At what point does exercise stop being a chore...

[winterknight]

And start becoming enjoyable?

I know it's only been a week, and I'm only walking so it really isn't that difficult, but.....

 

[Nonimus]

Fucking Hell! It's only been a week!

It stops being a chore when you change your mindset and keep the end goal in sight - plus the more regularly you exercise, the easier it becomes

 

[Jeimuzu]

Find some good music to walk to. Something with a chugging sort of beat, it keeps you moving.

Anyways, I started walking more, and while I don't see results personally - I can't spot gradual change - I do get more compliments.

I know some people who would swear to a rather unorthodox way of losing weight - Dance Dance Revolution. Might that be more fun?

 

[treanir]

I read in a pop-science magazine that it takes 21 repeated, regular actions over a reasonable length of time for something to become a habit. So give it more time.

A few tips:
- Very important: do not overtrain yourself. If you go at things too fanatically, you'll end up in pain and that's not a motivation for most people.
- Do try the music, like Jy_Star mentioned.
- Is there anyone who could go along with you?
- Find something you like doing. If walking's your thing, great, but don't do it because you think it's the only thing you can do. Find something you're feeling comfortable with.
- Perhaps you're more of a visual person. Write down what you did in a notebook. Any way will do: schematics, diary-form, whatever. You could write on your experiences. It will also help you to find what you like doing.
- Don't overdo it. Did I already say that? Well, it bears repeating.

Good luck

 

[james1200]

if you're jogging (and only jogging or another aerobic type exercise), the endorphins kick in around the one half hour mark...jogging is a lot like getting high, at least for me. listen to the chav above and stick wit it.

 

[Nonimus]

I know some people who would swear to a rather unorthodox way of losing weight - Dance Dance Revolution. Might that be more fun?

Did you have to put that image in my head? The lad needs a good boot-camp instructor - push-ups into sweaty socks, jogging endlessly around a muddy pitch at midnight in the pouring rain n'shit.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Did you have to put that image in my head? The lad needs a good boot-camp instructor - push-ups into sweaty socks, jogging endlessly around a muddy pitch at midnight in the pouring rain n'shit.

That would probably work quicker, but I'm not convinced that's the sort of plan he'd find enjoyable.

 

[Nonimus]

That would probably work quicker, but I'm not convinced that's the sort of plan he'd find enjoyable.

Don't make me get my cane n' whistle out now y'hear?

 

[winterknight]

That would probably work quicker, but I'm not convinced that's the sort of plan he'd find enjoyable.

I don't find ANY sort of physical activity enjoyable. That's the problem.

The only reason I'm doing it at all is because I hate how I look just as much.

And no, being in my situation there really isn't anything else I can do or anyone who can do it with me.

 

[slobone]

Congrats, wk, glad you got started. The simple answer is -- when you start getting in better shape and it's not such hard work.

I love long walks because I can think about whatever I want to. Plans, fantasies, speculations, math theorems, plots for novels... stuff I never get time to think about any other way.

 

[Jeimuzu]

I don't find ANY sort of physical activity enjoyable. That's the problem.

The only reason I'm doing it at all is because I hate how I look just as much.

And no, being in my situation there really isn't anything else I can do or anyone who can do it with me.

Ring someone and walk with them, and chat all the way. It won't make the walk enjoyable, it'll do something much much much more practical - it'll make you forget that it's exercise. When it becomes a normal part of your daily routine rather than something you have to make a conscious decision to do, that's when you really start dropping the pounds.

And I suspect the main reason you don't find any physical activity enjoyable is more because you're not used to it than because your mindset generally considers it abhorrent. So when it becomes part of your routine, things start to really come together.

You may wish to drink more water, too, if you don't already. I drink coke, but I used to drink much more than I do, and a lot of that has now been substituted for very weak Orange Squash. It just makes you feel generally healthier.

I wish I still knew people who played football to pass the time, that weren't in the break-your-legs division of the Sunday Leagues. I'm rather attached to my limbs, but I'd love to play the sport again. I used to be quite good at it, but I was never fit enough for it. Still aren't, but I'd like to be.

 

[winterknight]

Ring someone and walk with them, and chat all the way. It won't make the walk enjoyable, it'll do something much much much more practical - it'll make you forget that it's exercise. .

Ring who?

I don't KNOW anyone. THAT'S why there isn't anyone I can do it with.

 

[luckotheirish]

...when you start doing it because you truly want to, not because you feel you have to.

When you start to look and feel better, you'll want it more.

Success is its own reward.

 

[luminum]

I make it a point to always do something that's interesting or involves my friends. For me, swim team sucked, but it was worht it because I loved my teammates. Now, all the good cardio I do during fencing is hardly my motivation, though it is a perk. I love the sport, I love the idea, and my clubmates all make it worth going. The activity is a good time, the exercise is just a part of it. Like rock climbing with friends or playing some frisbess or something.

 

[james1200]

Ring who?

I don't KNOW anyone. THAT'S why there isn't anyone I can do it with.

i'm telling you...u need to work your way up to jogging...walking isn't intense enough to get those endorphins going. and like whats-his-name said above, listen to some intense music while you're doing it...it makes the time go by like that!

 

[spreadeagle]

Set small daily goals and reward yourself when they're achieved - eg - challenge yourself to reach the next lampost within 20 seconds, then do the following one in 15 seconds.

Exercise can often seem a chore if you separate it out from the rest of life rather than making it an activity that happens when you're doing something else. So rather than walking just for the sake of walking you could be walking home from work - or walking to do the shopping and carrying it home.

If you stop using mechanical appliances to do domestic chores, then not only do you burn more calories but you get the job done and help save the planet at the same time. This is the way the majority of the world'd population live in countries where obesity is not epidemic.

 

[winterknight]

The road from work to home is sadly WAY too dangerous to walk along.

 

[Scrub]

It won't stop feeling like a chore until you really want to exercise vs. feeling it is something you have to do.

 

[davy]

you don't know this: but you and i are in a very similar boat (physically and emotionally)

here's what i did:

i started by riding my bike for 45 minutes at a constant-somewhat-quick-pace.

once i got bored with that i found a nearby three story building that i went up and down for 45 minutes

then i got bored of that too and i switched to weights and got a book to show me what to do
whenever i get bored with one of these exercises, i switch to another one

i think it's important that you know this to: if you don't control what you eat, you won't achieve the body that you might want.

i've been doing this (and newer exercises) religiously for three years and i'm still fat 'cuz i don't watch what i eat.

i keep doing it because my anxiety and depression levels have dropped waaaaay down.

i hate to be the bearer of bad news; but when i discovered that i stopped losing weight, i very nearly gave up on exercise. and if you know it's coming and you're willing to make the changes to your life, you might be able to stick with it.

and don't work on the diet change until after you've made exercise a routine part of your day.

 

[Swellegant]

As far as I can tell, exercise is always a chore. But we do our chores like good little boys, anyway, don't we? We wash and sweep and scrub and launder in order to keep our houses nice; if we didn't, we'd be living in septic pigsties, wouldn't we? It's the same with the body, you do your tiresome chores so your body is nice for yourself and, more importantly, visitors.

Of course, I don't do housework, either. And though you can hire someone to come in and clean your house for you, you still have to do the exercising yourself (wouldn't it be cool if you could pay someone for that, too? Like they'd take over your body while you sleep?)

But I do find that having music along makes the effort less dreary... my iPod was a seriously good investment (though an FM radio probably would have done just as well). The eye-candy at the gym is another good motivator. Still boring and tedious, though.