How do you factor exercise into your life?

[flumpsfortea]

Predictably dull but my New Year’s resolution is to really try and make time to exercise next year. I’m approaching 40 and feel the need to try and look after myself a little better and future proof my body! The problem is I hate exercise, I always have. And I’m busy with work, kids etc so I just don’t have the time and/or motivation. I do walk a fair bit. I take my dog each day and also try and walk on my lunch break. But that’s it.
At home I have a treadmill and some dumb bells. If I aim to do half an hour on the treadmill everyday and some weights a few times a week would that be a good starting point? I have no clue where to begin or if this would even be worthwhile but I feel like I have to do something. Also have some resistance bands.

I have exercise dvd's because I don't like to exercise on my own. I find it easier to exercise in a group, even if the others are on the tv!

Self discipline. Everybody would rather lie on the sofa with a plate of buttered crumpets & watch telly but you need some exercise. It's boring but it works.

I'm useless. The number of times I have joined a gym and not gone are many. The only things that work for me are going for a walk whilst listening to a podcast and high intensity housework. I listen to music and dance around whilst cleaning. I also have a set of small weights on my dressing table and do some before I dry my hair. Oh and I second everyone who said an active commute. Sometimes I get off the tube a stop early and walk.

First be clear on when you can.

Then frankly you need help. If you hate it, you are not going to stick with anything for very long if you are bored shitless at home, even with exercise video or apps.

What else could you do on your lunch break?

Your best bet is to join a class - up to you what class you would like. People who are very active don't exercise just for the sake of exercise: you do something you love, and you add various cross-training to improve yourself for your favourite activity. Some people love the gym, but others hate it but still go because it benefit their actual sport.

Swimming, dancing, tennis, fun class, martial art.. you can start by having a look at the program of the gym you are paying for, and try a few classes. You don't have to decide and be stuck with one thing for ever.

You don't need to do more than 3 times a week to start, it's not that much.

I walk daily, at least 10k steps, and that's usually just walking to/from work and a lunchtime walk. I do dumbells 5 days per week and sit ups every morning. None of that actually takes up time that I could be doing something else, just fits into my normal daily routine. I purposely chose an office within walking distance of home so I could walk to/from daily, even though it's not the most suitable office etc., but everything is a compromise and I'd rather have a slightly less than perfect workplace than be unhealthy.

Definitely start small - could you swap your lunchtime walk for 10-20 mins dumbbells once or twice a week? I don’t think you’re doing too badly with 2X 20 min walks a day plus the extra lunchtime walk.
I do the same walking time a day as you (minus lunchtime) plus 5 min yoga practices before bed most nights (vids on YouTube) and the aforementioned dumbbells once or twice a week (vids on YouTube).
I’ve done various forms of exercise for the last 20 years, including running, classes (spin, body balance, yoga), swimming but what I do now suits my current lifestyle & that is the most important thing with exercise. & being able to sustain it.

As someone who NEVER consistently exercised in my life, I started off slow and I mean slow.

I started with a PT so I was held accountable - I would have felt too guilty wasting someone’s time cancelling or my own money by not going. Literally 30 minutes a week then upped this to two sessions a week, I then changed to a PT led small sessions gym doing two 1 hour sessions and again upped this to 3 - after about 18 months I was doing 4-5 sessions an hour long a week and started couch to 5k - might seem like a long road but by intertwining exercise slowly into my lifestyle massively helped and I feel twitchy now if I haven’t trained. It helps my partner is very supportive and will always watch our children when I want to go train as he agrees my mental health has been so much better which in turn massively benefits him as I’m not such a grumpy moo!

Personally I love weight training over cardio (I do it begrudgingly) - try different classes and see what you eventually enjoy is my advice.

I never, ever thought I would do home workouts until Lockdown, when I was shielding. I'd just lost 2 stone and was concerned about putting it back on with nothing to do to regulate my eating habits, and my daily walk on my lunch hour. I discovered Team Body Project on You Tube, they have loads of free workouts for beginners and intermediates but after four months of that I signed up to their online membership and nearly six years on I still love it, and there are literally hundreds of workouts available. Real people feature in their workouts and their big thing is - do what you can, pause if you need to. It's your workout, just do your best. Progress, not perfection is the goal. I absolutely love working out to Team Body Project, and I'm so much fitter and stronger than I ever thought I would or could be. Good luck :-D

I have a treadmill at home and really enjoy the Peloton treadmill workouts. It's not a Peloton treadmill so I just use the app on my phone which I cast to the TV.

There are so many types of workout - ranging in time from 10mins up. There are walks, hikes, walk + runs, interval runs, progression runs, hiit runs and more. I find it more interesting and listening to the instructors chatter passes the time more quickly. Once I've started a class I feel committed to finishing it, whereas if I'm just running of my own accord I'm more likely to do 10 mins and feel like I've had enough. They also do 30 minute bootcamps which involve a bit of treadmill running/walking and jumping off to follow their weights session - so utilising your dumbells that you've got.

I play racket sports i love it.
Great for your mental and physical health.

I know I'm a procrastinator and someone who can't commit to exercise or anything that's too much effort.

But I'm really good at never letting anyone down.

So, 5 years ago I started an online exercise session. It was 25 minutes per day, 6 days a week with a commitment to doing it at least 3 times a week except for major holidays (Christmas included). I have an exercise buddy and we meet online. It works very well for me. Big bonus no subscription fees!

If you already walk in your lunch break switch it for C25km and ta dah you are now exercising! Keep walking on the other days. With your weights I recently saw Sally Gunnell on instagram saying what exercises she would do and how with just 2 light ish dumbbells. I’d add in a yoga class at your gym too if available

I do those too- also LOVE them

I can only exercise when with friends - I trick myself into thinking it's a social event. So I run with friends, hike with friends, climb with friends. There is no way I'd do any of it alone.

I’m struggling with this too but I have dumbbells and resistance bands easily accessible so I can do some weighted squats and arm exercises whilst watching t v or I keep a resistance band in the kitchen to use when I’m waiting for the kettle to boil.

I do weights in the morning as part of my morning routine. I walk everywhere (at least 2 hours a day - I never drive if I can walk). I race my much fitter children to wherever we're going.

This class gets me home for 7.10 to start the hustle. DS has to get himself up, but he’s 17 and DH is in, he can manage.

I hate the 5.40 am alarm, but the benefits are excellent.

Just say to yourself that it’s part of everyday life now and has to be done.
Running - very flexible, you can literally leave the house and go at whatever time is convenient and a 5k run will only take up half an hour of your time. Couch to 5k is a good place to start.
I bought some dumbbells and do a 20 minute workout every other day with someone I follow on instagram - free and can do whenever it suits me.
I also took up a sport and play 1-2 times a week, sociable and much more ‘fun’ than running so I always have the motivation to go.
Once you start doing regular exercise and start to feel the benefits it’s really won’t feel like a chore anymore and you’ll start to enjoy that feeling that you get after exercise. Takes a but of time but you’ll get there.

I'm lazy and overweight. I'm lucky in a way because unless I want to pay for taxis every day, I need to walk the 2 miles to my local train station and back each day for work, plus my job requires a certain amount of walking and climbing.

I also used to cycle every day but my bike was vandalised (attempted theft) and I'm in the process of getting it fixed.

Since moving from London I have actually lost weight without thinking about it due to necessity. I don't have a driving license so walking around town is my main form of transport. The point I'm getting to is start with something you can do without giving it too much thought.

I'm peri, so I'm now looking into doing some strength training at home too. I work a great distance from home, shift work, so I'm out of the house 12 hours a day, & I don't have time for gyms etc. Therefore finding something that's active whilst "commuting" and at home is the best way to fit exercise in my schedule.

That's really impressive. I think I have some kind of blind spot regarding pushing the start of the day earlier and end up doing things late at night instead.

I have time in the mornings, so do it then. If I didn’t exercise first thing I wouldn’t do it as never feel like it in the evening. When I didn’t have time in the morning I did used to sporadically do some of Davina’s short exercise videos after DD went to bed, as they were 7 mins long and more manageable. I also walked a lot back then just getting to work etc. now I have to purposefully go for a walk as I work from home. The gym is around 20 mins away walking, so get some steps in going there. I tend to walk more in the autumn and spring, as I live in Spain and the summer is really hot and the winter mornings very cold and evenings dark and chilly. I could go for an afternoon walk when the temp is around 15 or so, but I rarely motivate myself to. Definitely an exercise first thing person. In the new year I’m going to aim to go to the gym or for a long walk in the morning and do a 20 min yoga YouTube video in the evenings four or five days per week. Let’s see if I can stick to it 😅

Find something you enjoy and you will do it. Create routine as well so it becomes a habit and normal. I have been a member of a gym for a good 20 years, but can count the times I have used the gym on one hand. I HATE it. But I love swimming, especially in the outdoor heated pool so I do that. I hate US Ng the weight machines in the gym, so boring. I tried various strength/weights based classes and hated them all until Body Pump, and loved it. I generally do better in classes. You make friends, you go the same time each week and you get direction.

20 minutes walking won't do much either. I have a dog and walk 90mins to 2 hours a day. Super fast as well. You need to get your heart rate up.

Do you have a bike? Can you go for family bike rides together? When my son was 8-10 I did London to Brighton for several years in a row and he had to come training with me so he managed bike rides up to about 25 miles (building to that point gradually). He enjoyed coming on them

I only let myself watch my crappy reality shows if I’m doing weights or core exercises at the same time! It means I do two or three decent work outs a week. I have my tablet with the workout out set up next to the tv.

After 59 years on this planet and many £££ spent on gym memberships, I’ve discovered that classes are the way to go.

If I’ve paid upfront, I turn up!
Even better if you find an exercise buddy who texts you before she goes 🤣

As others have said, find something you enjoy, otherwise it’s a slog.

This is a really helpful summary of how to form a new habit

https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/my-new-book-about-habit-formation-as-distilled-in-21-sentences/