How do you fall in love with EXERCISE?? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

yellsa · 10-23-2010, 09:55 AM

Hey everyone
I was reading posts on here and I see a lot of people who seem to enjoy exercising. I find that absolutely AMAZING and I wonder how on earth you guys got to that point?
I have been exercising 5 days a week for about 3 weeks now and I am planning to do it for a long time but still I hate it. But i do it because i want to change my body.
So question is what make working out fun for you?

yhahmd · 10-23-2010, 09:57 AM

I get excited when I exercise because I know that, most likely, the number on the scale is going to go down tomorrow. So I just do it and get it over with. It's not as unenjoyable as it used to be, as long as I can do it in front of the TV.

caryesings · 10-23-2010, 10:13 AM

By finding exercises I like and not doing any that people tell me I "should". I love time outside so walks and hikes are a big part of my 6 hours/week of activity. Love the weightlessness of swimming so I swim laps even with the most pathetic of form (I don't put face in the water). I use the stationary bike at the gym while I watch television programs...

Rochester · 10-23-2010, 10:14 AM

I love to exercise because
~I enjoy getting hot and sweaty
~I like to see how far I can push myself physically
~I'm thrilled by that giddy energized feeling I get afterward
~I think it's amazing how exercise makes me feel so healthy and focused

You have to find a form of exercise that you like. It's really that simple. For example, I love running, but I know that there are people who would rather have pins poked into their eyeballs than go for a run.

Eliana · 10-23-2010, 10:15 AM

By setting goals! LOL! I love to reach goals with exercise and I am always amazed at how quickly that happens. I set a goal for what I want to accomplish each time i step into the gym.

Right now I want to do pull ups unassisted. This one's going to take a while. I've gone from being assisted with 135 pounds to an assist of only 60 pounds and am quite proud of that. (The less the better, working toward 0)

I set a goal of doing 100 push ups. This one's also going to take a while but right now I do 3 sets of 25.

I set goals for how much weight I lift and succeed at every session.

I set a goal to just get through spin class. Now I not only get through it but excel at it and it feels darn good!

I set a goal to run a mile...and ended up running FOUR! I think it took three months. I was so proud of myself the first time I got through one mile.

I set a goal to walk from my house to the end of a nearby walking path for a total of five miles and felt amazing when I was done.

I wanted to bike a long distance and my friend and I set out to bike 26 miles. We were so proud of ourselves when we did it!

That's how I have come to love exercise. I allow myself to feel genuine pride, not to mention the incredible effects of endorphins!

Smiling_Sara · 10-23-2010, 10:45 AM

I think it took me a few months of excersizing several days a week. You could almost call it an addiction, if I go several days now without seeing my guy, "gym" (see my sig ) I get moody and feel really sluggish. The "high" I feel once it's done is such a great feeling, and I know my body is thanking me.

sobocin · 10-23-2010, 11:41 AM

I'm seconding the "high" comment--the feeling that I did something good for my body and my limbs will hate me for a little while if it was a hard day but who cares! Because I'm getting stronger.

Finding music that gets me in the mood works (of course). And when I first started out, I tied the unpleasant feeling of exercise to the pleasant feeling of watching shows I liked on DVD, and that helped a lot--making time spent busting my butt into a reward, instead of a chore. It still took about two months for me to get to like it, though.

kat999 · 10-23-2010, 11:51 AM

Goals, goals, goals. For me, I had a set of dumbbells for literally years and years, but the larger sizes, I couldn't even begin to think about lifting ever. They followed me from move to move, from college to my first house, and through many failed exercise/weight loss regimes. I had one-pound increments in these weights all the way from 1 to 8 lbs., and I couldn't lift anything heavier than the 5s. Well, this year, I finally dedicated myself to training to be able to use the 8 pounders as if they were the lightest things I'd ever dream of lifting. I'm now almost there and can lift the 7 lbs. like they were nothing. No, I don't look bulky in the arms or anything. I'm just getting that strong, and I LOVE IT! It's amazing, and I feel really powerful.

Not that strength training has to be everybody's goal, but maybe you're a cardio fan and would like to try Couch to 5K or something. Or maybe you like swimming and want to build your endurance. Maybe it's trying to do something flexibility-wise in yoga or pilates. Whatever you find that you love, there will be ways to make it a challenge. Heck, I also love playing Wii Fit, and I am convinced all the little goals/challenges/points on the games are SUPER motivating!

JayLei · 10-23-2010, 12:45 PM

I'm a former hater too, and I admit there are still a lot of things I still hate.

I had to stop saying I hated exercise first. I mean, I would be chanting "I hate this" while I was on the treadmill. That's a mission to fail right there.

I bought a good pair of sneakers, no more blisters!
I set small goals in addition to the big one that will start my maintenance stage.
I listen to my body while I am exercising and think about how my muscles will be strong and my waist will be slim.
I bought expensive yummy smelling soap to keep in my gym bag.
I think about how I sleep better from working out.

You'll get there, it will come slowly, but one day you will realize you want to work out, and that you will miss it when you don't.

jamsk8r · 10-23-2010, 01:31 PM

I agree about starting with activities you enjoy or want to learn, that can be used as a workout. Setting goals is another big one that keeps me going back for more...I love setting fitness goals, for that next big lifting milestone, a longer distance run than I've done before, or some group fitness event that I think would be fun to try. I would add finding friends and a social network, either online or in person, folks that are doing what you are and can help keep you motivated, cheer your small successes along the way, or give you a kick in the behind when you need it (we all do, from time to time). You might find that here, but also check out local clubs, group events, and specialty gyms or arenas (if that applies to your current interests). As you get more and more fit, you'll also find that exercise and just life in general get easier to enjoy. If walking up a flight of stairs leaves you with lungs burning and knees feeling like they're busted, or you can't play a game of ball with your kids, it's hard to imagine ever enjoying exercise. But as you get more fit, and the weight comes off, everything physical gets easier to enjoy, whether it's exercise or play, or a combination of the two.

silentarctic · 10-23-2010, 06:43 PM

I think you need to identify what motivates you. As with many people here, numbers, and specific goals are very motivating to me.

I love cardio machines that tell me how many calories I am burning per minute, the distance, allow me to check my heart rate without actually doing math and can see that I am in-the-zone at a glance so to speak. I have learned to turn the things i CAN'T do into motivations. I will, I swear someday be able to get up from downward dog properly instead of having to widen my stance, I will continue to strive to do the Plank for prolonged periods of time. I make these little goals for myself and congratulate myself when I get closer to accomplishing them.

I am a introvert but a people person, for me going to aerobics and yoga classes is not only a physical thing it is VERY much a social thing, afew of my friends and coworkers go, we all encourage each other to go, we talk about it before, and after it is a common bond. I am a person that thrives on common bonds even though I also like to sit at home watching DVD's. Also I set a weekly date with a friend to workout one day a weekend at the gym its quality time we spend together, we crank up tunes we talk as we walk to and from the gym. Its something positive in our lives to do together and that is a motivator to me.

I love to dance, to groove, to move to music, so whether it is that my aerobics instructor has impecable taste in music, or that I pick songs that make my heart soar when I'm doing cardio by myself activities where there are music motivates me.

I love basketball, i'm not so much of a runner but I'll run to try and play defense even though I probably shouldn't. I loved playing in high school and I'm trying to casually get back into it now. Again thats also a social thing for me.

I'm also a day dreamer so walking ? If i'm in a warm comfy place whether its outside in the winter or on a treadmill or a indoor track in the winter, I can daydream guilt free, I mean I'm excercising so its not like its totally self indulgent time

So I guess its taking things you love, and doing them, OR pairing up the things you love with the excercise. The you associate the excercise with the things/people that you love and.. it becomes something that you love as well.

At least thats how it is for me, I'm hardly what you'd call super active (aerobics 3x a week, yoga once a week, gym once a week, and sometimes a game of basketball...) but that activity level is getting comfortable for me

I'm concious to make sure that I appreciate that I am LUCKY to be able to do all that. And I phased it all in gradually, first the aerobics, then the yoga, the the basketball and now 1 gym day a weekend

katkitten · 10-23-2010, 09:05 PM

I'm a former hater turned lover of exercise. For me, I had to find out what I liked to do. At first, I was trying EVERYTHING. Step aerobics, circuit training, walking the local bridges, hiking, biking, jogging, dancing...I realized I love dancing and hiking so I started with that. The more I did it, the more I WANTED to do it. Eventually, if you do it long enough, you associate the act with the endorphin high that you get afterwards. At that point, exercise is a little addictive and you also begin to enjoy more variety in TYPES of exercise as well. At least that was my experience. But it does take a couple months or so.
I also agree with the goals point. Walking on the treadmill bores the heck outta me and, for some reason, i cant focus on the tv or a book while i do it. Now I love my treadmill workouts because I just focus on continually pushing myself and varying the speed and incline. I make goals like "i will walk at a 12% incline for 5 minutes at 3 mph. and then when I accomplish that I recover at a lower incline and then I say "let's try for 6 minutes!" It makes me feel like an athlete in training and it is SO amazing how fast your cardiovascular health can improve!

Horo · 10-24-2010, 02:27 AM

I found things I enjoy and think are fun. Riding my bike, jogging with my dogs, hula hooping (with a 3 lb weighted hoop), using my big pink stability ball, jump-roping, using my stationary bike with music I like, dancing, etc. all turned out to be activities that are fun to me.

I still do exercises that aren't so thrilling to me- namely exercises with my 10 lb hand weights, situps, pushups, and the like- but the thrill in those is being happy when it's over.

Also, the endorphin rush one gets afterward makes all of the exercises more enjoyable to me.

pageta · 10-24-2010, 11:36 AM

I used to hate exercise because I felt obligated to do it to a certain intensity. I loved exercise when I was pregnant because I could just walk and not feel guilty about not running because I wasn't supposed to run. I've continued exercising, and I've continued walking, and I love it. I do a brisk walk, a tad over 15 min mile, and I go for an hour. I love being outside, and I enjoy my walk. I don't have to make the effort to push myself to go harder - I just go longer to make up for it. I would much rather walk for an hour than run for 20 minutes.

Sonata · 10-25-2010, 10:06 PM

Exercise is more fun for me than it ever was because now I am not beholden to anyone but myself. I go jogging at whatever pace I darn well feel like, the wind in my hair, music in my ears, and just let my mind wander. It's all about mind control, and I have a very active imagination.