I HATE WORKING OUT! I know I need to workout to help lose weight and be healthy but I hate doing it. I have a stationary bike that I try to ride about 30 minutes every day, but I get bored with that so fast and then I slowly start to slip off my diet. I need to keep working out to motivate myself. I have a kick boxing DVD and yoga DVD, plus I do some work out from this one show on T.V. But I get bored with it and I never feel like working out. I tell myself " I will work out today at such and such time" but then I never do.

What do you do to keep yourself working out and how do you make it fun to the point that you WANT to work out?

Most importantly you have to find a workout that you enjoy. I can't make myself do something I hate even if I know it is good for me, that goes from exersize to food to most anything.

I would just experiment with different workouts. I keep buying different workout dvds trying to find my favorite but I always go back to my Taebo. I really enjoy it and it works for me. Something else that works for me, I do my workout first thing when I get up. If I don't there is a very good chance I won't do it, there is always something else that has to be done.

Good luck and I really hope you find something you like to do, enjoying yourself makes a world of difference.
Jen

I don't want to work out.

Well, that's not totally true. I love weight training. But I don't want to do cardio. Ever. I hate it. But I just do it. It's worth it to me to suffer through it in order to have a strong, healthy body. I'd rather be thin (and miserable a few hours a week) than go back to being clinically obese (and miserable 24 hours a day).

Sorry I can't give you more practical advice.

Oh, but I did buy an iPod. That helps with the boredom a little.

Yup, the two components are: (a) Find an exercise you tolerate fairly well, if not actually enjoy and (b) when you still don't feel like doing it, do it anyway.

I don't really like stationery bikes unless they are recumbant, and even then my tolerance has its limits. I HATE treadmills. I despise traditional aerobics classes. I like ellipticals OK, up to a point, so I do that a lot of the time when I go to my fitness center. I have some Leslie Sansone videos I like OK, as well as a Susan Powter. What I really like there, though, is actually covering ground on the indoor track there, or even better, walking outside. I still wouldn't want to do that all the time, though -- mixing it up is not only healthier but keeps the boredom away.

I'm with Kate in that I actively enjoy weight training -- as well as yoga -- but cardio will never be something I lovelovelove. Still, as I progress and get fitter, it becomes less onerous, and I start wanting to challenge myself. After you experiment with different kinds of exercise, try to adopt a constant-improvement mindset. If you always exercise with just the idea of "burning calories" to "lose weight" you WILL get bored quickly. Rather, pay attention to your body -- how you don't get winded quite as fast, how you can go further this week than you did last week, how you move through your day differently as a result of being a little more fit.

Most times I don't mind exercising but there are those days when I just don't feel like it (like today) but I just force myself to do it. And I can honestly say that everytime I exercise by about 10 minutes in, I feel so much better.

As far as the boredom, it's just a matter of finding a workout that works for you. I've heard Turbo Jam is a lot of fun and I've heard that from quite a few people. I love my Billy Bootcamp DVDs. And maybe give the Sweating to the Oldies tapes a try. It has great music and maybe that will help with you not being so bored. Hope I was of some help.

When I was 260 lbs I loathed exercise. I joined a gym, and got help. I was really honest with the instructor, and she gave me loads of things to do that were quite fun, and in short sharp amounts, so I wasn't on any one thing for a long period of time.

Then I joined a gym closer to home and did the same thing. This instructor keeps changing my workouts, and now I am a lot stronger, have more stamina and am looking and feeling better, I enjoy exercise.

My big tip is approach it with a positive attitude. If you keep teeling yourself it's boring and you hate it, it will feel even more boring and hateworthy. My favourite exercise is swimming and I can do that for hours, it's my time, and I love it, especially in winter!

It helps to workout (or even talk about working out) with someone to keep you accountable. I meet my husband every day after work at the gym. That way on days I don't want to go he makes and and vise versa. There are also threads all around here where you post your exercise or points etc and it's like a little challenge. It helps keep me on track too.

I vote with the "mix-it-up" crowd. that way you don't have time to get bored of any one workout.

As for making yourself start? You just have to do it. I work out at least 30 minutes a day, every single day. Usually during the week I either run or elliptical on my lunch break, but even if I don't have a chance to go to the gym, when I get home I do something. The other day I was very tired and didn't even get home from work until 8 p.m., so I did 30 minutes of yoga. I felt very relaxed and refreshed when I was done. It doesn't all have to be high-impact, mega-sweat.

I agree with what you all are saying. Like Kate and funniegrrl I much prefer weights over cardio, but I can handle the cardio if I have some good upbeat music and as long as I never have to go near a stationary bicycle. I do like some of the aerobic classes my gym offers, but lately they're not at the right time for me.

For awhile I met my husband at the gym after I got off work (now his scheduled is changed) and we still go together on Saturdays. I like that my gym is right on the junction of 2 bike paths. In the 8 months or so it's warm/light enough I have the option of walking/running or biking instead of indoor stuff while still having the locker room/showers of the gym. Makes it harder to find an excuse. The one thing I do know is that if I go home from work first, I never get out to the gym, and even though I promise myself I'll workout at home, I almost never do. Okay, so that's 2 things. I have tapes/dvds both cardio and weights, but somehow I just never get to it. The gym is the answer for me, and worth what it costs.

Just from my personal experience - I did the gym thing for a while, but it was hard for me to go because commute, blah blah blah, all the typical excuses one makes for these things. I tried videos, and I did okay with them. Didn't do so well with stationary exercise. Recently tried the WATP videos however and really like them. So I think, just try different gym situations, try different machines, try different videos, and eventually you'll find something that works for you. I don't always want to work out, but I usually feel really good afterwards so I try to think of my post-exercise good feelings. Also, I tell my fiance ahead of time the days I plan to work out and he is pretty good at reminding me about it or telling me I shouldn't give up on it and that I will feel better afterwards and all that.

Let me qualify my post above - if I had to drive very far to a gym, I flat wouldn't go. But.... the gym is about 5 minutes from work, making it about 10 minutes from home (i.e. work is in between). I live in a VERY small town (<6,000 pop) so nothing is very far away! The next closet gym is in the next town, about 12 miles or close to 30 minutes drive. No way would I commit to going there on a regular basis. The time commitment would be more than I want, never mind gas at recent prices.

I find that little things help me get through cardio boredom. I'll look up a couple new songs and download them to my mp3 player so I have something to look forward to. On any cardio machine, I like to play little games...like see how many steps per minute I'm taking, or try to get my heart rate above a certain number, or mix up some intervals to break up a long session. Oh, and magazines...I couldn't do it without something to read. Even if I'm working out hard enough that I can't really read, there are interesting pictures to look at!

Check out your local library or video stores for exercise vids and dvds... that way you don't have to commit much money if you don't like them.

Think outside the box. Cardio doesn't have to be a structured, scheduled event. The idea is to move more and get your heart rate up a bit and sustain it for a while.

Call some friends and throw together a flag football game. Put on your favorite CD and dance around while you sing at the top of your lungs. Go to the park and start up a game of freeze tag with all the kids. There are plenty of fun things to do that will burn calories. Start with those. What I bet you will find is that as you begin to lose weight and become more fit the more formal exercise sessions aren't nearly as daunting.

Staying interested in exercise has always been an issue for me. This time around I've started with playing squash with a friend. Raquet sports are a good option because pretty much anyone can play, and if you play with someone who is at your level or maybe a little bit better then you can have fun and a challenge. Squash is a real workout, but I always look forward to it because it's fun.

In January my friend and I are going to enrol in squash lessons so we can both learn how to play better and get the chance to play against other people. I'm also thinking of signing up for some kind of beginner dance class too, and maybe I can get a friend to come with me for that. I am way more likely to keep up with exercise if it's something social and fun. So that's my suggestion... like others have said, find something that you enjoy because then you will stick with it.