Time for honesty; What stops you from exercising?!

[Peachy92]

Just thought it'd be interesting to see what holds other people back from exercising?
My main one is I struggle to do a basic warmup without getting really out of breath which puts me off continuing!😣

Be honest and let's see if we can get some motivation going! 🏋️‍♀️

Fear. I have CFS/fibromyalgia and I often feel like I don’t know if I’ll get a normal amount of aches after a workout or be in pain for days. I know I’m too cautious though - I’m getting better at small, regular exercise under lockdown (in a way I think it’s working better than the gym/pool which is a faff to get to on my own as no car) but I do think I could and should be doing more.

Getting bored really quickly. I get annoyed doing the same thing too often, but struggle to find suitable varied workouts due to the previous point.

Laziness/preferring screens - I’m meant to do my first exercise bike session first thing but when I wake up I spend ages faffing online instead. That to be honest is the biggest reason of the three.

Being a single parent carer (no time, childcare etc.)

Laziness

Latch on to an excuse eg too hot, too cold and convince myself that’s why I can’t do it.

My face going so so red. It's mortifying. I always promise myself I'll exercise once it gets dark so no one can see my face but then in the winter it's too cold, the summer it gets dark too late, the rest of the year i decide it's too scary to go out in the dark. Excuses excuses. All because of my bright red face. The only time i might risk a bit of exercises is if one put makeup on that day so it'll hide a bit of the redness.

Laziness. Pure and simple.

Time as well normally, as by the time I've worked a full day, done a commute, cooked, fine bedtime etc I don't know where exercise fits in. But currently I have a bit more time, but no oomph.

It doesn't help that I would need to do any exercise in the living room with dh watching and commenting on my every move. Dd and I stopped doing pe with Joe because once dh started working from home he commented on every move that Joe did, saying it was wrong etc. Which is very off-putting!!!

I do exercise, but not as often or as hard as I need to. Mostly because I find it deadly boring! I'm a really playful person and find myself wanting to scream at the dullness of ordinary repetitive exercise. When I was 17 my parents had a pool built. For the first couple of years my brother and I would play for a couple of hours each day, just messing around with inflatables and stuff, and we got so fit and toned. Then he decided he was too old for that, and only ever wanted to swim up and down, up and down, up and down. I would rather be fat.

Tiddle it’s horrible trying to recover - I had it (I think, not tested!) starting mid March and for a couple of weeks walking to the end of our tiny garden was exhausting, the first time I left the house I was on my feet for about 9 minutes. Having experienced getting CFS (what is also known as ME) after a flu type illness, I was saying to DH a few weeks ago that this felt exactly the same - it really does take it out of you, and given how busy the “lungs on fire” threads are, I have had a pretty easy post viral phase. Be kind to yourself 💐

Washing my hair. i wash my hair every three days. When i was running last year three times a week i had to wash my hair more. Aint no one got time patience for that.

How do people manage the extra showering? Because of lockdown I have changed my schedule so I exercise in the evening and shower afterwards. But normally I would have to get up and shower for work, commute, work, commute, exercise and shower again? It is a pain.

I just don't enjoy it. I used to manage to fit in a lot of walking by going places without a car and that worked better because it was just part of my day without me having to consciously set aside time to do it.

Because it makes me so angry. Friends used to talk about endorphins and how great they felt after. I just wanted to smash plates and punch people!

Literally it's motivation.

I've walked 40 miles since Sunday just because I've NEEDED to get out of the house for my own sanity, so I've walked around the city I live in.

Pre-lockdown I go to the gym 5 days a week and trained with dh, if he didn't fancy it, we didn't go, because if I'm not being pushed I don't bother.

If we ever split, I'd probably become very soft, unless I invested in a personal trainer.

Once I'm doing it I'm fine and really enjoy it, it really is just that push to do it. It's funny because I don't lack motivation anywhere else in my life, just exercise.

I am a sweaty person, I go red, I can’t be bothered to mess about with bags of gym kit, getting changed etc, I’m crap at sport, I don’t like gyms, I don’t like classes, the older I get the more germphobic I am about swimming pools, my joints are slightly hyper mobile and I have mild arthritis, I am too stingy to spend money on exercise ... the list goes on!

To stay fit I walk everywhere in day-to-day life, do a lot of DIY, one of my main hobbies at the weekend when not in lockdown is walking in the countryside and walking is also a major part of my holidays, I swim in the sea as often as possible in the summer, I just try to be active as much as possible. I could do with getting back into yoga but I am functionally fit, a healthy weight, a decent shape so I try not to worry too much.

Those who are saying they are not seeing a difference with all their lockdown walking, you may find that is just getting you back to your normal level of daily activity. That’s certainly the case for me. A slowish walk with the kids plus a 30 minute Joe Wicks and I’m burning the same amount of calories as I usually would on a normal workday without a workout (according to my watch).

I exercise 4 times a week, would do it everyday but I just can’t bear to have to wash, blow dry and straighten my hair 7 days a week, it’s long plus I have extensions so a double nightmare. I sweat when I exercise from my roots to the tip of my hair, it’s so frustrating as if I did not exercise I would only have to do my hair 3 times per week. Sometimes I look at my lovely swishy blow dried to perfection hair and really resent that my run or cycle is going to ruin it, but it’s either that or I get fat so the hair is the price I have to pay.

I find timing food around exercise difficult. You can’t eat much before you go as it makes you feel sick but then if you are starving like me, all you think about is what you can eat afterwards. So that becomes another excuse.

In the past because I hated it, it left me sweaty and uncomfortable and I always felt like a failure.

Now, having found an exercise I enjoy but is unavailable, it's the pain. Arthritis is a swine.

How I look in exercise gear is grim and embarrassing (I'm fat and tall, so it's hard to get well fitting tops that don't ride up and expose my mum tum).

Oh yes I struggle with tops too! Not an issue now as I’m exercising at home but I struggle with embarrassment at the gym doing anything where my arms are above my head 😳
Trousers are fine, I have my trusty leggings (in fact I’m wearing them more often now so I’m tempted to get another pair)

I'd also love someone to invent a belly bra to stop my belly wobbling 😂 it's soooo embarrassing!

I'm too lazy 🤷‍♀️
I am full of good intentions to go for a run or a cycle but when it actually comes to it I find every & any excuse I can not to do it. I hate myself for it but seemingly not enough to actually go and do whatever it was that I had intended to do.
Which is also probably why my house is a shit hole atm. (That & my 2 whirlwind under 5s & DP who is lovely but a bit unobservant on the whole washing up & tidying up front.)

Laziness/ lack of motivation

It feels like too much of a disappointment that I'm so unfit.

It's boring. Really, really boring. Apparently I am a 'low responder' - i.e. no endorphin release from exercise. It's just a chore.

I usually have a personal trainer. He’s just beautiful to look at. So, I go to the gym to admire him whilst I’m exercising. I can’t do that at the moment, so I cba motivating myself to do anything.

Gynae pain, back pain, fear of peeing myself if I jump.
DH would take the piss if I did exercise video in the lounge.
Laziness!