Quote:
Originally Posted by horsey
I made myself do an hour of cardio, usually I can only do 1/2 hour before I just can't stand it anymore.
There is part of your answer right there. You "made" yourself do the cardio. TV is something we do when we don't care. It's a mindless activity that requires little effort, and goes by quickly because our brains tune out a little bit even if we are really into the show. Mind you, I'm not bad mouthing tv. I am probably the most obsessive tv watcher out there (even during the summer I have a show to watch every night!!), but part of the enjoyment of watching is not being totally engaged by anything.
When we work out, our body is in motion, so our mind feels the need to pay attention as well (safety mechanism so we don't fall on our face on the treadmill, which is not an issue with the couch). Add to that the feeling that you are making yourself do something, automatically says to your brain "I don't want to be doing this" and it thinks that the whole time, making every minute agony.
I had the same problem when I started working out, and found that if I distract my brain the workout goes much more quickly. I started by playing DDR, and it was a video game, so time flew by (ok, not at first, but as I got better). Then I found Turbojam, which I really enjoyed watching and doing, so most of the time, that didn't seem that bad. Now, I have a gym with TVs, so I can watch that while I work out, or I bring music, in case nothing is on, and that distracts my brain so I don't mind working out so much.