I used to hike. You can get really fit from hiking or even just going for a walk every day.
Nowadays I don’t exercise because even a shower is exercise. Pro tip: don’t get Lyme disease and Long Covid together.
Cycling/Spinning
It’s usually low impact on the knees & backs of perrenial beginners like me. If I’m stationary cycling, I can sneak in my favorite entertainment to make the time fly by.
Last time I enjoyed myself doing exercise, I probably played table tennis with a tennis ball and hands as paddles. The hard part is finding people who have time when you do, and who are on a similar skill+fitness level as you (picking silly games like the one I described helps).
So yeah, I’m not getting much exercise, either.
I enjoy the social aspect of running. Parkruns, Strava, meeting friends and getting coffee after etc.
By doing physical activity that’s intrinsically rewarding.
If you enjoy bike riding, go ride your bike, and don’t even bother thinking about it as exercise. Enjoy, and get into it.
The fitness part is just a side effect.
find an activity that you legitimately enjoy. that’s it
I’ve never enjoyed anything at all in my life.
So we need to harness your disdain and hatred and work with that…
what do you hate most?
Opinionated software.
Perfect, Grok it is
Get a sword and hit things.
And ideally also something that doesn’t require too much preparation. If it takes a long time to prepare for or get back after you are usually less likely to do it.
Well, shit.
I can emphasize.
I only found out with past 40 why that is, because I am a medically very curious case. Happy to have found out it’s not my fault but it still sucks the same.
wasn’t trying to be flippant or trivialize this but at the core it’s what is needed
I found that trying to distract or occupy my mind while trying to work wasn’t enough, for example watching a show or listening to music while using my row erg as a primary workout. Still found myself counting down the time and minutes
I climb shit. In the gym and outside. It feeds my inner child, it’s fun, it’s exciting, and it involves problem solving so stimulates the mind. Rowing and biking are now secondary exercises or activities to support my climbing fitness and ability. I find doing them with less intensity, less often, and as support (shorter duration) makes it easier for me to digest because I know it will better me for what I truly enjoy. Along the way you just may find yourself growing to accept, like or love something.
Kinda gotta find workable angles that suit your mind and goals. eventually you’ll have tricked yourself into becoming a healthy bastard who has some fun along the way
Sorry, I totally wasn’t trying to be dismissive either, but I think it came across like that. When depression gets bad it’s just hard to find anything enjoyable, and sticking with it anyway is real hard. I’ll just have to keep at it until something clicks I guess.
Not the person you replied to, but I’ve also experienced depression. Just let me add that exercise doesn’t “feel good” either during or after a workout, but once it becomes part of the weekly routine, yes, let me repeat that- routine - the impact on mental health starts to show as well. It’s tricky because it’s not so much a “positive feeling”, instead, it takes the edge off the blues and anxiety.
I’ve also noticed the thoughts that swim in my head all the time tend to be more positive after a workout. This feels completely out of my control, if you ever tried meditation and found it really hard to clear your mind of thoughts you’ll know what I mean. But, for example, immediately after exercise I have a tendency to think or remember positive moments in my life or positive people. Worst case scenario, if I was on a trend of self sabotaging thoughts or constantly going over resentment and painful memories, those thoughts are likely to stop after a workout for a while. If I really want to I can of course think of whatever I want, but soon again I’ll catch myself with some positive thoughts.
My two cents. Hopefully this adds up.
The other side of the coin is that it should be something that you do on a regular schedule with other people who you enjoy being around.
Fun and accountability are the keys.
Trial a load of sports. One will click.
This is the way.
I hike/walk daily with my dog. ~8km per day, although some days are shorter, some are longer.
is your dog Clifford?
No, not last I checked… Why?
still trying to get laid daily as a form of exercise…
This is what I did. I joined a football league for fatties and it’s helping keep me active whilst not being massively outclassed by people younger and/or fitter than me 🤣 there’s no pressure to be ‘good’ at it, as the weightloss aspect of the game is more important.
Holy crap, How does one find something like that
well thats not going to happen.
activity causes pain and exhaustion, both things i am very much not fond of.
Soccer
Embrace the Suck.
Just fuck my body up until I’m exhausted to a limit I haven’t been before. I like that
Many of us do not.
Yeah, I find the best approach for me is to workout as long as it’s still fun. As long as you’re trying to do more than the day before, you’ll make progress, if that’s what you want.
When I’m not feeling it, I just tell myself that if I start and I’m not feeling it, I can leave, but by then I’m invested and looking forward to it.
I lost 30lbs and doubled my muscle mass by doing a gentle calisthenics routine to failure every night while watching the whole series for King of the Hill. I found it kept me busy enough to not notice how much I hated exercise but it wasn’t distracting enough to need to stop and watch.
What did this routine look like?
20 pushups, 20 crunches, 20 squats, 20 good morning’s, 30-60 second plank, 30 second deep breathing stretch. Repeat this routine until you can’t keep proper form then stop for the day. Takes maybe 15min to do 4 reps
I greatly appreciate your comments and clarification, and I don’t mean this in a rude way but… that’s not gentle for most of us 😅
That’s perfectly cool, I started this whole working at a pretty lift heavy job so I had already had some muscles to work with. Do the same rotation, just do 5 each. When of feels like it’s easy, step it up.
I’m a lifetime noodle armed gamer, if I can pull this off, you can. I believe in you.
If you’re looking for a “life hack” to make any exercise instantly enjoyable, then that’s really not going to happen.
But you sound like you’re motivated to start exercising so that’s great. You can add this in layers to make this genuinely enjoyable:
-
find something you like (for me: weight lifting and squash are fun. Running and swimming are hell)
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Decide on a fixed time (for me: 10pm every day is designated for exercise)
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Make it as simple as possible and remove as many barriers as possible (for me: I don’t sit to watch TV or play video games close to exercise time, otherwise I know I’m not going to get up again. I put on exercise clothes when I get home from work so I’m already ready when the time comes).
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Add something else that’s really enjoyable (For me: I have a TV series that I only watch when I’m in the gym. So if I want to find out what happens next, I’ll have to go to the gym tomorrow.)
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Make this routine (once you’re habituated to doing this regularly, then it stops taking will power to force yourself and is just embedded in your routine)
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Forgive yourself for missing sessions (any time you miss a session, it doesn’t matter, you’ll start making progress again any time you start exercising again)
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Make it social (some people love this and you can do exercise with someone. I personally hate that and I love the meditative solitude of exercise time)
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I use a stationary bike in front of a TV. My brain is off anyway, so I might as well put my body to work.
Another alternative is to find a sport that you enjoy, or a social group that makes the activity enjoyable.
Audiobooks.
Music is fine, but I actually find I will make more time to exercise if I’m listening to a good book.
In a similar fashion I enjoy listening to podcasts while running. I find music to in a way get filtered out by my brain after a while whereas podcasts keep me engaged. Inversely I can’t really focus on podcasts in the gym where I am switching up exercises.
Over time I’ve also optimized my listening experience by getting a pair of bone conducting headphones and a watch that can store and playback podcasts, so I don’t have to carry around my phone on runs.
This needs to be at the top. I’ve never been able to stick to a gym until I started hearing audiobooks/podcasts.
Search apartments.com or whatever for places 1-2 hour bike rides from work. Move there.
…not joking, I’m fortunate enough in that that’s what I’ve been doing. Biking/walking to work is the only way I get any exercise (even though I can work from home). In winter months/if it’s too cold or snowy I’ll use the stationary bikes our work building put in to entice people back from COVID.
I have to have a purpose to exercise (other than health I guess?) otherwise I won’t do it.
I discovered I like hitting things a while back so I go boxing regularly. These days I read some Trump news and then go take it out on a heavy bag for an hour.
