated pool and it was just so nice being outdoors and in a temperature where I could easily put my head in (I’ve been swimming in a lake at 5 degrees) I did 2km. I wouldn’t have done it indoors, too stuffy.

This year I quit sugar, lost 4 stone and plan to be less sedate generally. I am 20 years older than you but in a similar position, dm is very poorly and immobile and my aim is not to be like that, I know I’m more active than she was 20 years ago. I love walking so DH and I will do long walks with dog and a picnic most weekends. I love being outside so this year I’ve spent many hours digging the garden, (I don’t love doing that necessarily but I like the feeling of satisfaction and planting when it’s done). I spend hours standing and pottering around in the greenhouse. The point is I’m constantly moving and not slobbing on my iPad (like I am right now). I’m never going to be a n hour a day gym bunny because I hate it,but I know my fitness is improving because I don’t have to stop as often walking up hills. I go to the gym from time to time and go through periods where I’ll work on weights to build up muscle to help with mobility, but I only really enjoy being in water so back to the lake or pool.

You can make a difference just doing 15 minutes a day but as a pp said it’s a real faff going to the gym for 15 minutes so realistically can you sustain it. Start off trying to, and building up the time, but most importantly find the things you can connect to that involve moving and being active.

Good luck, you can do this just find something that works for you.

I'd just like to point out that OP is actually doing 45 minutes of exercise as she needs to walk to and from the gym, so actually the walk ( done briskly as OP gets fitter) combined with a short weights routine, should make a difference.

Davina McCall has a dvd called Fit in 15 and I have to say that I did find this effective when i was on maternity leave and felt quite stuck in the house with a baby a land restricted in terms of time etc

There is a programme on BeachBody (awful name but great programme) called Job1 and it’s only 20 minutes and you can do it at the gym. I’d really recommend it as you can modify and go at your own pace and has bike workouts etc on there too.

Good luck and we’ll done for starting!

[quote NatashaBedwouldbenice]@NeverDropYourMooncup why would you suggest a split body routine over compound exercises? I'm not being funny, just wanting to understand your thinking further. I would have said that a simple full body routine is best for most - a squat, a push and a pull.[/quote]
Not offended at all. Background - joint issues, tendon issues, lots of physio and rehab, absolute hatred of PE and fitness where nothing is ever good enough or worth attempting unless you are risking ending up being permanently damaged. (See that bloody 30 day shred woman on TV, for a start).

The OP describes knee pain. Which really affects everything - walking plus ten minutes one day, then a little more once or twice a week to strengthen the leg muscles improves without causing injury and gives a good recovery and rest period.

so actually the walk ( done briskly as OP gets fitter) combined with a short weights routine, should make a difference

Only if the OP walks so fast she is slightly out of breath.

The thing is, even those of us who are pretty fit, started once! The times when I have been following a programme and the next step up makes me feel broken, the first time I do it. It's a matter of gritting your teeth, and doing it. And doing it again.

OP you need to set goals that are achievable, and get balanced between being too hard, leaving you exhausted & sore & demotivated, and too easy which don't really increase your fitness.

This is where it might be worth investing in a PT package - generally you could purchase say 4 or 5 sessions, for once a week, to get you going, then they'll give you a programme, and you could check in once a month or so. A good PT will be a coach, a psychologist, as well as a fitness guide - they'll try to work out how to help you motivate yourself.

Bodies adjust - we are all naturally lazy - bodies adapt & find the easiest way of doing something. So you need to find the moment of challenge. As you get fitter, you can train to failure - that was the hardest thing for me - to start to see failure as the next training step.

As a PP says upthread, if you're doing say, 8 repetitions (reps) of an exercise, the last 2 or 3 should be really hard. Not impossible, but they should cost you something.

Then you take a rest gap, and try again.

It's those last 2 reps that get you fitter! They are the body responding to the extra exertion you're asking of yourself.

That's why Couch to 5K is so good - it's programmed so that you can just about do it (I always get stuck on about week 5, and have to do it 2 or 3 times) but it also pushed you a bit.

And the advice for C25K always is - if you're so exhausted from the exertion you feel sick, go slower.

Come on over to the Exercise forum @worriedaboutfitness - you'll find LOADS of good advice & fellow exercise-dodgers!

Getting all the way to the gym daily only to do 15 minutes of cardio sounds like a strange ratio of getting-to-the-gym effort to actually-exercising effort.

There is a school of thought that building the habit is worth it. (If anyone's interested, listen to the podcast I recommended earlier). It's the principle that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

(Thank you @NeverDropYourMooncup very interesting!).

Op the ability to push yourself through exercise is a learned skill. Imagine someone who is a regular competent reader tackling a new online course, compared to an adult who is learning to read. Who do you think will give up quickly, panic that they can't do it, question if they've picked the 'wrong' thing, not know how to get past the first obstacle? The regular reader will have built up those skills. They know when is a safe time to push themselves and when something isn't right. They have an idea of their limits and what to work on.

Everyone has to start somewhere. I would say that most beginners in a gym go for cardio because it is the most straightforward, but it is something that puts people off easily - being out of breath takes getting used to, if you're overweight it is hard, and there's not much to distract yourself from how tired you feel!

I'm what you'd probably think of as a gym bunny now, but I started late and was really unfit until my thirties. Id still struggle to do 15mins on a treadmill. I need something that distracts me, so I go for classes or weights.
Weights are something you might find more motivating because you'll see changes quicker (eg what weight you can move, or feeling more connected to your body as you start recognising what muscle does what) Also if you're overweight you'll usually be stronger than someone lighter so that can be a confidence boost.
These are all just ideas though. The main thing is to keep going, and gradually start trying something new. I'm sure eventually you'll find something that appeals more to you.

@3luckystars

What also helped me hugely was reading that most people hate doing exercise 90% of the time. So just maybe one time in 10, I might actually find it ok. I’m never going to actually want to do it.

But the thing is, it will always make you feel better afterwards, and whatever you do today, will make tomorrow easier for you so just keep going.

Try the Jillian Michaels and see how you get on. All the very best.

This is great advice.

I have exercised for years, run marathons, done bootcamps, I suppose I’m relatively fit. But most of the time I really don’t enjoy the actual exercise and it never seems to get any easier. I’m not one of those who jumps out of bed ready to go, I always have to talk myself into it. Very occasionally I’ll get a runners high or similar, but mainly I tolerate exercise because it’s good for me and I know I’ll feel better afterwards. That and trying to rid myself of my Covid belly.

15 minutes is an achievement. Particularly since it’s 15 minutes more than you actually want to do! Just keep going, it will soon become a habit.

It’s wonderful to know that! Thank you very much.

Did you do 15 minutes today?