To dislike exercise?

[Differentbenefits]

I do an exercise class twice a week because I recognise its benefits but I absolutely hate it. I just find it so, so boring. The other women seem to genuinely enjoy it but I hate it.

I know the thread will fill up with telling me to do something I do enjoy but there isn’t anything. The only things I might enjoy are way too expensive and impractical to do regularly.

So - AIBU to dislike exercise? And is anyone else the same?

What do you enjoy?

Do you mean generally or exercise wise?

What is too expensive and impractical, I'm curious

Things like skiing, horse riding, wild swimming I would enjoy, but much as I’d love to be able to afford the above regularly, I can’t!

I exercise every day without particularly enjoying it. I think the “find something you enjoy” thing puts too much of a burden on people to only do exercise they find fulfilling - what I enjoy is knowing I’m making myself healthy, the feeling when I finish, how it makes me look. But the mechanics of going through the actual exercises? Nah. I don’t hate it but enjoy is too strong a word. I do strength exercises with weights and go running. Both OK. Not as good as sitting down reading.

You sound like me @AtomicBlondeRose . I really just find it dull and while I do it for the benefits some people seem to genuinely love it!

I’ve never got an endorphin rush from exercise - well, maybe once or twice, but basically never. There are lovely spring days when you’re running out in the country when you feel glad to be alive, and the odd time you do an exercise with a really heavy weight and feel great about it, but the rest of the time it’s one foot in front of the other/one more rep and look forward to being able to stop. I’d love to have the enjoyment gene but I just don’t! The good thing is you still get the benefits anyway.

swimming in the wild is free

For some people mindless gym exercise gives them endorphins. It just made me irritable, breathless, uncomfortable and bored.

I’ve given up on arbitrary ‘exercise’ and just do as much walking, gardening and household activity as I can. At least that’s productive.

I dislike it too. I do it because I have to. I don’t enjoy it and I don’t experience any sort of “high”.

Almost everyone hates exercise before hand, and most sane people hate it while doing it too. But almost everyone loves having done it. That’s the place to aim for.

Try different stuff! If you do a relaxed circuit try CrossFit instead. If the class feels stressful and loud, try yoga or Pilates. Try an outdoor bootcamp or obstacle course, or trail running, if you want to be more outdoors. There are so many options now. I live in a small village and there's still plenty to do.

YANBU for finding exercise boring, it's up to you, don't get into a state of hating it and resenting it because you think you should be healthy. Assuming you want to do it anyway, try other types.

I prefer stuff where the main purpose isn’t the exercise...

as in, exercise classes are about the exercise no matter how much they try to make them “fun”

but actual dance classes or roller skating - where yes, they’re also exercise, but the point is the activity rather than the exercise.

burlesque chair dancing was good, you learn a routine to a song for a few weeks then move onto another song for example - so the point is learning the routine, not which muscles you’re working.

It isn’t practical to do regularly throughout the winter though. Some people do if they live by the sea and are part of active wild swimming groups but I’m very far inland so driving for two hours plus isn’t practical (or free!)

I have found my people

I mostly like exercise whilst doing it

I enjoy Zumba! I do it twice a week and genuinely enjoy it. If I didn’t, I couldn’t do it.

I think you must have great motivation to keep it up when you hate it. That must be really difficult.

You might find Dan Lieberman's book Exercised interesting - he talks about the problem with exercise being that evolution selected our bodies to require movement to be healthy but also to avoid unnecessary activity to save hard-to-obtain calories. So it's understandable that many people don't like exercise. But that causes problems in modern environments where we can get more calories than we need with virtually no movement.

His tips are to make movement a necessary part of your routine (walk or cycle on errands etc) or make it social. He was on the Feel better live more podcast (episode 128) if you're interested in hearing more.

I detest it. I had a similar thread myself on here before. I've tried loads of different classes and types of exercise and the only one I get somewhere near to enjoying is cycling, but I really have to be in the mood and no rain.

I try to walk as much as I can but apart from that, no thanks!

You don't need the sea, there'll be closer places

I bloody hate exercising. See it as a necessary evil (and still probably don't do enough).

I’ve also never found a form of exercise I actively want to do. I just look it at like the other boring things I have to do - I don’t particularly want to do washing or change the beds but I want clean clothes and sheets so I do it. I give myself incentives like an audiobook I’m only allowed to listen to while running or spinning, or a tv show I can only watch on the treadmill. Doesn’t work if you do classes though - could you try solo exercise in a gym with a podcast/audiobook you’re interested in?

I know a lot of people genuinely enjoy it. The woman who runs our classes does. Her figure is lean and athletic and I often wonder if athletic ‘types’ like exercise because they are good at it or if they are athletic because they like exercise!

I don't like exercise. I joined a running club for a while and I was proud of myself after a run but I didn't get whatever rush it is that makes you want to go and do it again.

I like climbing but that isn't remotely practical when you've got a job and 2 children and don't live very close to a climbing wall.

I never go @elizzza . I have to pay upfront for the classes and GO. Otherwise I just wouldn’t!

So if you like wild swimming do swimming regularly so that when you get the chance you are trained ready

Sort of motivation even if you don't enjoy it it's focussed on training for what you do ?