None. I enjoy exercise itself. No music, no tech, no nothing. Just a program and a timer. When I’m running, I get runner’s high. When I’m doing calisthenics, I look forward to doing advanced moves.
Exercise bike + watching something on a cheap 2016 tablet
Try different things until you find something that feels good even as an idea. Think about things you like doing and how you like them. For me, I dislike team sports and being surrounded by people in a gym setting. I like doing things on my own, preferably at home while not talking to anyone. I first start thinking about maybe enjoying a spooky story podcast while walking so I start thinking about the temperature and the things I like watching while I’m out, etc. Same for weight lifting, pilates and yoga (Those are my cyclical workouts. I get bored easily) I hype myself up in my head first and then use the “do it for five minutes” method.
I have NEVER said “Well I wish I didn’t come to yoga. This class sucked” “That lifting routine was a total waste of time. Not doing it again”
Also, having cute/neat stuff for it helps, just beware of spending habits. Did I need to buy green yoga blocks? No Do they make me Happy everytime I look how they are the exact same shade as my pothos? Yes they do.
Combine with work. Birds and stones.
Personally, I like a treadmill.
For years I planned to get one, and all the runners in my family would talk about how awful they are, how no one ever uses it once they have it, and getting outside is so much better.
I finally got the treadmill a couple months ago, and I use it several times per week. Some weeks I use it every day. It’s convenient, I can control the temperature in the room, I can watch something on my phone while I run, and I like being able to set a consistent pace.
Find sports that you actually enjoy - try out different things. In my case:
- Cardio: running fucking sucks, swimming is boring as shit. Cycling, on the other hand, is pretty fun. Feels like flying when everything aligns.
- Strength: lifting weights at the gym is doable, but boring. Climbing? Hell yeah, give me more routes where I have to tie myself into a knot while pulling up all my weight with my fingertips.
It can be an exact opposite of it for you. Or you’ll find out that team sports are the bees knees because support from other people is what you’ve been missing.
Combining fun with short-term goals is what works for me. I started playing squash 10 years ago and I love it. I play 3 times a week and that takes care of most of my cardio. Now when I lift weights or do extra cardio, it is because I want to beat that guy from league, move up a division, etc. Open ended reasons like health or beauty were never enough motivation for me.
I used to hate running until one day something clicked in my brain. I just ran my second half marathon last week. One thing I learned was that of your dying from running, you’re probably going too fast and should just slow down.
My PT told me that the best exercise is the one that you can do consistently
the runner’s high maybe? seems like it’s bad for your knees though.
Honestly I find it quite enjoyable on it’s own. The more I do it, the more I just enjoy the running itself. But I tend to have some music playing and dream away a bit
music makes just about any chore more enjoyable
Work out watch star trek. By the season 4 you’ll be made of steel
Hold up. Which series? You starting with the original or with Next Generation?
For me keeping it quick helps alot. No need to be in the gym for 1.5-2 hours, especially if you can wrap up your workout in 50 minutes. I’m just there to get my reps in, no more no less.
To that end either find a split that doesn’t target as many muscle groups in 1 session. Like Push Pull Legs. Or super set as much as possible.
For finding motivation to actually do it, I tend to workout after already being productive. So clean up your room/kitchen, or code for a bit. And when that productivity train is going, keep it going. Or go immediately when coming home from work, don’t first “relax”. Keep the momentum high and tackle things of your todo list; like working out.
I chart my improvements over time and equate them to role playing game experience points
Do 20 crunches? that’s +20 xp towards constitution
Really makes it a lot easier to reframe boring tasks
I’m really not a charting guy or a numbers guy at all. I hardly write anything down if i don’t have to. A few years ago i kept reading how much people enjoy running or jogging, so i gave it a shot. I absolutely hated it, but i kept doing it to see if it clicks at some point. Suddenly i saw big leaps in improvement. I still kinda hated running, but the “leveling up” part kept me going. I bought a smartwatch, and suddenly i had numbers and graphs to back the feeling up. I got obsessed.
A few variants I like:
- Weight lifting
I like the progression. It’s cool to see the numbers go up
- Cycling
It literally just makes me feel like a kid again, just flying around at quite high speeds. I’ve recently discovered that this is also a lot of fun to do with friends
- Walking
This is the one that helped me the furthest in weight loss back when I was overweight. You can do basically unlimited amounts of it, and with a podcast or audiobook in your headphones, it doesn’t really get boring either.
I got a recumbent exercise bike, a pawn shop tv, steam deck, and a steam controller. I play whatever is loaded on my deck while I bike, usually for about 30-45 minutes at a time.
Right now I am playing Fall Guys while I exercise, as it keeps me entertained on survival for ~10 minutes per game.
I used to hate exercise. Then, I pushed myself to do it regularly and the benefits surpassed the negative side of it by a lot. For instance, almost all my chronic pain issues are gone, so I’m saving a couple hundreds yearly on healthcare. I also feel better physically (I can move better, I have better endurance) if I’m exercising regularly compared to when I’m not. Because, let’s face it, I don’t like it, so every now and then I stop for reasons and getting into it back again is very difficult. But it’s always worth it.
The chronic pain relief by itself was enough to keep me motivated. Asthma, joint pains (hypermobility sucks!), etc are now down to manageable levels – if not completely gone.
And yeah, I don’t enjoy it and sometimes look for excuses to slack off. And right on cue, my knee pain starts flaring up after a couple weeks. Followed by the rest of the body.
I was going to say exactly this. When I have to take a break from exercising and need to get back to it it’s not easy, but I remind myself of all the benefits that come with exercising and how much better it made me feel and that gives me the motivation to get started again. The easiest way for me to force myself to exercise on a day I really don’t feel motivated to do it (or I’ve been out of it for a while) is by putting on my sport outfit and readying whatever I need for my exercises, telling myself I can still change my mind and not do it whenever I want. But by the time I got changed and everything is ready I think “I might as well just do it”.
And it just really takes that one time to fully remind myself of how good it feels afterwards and it gives me the motivation to keep going. Sometimes I’ll end up enjoying it so much I can’t wait for my next exercise session and no, it’s not the actual exercising myself I enjoy, but how I feel afterwards.
find an activity that you legitimately enjoy. that’s it
still trying to get laid daily as a form of exercise…
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.
well thats not going to happen.
activity causes pain and exhaustion, both things i am very much not fond of.
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
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?
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.
This is the way.
Hiking. I don’t try to climb mountains,just get out and move. The fact I have to watch my footing and have a chance of seeing (or at least hearing) wildlife helps distract from the fact exercising sucks.
I use mental tricks as well. I had to bribe myself to get started. “Look there’s a trail near that takeout place you like, if you hike you can get takeout!” If I run out of breath due to uphill terrain, I’m not stopping because I can’t keep going, it’s clearly to look at this neat bird/bug/plant. If I have an off day and need to turn back early, I remind myself that I’ve already won by getting off the couch.
