Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Exercise

Chat to other fitness enthusiasts on our Exercise forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

If you don't like exercise, why not?

239 replies

akaemmafrost · 21/05/2012 16:39

I run or swim most days. Whenever I mention that have done this I nearly always get the same responses:-

Oh you are good.
God, I couldn't be bothered with that.
I hate exercise!

Seriously, it made me wonder why do people see it as such an evil difficult thing?

So just being nosy really.

OP posts:
TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii · 22/05/2012 09:29

But takver, I can't drive and walk everywhere, miles and miles every day. It helps keep me slim I imagine, but it doesn't make me fit - if I have to do anything high impact I get tired very fast.

I've decided to do C25k, and DH has just taken up football. It's not either of our favourite option (we'd both like to play basketball but there is no team/club here at all!) but we want to set a good example to our 3yo who is stonkingly lazy.

BrainSurgeon · 22/05/2012 09:31

I have to say although I don't enjoy exercising, I am acutely aware of the need for it and I'm quite pissed off with myself for not managing to get my arse off the sofa in the evening - I'm just soooo knackered!
It would really help if I could enjoy it.
Maybe I just need to try a few things until I find something I do enjoy, even a little bit!

4goingon14 · 22/05/2012 09:40

Boring, Boring, Boring. Don't like my makeup dripping off my face and that horrible boob and bottom sweat that drips down. Eurgh!

Don't like expending my energy to exercise when I can barely find enough to clean the house, weed the garden, chase after my child, pick up after my husband, do all the shopping, etc, etc after a full day of work.

alwaysrunninginheels · 22/05/2012 09:40

Here's one good(or two)reasons I exercise. I see a lot of patients with dementia and very old ladies who have osteoporosis and curved spines. I do Pilates etc and a lot of stretching work after running with the main aim to keep being supple and flexible when I am older- I would hate to end up like some of my patients- its so debilitating to have such ailments. Then I went to a presentation by a professor working in the area of dementia and one of her big tips re avoiding dementia was exercise! That alone is enough to motivate me!!!!!

Takver · 22/05/2012 09:41

That's an interesting question, TeWi - maybe it works for me because I live in Wales so there are rather a lot of hills to cycle up? Though when I had a three year old it seemed to involve rather a lot of running Grin

TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii · 22/05/2012 09:47

I think the hills must help a lot!

My 3yo is the slowest walker in the entire world It took me 3hrs and much encouragement to get her to walk 1.5miles on Friday while we stopped to look at ever single pebble

CelticPromise · 22/05/2012 09:50

I can't do without exercise, if I am extra stressed or on edge I have to go for a run to clear my head. I am slow, I sweat, I go purple but I NEED it, and it has to be tough. If it doesn't hurt and make my heart pound, I don't see the point. I like running, cycling, hill walking and am taking swimming improving lessons but my main sport is rugby. Not stylish or graceful but so addictive. Also like circuit type training.

A few people up thread mentioned big boobs as putting them off, I have 34Gs and have found the Enell sports bra to be brilliant, the Panache is also good if you don't like the ugliness of the Enell! Have also just bought a Freya Active swimming costume which seems to keep them under control.

Born2BRiiiled · 22/05/2012 09:51

You say "make time" but you can't actually. Between 6am and 7.30pm I am at work or with my dc, who are too young to leave alone. Then I work some more, get ready for following day. By half nine I have half an hour to myself, then bed. In that half hour, I want to do something nice i.e. read!

Takver · 22/05/2012 09:54

Ah yes, I remember those days 'walking' with a toddler - we used to take about 2 hours to walk the 2 miles home from school when dd first started, looking at every flower on the way.

The running around bit was at home, though Grin

FunnysInLaJardin · 22/05/2012 09:56

It really is essential to find something you like though. If not you just won't do it. I find that regular exercise actually gives me more energy. If I'm knackered after a day at work a run will often give me more energy

FunnysInLaJardin · 22/05/2012 09:57

Born are you a LP? If so I can see it would be difficult to find any time.

TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii · 22/05/2012 09:59

our house isn't really big enough to run in... she does run around at the park, but that's it. Which is where the "erm, I think we should all be being more active" has come in.

Born2BRiiiled · 22/05/2012 09:59

No. But H not in till 7.30. Then I have more work to do.

notyummy · 22/05/2012 10:04

I think the long turn health benefits that people have highlighted are a major positive tbh. And, if we are in the business of being honest, it is vanity as much as health with me. I like having a flat stomach and a pretty good figure for someone of 40 (not claiming to be some sort of goddess btw...)

It does depend on your lifestyle. If was able to walk/cycle more then I would probably run and circuit train less. I drive 3 hours to and from work a day so I can't walk/cycle to work (4 days a week) and DH is away a lot of the time with the military. I still fit it in, even if it's 20 minutes circuit training at 6am.

I think we were made to sweat sometimes. And why would anyone wear make-up to exercise in? It's that sort of thing that creates barriers to young girls and women being strong and healthy. This preoccupation with our appearance at all times and 'fear' of looking like we have actually worked hard.
I do wear make-up at other times, but I think my body was designed to be physically challenged and sweaty more than it was to wear make-up. (Or to turn that on it's head, if I maintain my fitness and look quite toned, then I feel better when I put some make-up later because my overall appearance is better than it would be without exercise.)

notyummy · 22/05/2012 10:05

And yes, second the point about finding something you like. For example, I can't use swimming as a form of exercise as I get really bored and then I am starving straight away when I get out and eat ravenously!

FunnysInLaJardin · 22/05/2012 10:06

then yes, during the week that would be a problem Born. I manage to find time because we have both finished work by 6pm and so take it in turns to go to the gym, swim etc in the evenings. We also go on Saturday and Sunday, once each. We also work it round DS1's activites, ie I will leave work, go for a run and collect DS1 from Beavers.

TreacleSoda · 22/05/2012 10:07

I used to hate exercise, and like loads of others it was down to bad experiences at school. I had really big boobs and was horribly self concious (and physically in pain) when being forced to run, I used to try to do it with my arms folded to support myself (they didn't make sports bras in large cup sizes until relatively recently, there were certainly none on the market when I was at school twenty years ago) and then got shouted at by the teachers for being lazy.

I was in my 30s before I got over all that and found that I enjoyed exercise. I love it now. I am fitter and healthier than before. My aches and pains are much better. And most of all, my mental health is much better - I had suffered from depression and been on and off medication since I was a teenager, but once I got into exercise my day to day moods really improved, I could see things much more clearly, sleep better at night, have much more energy and generally feel more positive. Ironically, for people who say they don't have the energy to exercise, I can't recommend it enough, it really does give you energy, but then again I would never have believed anyone who told me that, I had to do it for myself to believe it.

Born2BRiiiled · 22/05/2012 10:09

I could squeeze a bit in at weekends, but unless it is exciting (surfing or skiing or something), I resent losing precious free time, even though it would be good for me.

TreacleSoda · 22/05/2012 10:18

Actually, every time I hear some government minister or think tank person on the radion or TV saying 'how can we get more young girls to exercise' I want to scream at them 'bra fitting! that's how!'. Teenage girls do not want their boobs to bounce all round the place (big or small) and have teenage boys gawping at them and laughing (or even other girls gawping at them and laughing). They should have bra fitters visiting schools and kitting girls out with a well fitting sports bra, so that big or small they don't have to feel self concious. The catch is that they would have to be provided free of charge, because they are expensive, and until you can see the difference it makes, it could be hard to persuade parents to part with the cash to buy one, but if £30 per female school pupil got even half of them exercising regularly, it would save the health service millions in preventable illness further down the line, so it would be a sound investment for the country. Can't see it happening though...

FunnysInLaJardin · 22/05/2012 10:20

It's a bit of a vicious circle I think. Once you find something you really enjoy you find time to slot it in a few times a week. It becomes a priority and you make sure you do it because you enjoy it. If you don't enjoy what you do the opposite happens and you find reasons why you can't do it.

notyummy · 22/05/2012 10:21

You are probably right there Treacle! I didn't exercise much as a teenager and was overweight, so it was a cyclical thing for me (self conscious re my body but not doing anything to improve it...) Boob thing not an issue as even when overweight they were not big, but I can see why it could be an issue to a 14 year old girl with a large chest.

pugsandseals · 22/05/2012 10:27

I don't exercise as I have a very back intensive job which means I have to keep my lop sided spine. Whenever I have gone back to pilates classes which I love, I do my back in again meaning I can't work.

So annoying but a real problem for me

Original poster
akaemmafrost · 22/05/2012 10:34

Good morning! Well I have just been out for my run Wink and I was thinking about this thread. In a garden I passed someone was mowing the grass, it's quite warm today and for a minute I was taken right back to PE in the summer at school. It was NOT a good memory.

I remembered sitting around boiling hot, no water in sight, no shade, then being called on to take my turn in the 100 metre sprint. No warm up, get on the track, sprint for a bit, come second to last, sit down even hotter and sweatier with everyone taking the piss and then wait for everyone else to take their turn for an hour. I HATED IT!! I think the way PE was taught back then is greatly responsible for a lot of the negative attitudes towards exercise on here.

I got past it because I joined the army where fitness was paramount and you did so much of it you either grew to love it or got the hell out.

I honestly believe anyone will grow to enjoy it if they find the thing THEY enjoy and inspires them.

OP posts:
WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 22/05/2012 10:44

Maybe, but I have been searching for that thing all my adult life and still never found it. I have tried swimming, running, gym, classes, tennis, badminton, yoga, DVDs, cycling. Running is the only thing that has come close to inspiring me but I am still far from loving it.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 22/05/2012 10:53

It's only boring though if its something you dont enjoy, theres so much fab exercise out there.

My main exercise thing is pole fitness, I love love love it, been doing it 3 years now and it never feels like a chore, its very addictive!

I also love spinning and badminton so they are the ones I do mainly, hate running, now that is one excercise I do find boring!