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?

See, I really dislike “fun” things, in fact I hate them more than just doing the exercise, so the more boring the better for me. At least then I don’t have the added burden of feeling like it’s meant to be fun! I just grind through the sets until the end.

I enjoy:

Feeling less tired
Having muscles and toned legs
being able to eat more
the slightly smug virtuous feeling you get after a workout
a bath after a long run.

That’s not a bad list of benefits from something I don’t like.

I am not aware of any wild swimming groups inland that meet regularly throughout the winter months.

Yanbu. I don't like it. But I've done it for thirty years and it's paying off. I don't even think I have a single endorphin in me either.

I don’t have endorphins either! I wonder if some people do and some just don’t.

Isn't it compulsory to be a dry robe wanker now if swimming outside? Those things cost an arm and a leg.

Maybe try to let go of the notion that you should like it and just look at it the same way as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Just something that needs to be done for your health.

I really dislike swimming in regular pools. It’s mind numbing. And it’s a lot of hassle with getting wet and cold and hair washing and the nearest pool is twenty minutes away, so forty minute round trip. At least current exercise is close!

I think you aren't doing enough to get the addictive endorphin rush. Is the class hard enough? Are you exhausted and sweaty by the end with aching muscles the next day? If not then there's probably not much point doing it.

I would either do something more intense or try to incorporate more exercise into daily life such as a long walk to work instead of drive. E.g. you could try and walk or cycle an hour each day. Otherwise you can think of fitness goals such as improve your speed for running or swimming or enter a triathlon. Join a running club, take tennis lessons, take up climbing...

I will also add that regularly getting up early to do something I don’t much like and find uncomfortable and boring has been brilliant for my mental health, sense of self-worth and resilience. Basically the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. So the trade off for 40 minutes of boredom is feeling better about myself all day and that’s priceless.

You don't need to swim with a group, just Google wild swimming near me or something

I'd say so. It's like anything else, some people like it, some don't.

I love the exercise I do. I absolutely hate if I've to miss a day. I love the training itself, the mental benefits & how it sets me up for the day.

I like competing against myself & others (small group training) & I love the structure.

Years ago I went to a gym, I really never enjoyed it, glad afterwards but never loved it. Got into serious running & that was great & now love my HIIT, Spinning, weights sessions plus running.

I don’t like it either. Every few years I sign up to do a charity run and spend a few months running. I hate it with a passion but I do it. I enjoy swimming but find the before and after a pain in the arse. I think walking for is the only exercise I really enjoy; I mix it up with steep hills and speed walking to get my heart rate up. But overall no, I don’t love it like a lot of people seem to.

They weren’t supposed to be things everyone would find fun.

My point was if you can find something you enjoy doing for its own sake that also happens to keep you active then that would be better than enforced fun activities that aren’t in fact fun.

Haha they do! But not compulsory I believe

I know of plenty of wild swimming places inland. Lakes, meres etc. Depends where you are but it's definitely not limited to the sea. Have you tried looking for Facebook groups locally?

People definitely do wild swimming inland in winter... a wild swimming Facebook group appears on my Facebook feed every so often, no clue why it appears as it’s not something I do, but they definitely still do it in winter.

It’s pretty dangerous to swim alone in an icy cold river at this time of year! This is what I mean about practicalities: it would have to be evenings and at this time of year it doesn’t work.

It’s good I’m not alone - the other women in the group are very sporty and love it!

Possibly but unlikely to be at a time I could go. And it would probably still need a fair drive.

I see to do a bit of climbing, I was the fittest I’ve ever been and I enjoyed it. Now in my 50s I’m dragging my sorry ass to a weight/circuit group 3 early mornings a week.

I feel out of place, I ache afterwards and I don’t join in the exuberance of the FB group.

but I’m stronger, less flabby…

but I don’t like the exercise.

I meant swim with a friend, not a group necessarily

I tolerate it because I love how it makes me feel afterwards plus I'm a pig and it means I can carry on being a pig 🤣. My DD never gets the endorphins after either. Somehow she managed to do 60 park runs. These days she loves squash and benchball

My friends aren’t really up for that 😂

Or you could get fit jumping over all the barriers you put up!

So I start a post saying that I dislike exercise, anything I would like is not really practical to do regularly. I go twice a week to class but don’t enjoy it.

And your complaint is I put up barriers. I don’t want to sound like an arse but I literally explain all this. Like it or not my friends aren’t really up for leaping in icy rivers on a January evening, funny that 😂

We have a wild swimming group nearby, a couple actually. One meets at a reservoir at different times, the other a river (and the guy that runs it swims all the time so will happily meet up)
It's worth looking at the Facebook groups. I'm a wimp so only swim in summer!

My main exercise is peloton for spin and weights
Hate the idea of doing it, mostly tolerate it, sometimes enjoy it and always feel better after