What benefits to you find from exercise and how did you start?!

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I’m not really unfit but I don’t feel fit fit! I try and walk as much as I can and a few days a week I hit 10,000 steps but I don’t really do any other exercise.
In past I’ve done a bit of running and yoga but I’m struggling to find my motivation at the moment.
What benefits do you find from exercise & how do you motivate yourself to start with?

I need a tangible goal to aim for, so entering a 5 or 10k run, or being able to lift a particular weight.

I used to lift weights 3x a week and would go to the gym in my way home from work, so it wasn’t really a mental effort to get there. I will admit there were times I sat in the car for a good half hour having an argument with myself about whether to go in or not, but I’d have a pre workout peanut butter sandwich and once I’d eaten that I HAD to go in! So times just doing a maintenance session was enough. I never left the gym wishing I hadn’t gone in.

I feel more confident being strong and I sleep better and am generally happier.

Pain motivated me! Walking up a mountain was the only pain relief I got from endo. Then I noticed it helped my anxiety too. And I love the elation of getting to trig points. I take a photo of every one I bag.

This then had a knock on effect on my alcohol consumption as I stopped drinking on a Sat night so I could walk on a Sunday. Then I started to go to the gym for weights as it helps my hiking & climbing.

I had a hysterectomy 3 weeks ago and got to a high trig today. Have walked every day more and more from the day I came out of hospital. I am convinced I have healed rapidly due to this. I love it so much I can tell this is my life long exercise now.

@Bubblebubblebah better fotness and no hiffing?? That has really tickled me!

I find when I do exercise first thing then I don't need to wait for motivation to kick in. I am reading the power your by Adrienne Herbert, it's mindset changing. Thoroughly recommend

I only walk. 30 minutes a day very briskly and up hills. I don't count steps anymore as I think fewer hard working steps does me more good than 10k slower ones.
I started in lockdown with the obligatory 'excercise walks' and got faster and fitter, enjoyed it, and kept going.
The benefits for me are it enables me to increase my pitifully low daily calorie requirements by an extra 300 and still keep a BMI of 21.
It lifts my mood, curbs my appetite, gets me out in the sun and air and helps me sleep.

I agree...I think exercise speeds up recovery.

I started doing home work outs with weights, squats, a heart rate chest strap monitor (maybe spent £100 in total) and some music. I just look for fitness women accounts on instagram and save posts of exercises Id like to try.

I try keep my heart rate up to over 110 and an hour a week over 130 BPM. Never exercised before in my life. Just felt like I wasn't happy with my blubbery arms, back flab and middle. I was 9 stone 12 & I'm 5ft 8 so was not overweight when I started.

Exercise for maybe 90 minutes a week, trying to change and build maintain new habits and do consistently. I make myself find time for it.

Have not lost much weight but my clothes are a touch looser and I'm a bit less flabby, maybe lost an inch around middle and my arms and shoulders look better. I'm still trying to find my groove but at least I've started

I don't lift loads of kgs, I don't do protein shakes, mess around with it and I don't watch my diet but i have been told I look more "toned" by mates on the school run.

My advice is just to get started and make time to do it

I definitely get more of a mental boost from exercise and the tunes I find on apple music.

it really does lift the spirits ... if you can get over "wtf and I doing jumping around with neon pink mini dumb bells"

I subscribe to Nourish Move Love on YouTube. It is free and there are loads of options - strength, core, barre, cardio. I find the trainer really motivating- you may find her annoying, it is so personal. There has recently been a 20 minute a day 2 week programme, you could start with that & see what you think.

I hadn't done any exercise for years then injured my back badly at the beginning of lockdown. I was then diagnosed with asthma.

I joined a gym a month ago and I'm already feeling the benefits. I opted to pay for a personal trainer as I have to turn up and work then. The strength work already means my walking is better and my back pain has improved. I'm doing adult swimming lessons too and I think I'll actually enjoy swimming once I've cracked it.

I think I was well on the way to being almost immobile when I decided to do something about it.

I've done all sorts over the years - from aerobics to step (when it was new!) to spinning and now weights (with some bike for cardio). Benefits started with physical but the older I get (parent of teens) it's the mental health boost that makes me drag my sorry carcass to the gym when I don't feel like it. By now, for me, it is a habit and I know I will always feel better than if I skip a session. I timetable it into my week and I pretty much stick to it. If I'm really not in the mood, I plan to give it ten mins and then leave if I want to (never have).
As for what you do, try it all and find your thing. The Les Mills app is great and very varied so you can try stuff either at home or the gym and the workouts are various durations so you can fit to the time.
But my number one tip, and remember I've been at this for oooh about 35 years now (!) is get a personal trainer if you can possibly afford it. It will help you build good technique, teach you loads and support you establishing a habit. I've done it for three periods of my life and never regretted it - although I know it is pricy. I reckon I've used a PT for maybe just over 24 months in all of my years of exercise so I get it. The PT I have now is very good and if you want to do weight training, I'd say it is worth it as than can build essential flexibility in hips and ankles (bigger deal than you think if you want to end up squatting big weights) and nailing technique before you add serious weight. There is a lot to think through if you don't know what you are doing - although there are some good books out there. Laura Biceps has a good one if you want a motivational read - think it's called 'lift yourself' and she's on insta (though her workouta are a bit hardcore for me, lol, I do not look like her, sadly!) Good luck with whatever you decide 😀

It's really good for the mind and mental health. Also very good for the body when you start seeing changes.

In terms of motivation, sign up for something or give yourself a goal. Maybe a 10k race or a half marathon or whatever, cos once it's on the calendar you have to train for it.

I have a peloton so do spin and all the other classes
Mostly it's mental health for me, I'm grouchy and fidgety if I don't exercise
Probably do 4 spin classes a week plus 10 min weights/barre and stretching
Not particularly fit

There are loads of benefits. Improves my energy, my mood, my sleep. Makes me get up and do something, makes me have something to talk about with friends, makes me feel good when I hit a goal, makes me look better and feel fitter and makes me more sexually active.
you don’t even need to do much, just a short 3k run a week is enough to get started I’ve found

When I was younger I enjoyed outdoor team sports. Somehow team sports get harder to commit to and harder to find a team as you get older and before you retire.

Currently I cycle every morning, except if icy, heavy rain or very windy. I absolutely love it and getting outside and getting that endorphin hit makes a huge difference to my day. I miss it when the weather is bad.

I cycled a bit during the pandemic, but properly got into doing it regularly through the cycle to work scheme and getting an e bike which meant I could do hills at an acceptable speed for other road users which made it possible to fit in cycling daily.

I also swim once a week, but that is in a pool. I got into that after a young distant relative stayed and insisted on going swimming. We all went and loved it. I then realised I was going to massively struggle to make time for it. Eventually I decided I was going to prioritise me and went weekly. Then the pandemic happened and I did different types of exercise. I then got hip tendinopathy. Once the pool was open again and I was comfortable going I got back into it. I don't like swimming as much as outdoor sports.

Additionally the pandemic got both me and my husband out walking and we now properly go for a walk once a week. We take photos, chat and generally get some us time.

Less migraines, lower back pain gone, less neck ache, happier, stronger and look better.
I do powerlifting and yoga. I hate cardio and don't know how i would motivate myself to do that. I feel motivated because I've found an exercise that's exciting and enjoyable.

My motivation is desperation. They’d taken my anti-depressants off me because I’d been on them years, I’d given up smoking (all my adult life up to this point) and did feel fitter just walking the dogs but then peri menopause symptoms started, had a six month period, put on weight on my middle, felt tired, miserable and flabby. Didn’t feel that I had much choice.
I started working out and got to 6 times a week, bit over an hour each time but my ankles and knees hurt so it’s five times with Mondays and Fridays off. Weights. Exercises. Rowing. Running machine.
Two years and I’d lost all of half a stone! But another six months and I’ve cut my drinking in half and the weight is coming off. I’ve changed my shape though, almost flat tummy, toned arms. And I feel good in myself, on an even keel and stronger physically.

My general fitness is a lot better, when I have to rush somewhere I don't feel awful. I've lost a lot of fat, although not much weight.

But the biggest difference is my mental health. I've always struggled with my MH, being on and off medication since my teens. Since I started exercising it's the longest Ive gone without a relapse in 15 years.

For me I signed up to an obscenely expensive (for me) 3 month plan. It was £350 for 2 months, 3 PT sessions a week, nutrition advice, and exercise classes.

The cost helped motivate me, the time limit gave me a set goal that couldn't move. Plus the accountability of the PT really helped, cos if I wasn't feeling it I couldn't just stand them up.

Strength and endurance plus i sleep better on days i've had a workout.

I do running/ circuits/ swimming/ yoga. Occasional cycling/ outdoor sports.

Short term benefits/ motivation:
Feel good glow after
Sense of achievement
Alone time
Helps me sleep (I get twitchy legs if I go a few days without)

Medium term benefits/ motivation:
Acheiving goals
Maintaining weight on a sensible diet
Being fit makes daily life easier

Long term benefits/ motivation
Making the most of my bone density
Aiming to stay active for as long as possible through life
Reducing odds of diseases of poor lifestyle.
-no guarentees of any of these, but at least I do what I reasonably can to make my odds of good health more favourable.

I purely do it for my mind. After 30-60mins into a long walk, or sporty activity I suddenly feel a bit happier and get clearer thoughts. (I'm a very anxious person) if I don't do any in a day I start to ruminate on negative thoughts start panicking and then won't sleep. So it really benefits me. As soon as I feel anxious I unconsciously start pacing or fidgeting now 😂

I'm pregnant atm so only walk. I use to have a step counter and would hit 20000 steps, just from being constantly on the move around the home. Just pottering around, pacing when on phone or just not sitting much, I tend to do most things standing up. But obvs not atm haha.

I always think exercise should be fun, so I don't really gym, I generally swim, kayak or paddle board because it's what I enjoy 😊

After birth I'm thinking of joining a dance class as I think I would enjoy it and I can also do it around the house to music (I love music)

How did I start?
With a bout of insomnia 20 years ago when I started driving for the first time to a new job. My brain was exhausted and my body lively because I hadn't burned energy for 10 days. I used to walk at least 6 miles a day with my old job. The next day I joined a fitness class at the leisure centre. A change of direction after babies; I'd had SPD and was fed up of panting everywhere slowly by the time I got mobile again so I did C25k late at night after the cluster feeds... and I discovered that I actually liked running without people jeering at me, and it spiralled from there.

I find walking not particularly effective as an exercise, unless it includes hills.

Weight-based workouts (I use hand weights) give me much more bang for the buck, and with 20min sessions 5-6 times a week I find a difference in my weight, my muscle tone and my mood.

Running is a really important part of my life. I got back into it in 2020 after several years off.

I sleep well, feel mentally well, my moods are much better. It’s noticeable when I have time off and I sleep crap and feel crap.

I'm sleeping so much better if I do triathlon club of an evening. (Currently just swimming and running)

I do it to feel fitter and healthier overall, but it just has improved all aspects of my life. Better sleep, better skin, less stressed.

But motivation is a myth - you don't need to be motivated, you need to be disciplined. And remember you'll never regret a workout.

I work out at home using an app called BODi, loads of different programs on there of differing lengths and difficulty. I also do it with a friend, so whilst we don't work out together, we message every day when we've done our session so keep ourselves accountable and that really helps.