I have never liked to exercise, either, but I do like the way I feel when I'm finished. It's a love/hate relationship.
My favorite exercise is Jazzercise because it covers all body parts and includes cardio and weight/toning. Unfortunately, we just moved recently and I can't find a class at the right time for me. So, now I go to the gym in the morning and incorporate the things I learned from Jazzy into my morning regimen. I alternate the days between cardio workout and weight workout.
What about walking? Running? Do you have a dog that has to go outside? You can both get some exercise!
I know there are more at-home exercises to do, but by the time I get home, it's 7:00 or later. Too tired to do anything at home. Hopefully, others will have more suggestions for you.
I'm not much help, but I thought these few suggestions could get you on the way.
I used to HATE HATE HATE cardio. I hated the discomfort, I hated to sweat, I hated being out of breath. In December I got a treadmill. I started walking. Every day. As much as possible. Then one day I was listening to The Black Eyed Peas and walking wasn't fast enough so I started to run. Very slowly for a very short time. After that I couldn't do a walking workout without at least a little running. Then I started interval training. Now I'm hooked. I love it all- the sweat, the discomfort, the loss of breath. My body just took to it - and this is at 220 lbs.
So my advice to you is (cliche) just do it. Hate it, but do it anyway. Set a goal for yourself- for me it's to run a 12 minute mile by April 1. Work toward it with devotion and drive. Before you know it your body will become addicted and on the days you don't workout you'll feel like crap. You'll crave the oxygen and the energy that it gives you. It's so shocking, but it really is true. Give it about 4-6 weeks of 5-6 days a week of intense (70- 80% MHR) for 20+ minutes and I can virtually guarantee your body will scream for more if you quit.
Good luck. You can do it.
Do you feel a little stiff first thing in the mornings and need a good stretch to wake up? I do, so I started looking for some stretching/pilates DVDs. I found a couple that only take 20 mins. and have started doing those each day. They make you feel good, energized and the 20 mins. flys by. I'm slowing adding some weights.
When the weather is warm(er) I love to take the dog for a brisk walk and just be outside in the fresh air, admiring people's gardens, looking at the homes, etc. Sometimes I throw the Frisbee with him.
Remember that as we age we lose bone density (.5% per year) so our bones become more brittle and prone to breaks. Exercise will keep your bones strong. Think of exrecise as ME time.
I started doing the healthy eating thing at the beginning of January, and knew that I would have to start exercising. I now go to the gym three times a week, and swim twice a week. As the other posters have said, you just have to do it. As you do more I find you start to enjoy it, and miss it if something happens and you can't do your normal work out.
I try to think of it as my play time, a time I can just be me. I am really lucky that I have a gym at work, which is free, and a great personal trainer at the gym who has a crazy sense of humour, but is sensitive as well, he makes me feel like I fit in, even though I am twice the size of most of the other girls.
If you hate the thought of traditional exercises, do something different. Dance like a crazy person to the radio, or take lessons in something you've wanted to do but never had the guts to try like kickboxing or salsa. I've been buying workout DVDs lately that aren't the traditional kind - belly dancing, hula, even ballet. I enjoy doing them because I'm learning something new, my husband is fascinated that I might do a demo for him some day, and I can laugh at my own lack of coordination.
Music is a great motivator..get into making special workout mixes for running or cardio work. I also listen to audio books on long walks and it makes me want to walk longer to get to the end of the chapter, tape side, etc. Magazines are great for elliptical machines or stairmasters to get you caught up on celebrity gossip or new workout tricks. Once you get into the routine of working out you'll find your own ways to make it fun but for now, just lace up your sneaks and DO IT.
I tend to walk mostly because it is summer here I love to walk after dark - my area is very safe and I have a big dog. I also do anything as long as it is 30 min solid exercise eveyday I feel that if I have 1 day off I will start slacking off. I have a mini trampoline and a areobic step for indoors watching TV. I dont have a high fitness level as yet but I am feeling better.
Thankyou for your replies ................BUT??????
Thankyou everyone for the replies but to be honest I am not MOTIVATED!!!
I suppose I need a good kick in the BUTT(sorry).
I can't seem to find the motivation..........and I know I need to exercise if I wanna beat this bulge.................
Help Please!!
Maybe I am just plain to lazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Try using a program like FitDay. Maybe it will help when you see how many calories you burn by working out. Actually, it lets you track everything you do, even housework if you want so you can see all of those numbers adding up. It makes me feel like a slug on the days that my calories are at the base level from not doing anything extra. That helps motivate me.
I don't know if this will help you but it did me. I HATE exercise and I was bound and determined that I was not going to. But I picked up the Walk Away the Pounds book by Leslie Sansone and read the reasons why exercise is good. I realized that all the things that I hated about exericise would help my body. And I also didn't realize how much it help with the disease we can get as we age. The dvd for the one mile walk came with it and it is really pretty easy to do. Now I look forward to getting up in the morning and doing it. But on the days that I don't want to exercise I just grab the book and skim throught it and it gets me motivated to exercise.
Thankyou for your replies ................BUT??????
I appreciate your advice everyone.
But to tell you thr truth I am still struggling to get off my butt and exercise.
I need to find the motivation and will power!!!
Maybe I am just to lazy.
Don't think about enjoying it (yet). Make an appointment to just show up and do it for the next 30 days. I know it will be pretty awful, but concentrate on how you feel after and congratulate yourself for doing something so good for yourself - that mental high five will become its own reward. I don't think many people actually enjoyed exercise when they first started, that comes later. But it does take 30 days to make a habit - tie on your sneaks, pop in some music or a book on tape and do a brisk walk for 30 minutes every day now that the weather is getting nicer. Consider it quality time with yourself and get moving. Believe me, your body craves to move but your mind has control right now. Give your body a chance. 30 minutes for 30 days - concentrate on just showing up. Then come tell us how you are doing. I think you will be hooked.
Don't get hung up on "offical" exercise. Instead, plan something that you have to move to do each day, e.g., clean out that shelf in the garage, sweep the driveway, heck, cleaning out your closet is better than sitting on the couch! Once your house and yard are perfect, you'll probably find your heart is a little fitter, and the idea of walking around the block is a little less daunting.
Being paraplegic, it would be really easy for me to say that I "can't" exercise. The truth is - I can exercise, just not at a high intensity level (not enough muscle groups to really get the heart pumping). Some "experts" will tell you that if you are not exercising at 80%, you are wasting your time. I can assure you that, at least in my case, ITS JUST NOT TRUE. I exercise at 60 -65% and my pulse and blood pressure have dropped as a result. ANYTHING that doesn't injure you is better than nothing.