I've been exercising for a while now and I've noticed something. I'm starting to enjoy it. I'm either on the treadmill and listening to music straight after breakfast or I'm exercising with my husband and talking. I'm starting to enjoy both times and it seems almost therapeutic. I'm finding that I actually look forward to exercise and miss it on my days off. Yet with most blogs I read, the person usually talks about having to force themselves to exercise. Is there anyone that feels the way I do? Is enjoying exercise normal?
You are not alone, believe me. Your body was made to move and it enjoys being challenged. You have to find a balance because if you challenge it too hard you will get injuries or not enjoy yourself. But it sounds like you're riding the wave and enjoying the benefits of exercise.
When people don't enjoy exercise it's because they're doing it for the wrong reasons. They think they have to punish their body for being fat, or burn x-amount of calories. When exercise becomes punitive it's not enjoyable. When you put too much pressure on your body to burn it can backfire.
I really focus on exercising for the purpose of feeling good. I like to feel oxygen moving throughout my body. I like to feel my muscles work, and I like to feel the stretch. I enjoy being outdoors and feeling the fresh air on my face. I enjoying running to hit a tennis ball or going on a smooth empty stretch of road with my bike. When you focus on the positive aspects you get the most benefits out of exercise. When you focus on the hurt, the pain, the burn of calories, and making up for last night's indulgence then yea, exercise sucks!
I love exercise. It's "me" time, gets rid of my anxiety and makes me feel good afterwards.
Oh, and it helps keep the weight off too and makes you look nice.
I wish I realized I enjoyed it sooner.
I am surprised at just how far you can push your body. I exercise twice a day most days and no injuries yet. The best advice is to listen to your body. Some days it will just say "no". Then, you rest.
You are not alone, believe me. Your body was made to move and it enjoys being challenged. You have to find a balance because if you challenge it too hard you will get injuries or not enjoy yourself. But it sounds like you're riding the wave and enjoying the benefits of exercise.
When people don't enjoy exercise it's because they're doing it for the wrong reasons. They think they have to punish their body for being fat, or burn x-amount of calories. When exercise becomes punitive it's not enjoyable. When you put too much pressure on your body to burn it can backfire.
I really focus on exercising for the purpose of feeling good. I like to feel oxygen moving throughout my body. I like to feel my muscles work, and I like to feel the stretch. I enjoy being outdoors and feeling the fresh air on my face. I enjoying running to hit a tennis ball or going on a smooth empty stretch of road with my bike. When you focus on the positive aspects you get the most benefits out of exercise. When you focus on the hurt, the pain, the burn of calories, and making up for last night's indulgence then yea, exercise sucks!
My main motivation with exercise was the health benefits and every time I exercised I liked the feeling of getting stronger. But now it seems I'm enjoying it too. I definitely don't do it just to burn calories etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IanG
I love exercise. It's "me" time, gets rid of my anxiety and makes me feel good afterwards.
Oh, and it helps keep the weight off too and makes you look nice.
I wish I realized I enjoyed it sooner.
I am surprised at just how far you can push your body. I exercise twice a day most days and no injuries yet. The best advice is to listen to your body. Some days it will just say "no". Then, you rest.
I can really understand your reasoning for liking exercise. When I exercise alone, it really does feel like 'me' time. Thank you for the advice about when to rest.
I started walking in October and after about a week I realized I loved it. I quickly moved up to walking almost everyday. Bad idea. I started getting bad pains in my knee and foot. After I saw the Dr she told me I had degenerative arthritis in both. I was so depressed knowing I couldn't walk nearly as often. I miss it unbelievably. It was almost like a drug. I had to get that walk in. I miss the fresh air, the sun, the feeling of knowing I'm doing something healthy for myself, the peace and being off in my own world with the music blaring.
Last edited by Jesslan Rose; 12-02-2014 at 02:26 PM.
@VioletDolphin83 – I’m very happy for you for finding this happiness when exercising! I used to exercise more often but now I have on and offs periods – sometimes I just feel pumped to workout and sometimes I feel very lazy. I only wish I had more moments when there’s that desire to exercise. Now I exercise 1-2 times weekly which is not enough – I need at least 3 days weekly to get some kind of improvements.
I have to force myself to take days off. I love everything about exercise. I used to hate it, but that was when I wasn't doing it on my terms. Finding activities I liked really helped.
I love exercise. It's "me" time, gets rid of my anxiety and makes me feel good afterwards.
Oh, and it helps keep the weight off too and makes you look nice.
I wish I realized I enjoyed it sooner.
I am surprised at just how far you can push your body. I exercise twice a day most days and no injuries yet. The best advice is to listen to your body. Some days it will just say "no". Then, you rest.
^^^^ this exactly!! every word!
i love my gym time...it's my ME time, no students, no kids, no house chores etc....i've also found that i can push myself very hard...i know when i've reached my limit though, when i dread going in for that hard workout....i know i need to back off a little or switch it up because i never want to dread having to put my body through that
It took me awhile to find a work out I liked, but let me say, I've finally done it and I love it!!!
My motivation for starting to work out was several fold, but a lot to do withy husband who's training to be a Cop. I used to go with him on everything, but I hated it. I hate weight lifting, did that a few more the with him and just never warmed up to it. We also did a lot of hiking up hill, and I liked it better than weight lifting but didn't love it. We ended up stopping our routines every time because I killed the momentum with my conplaining, and I just wasn't motivated. I finally decided to try swimming, and its week three and I'd say I'm addicted. Now my husband can go to the gym and do his weight lifting and I can do my laps and we meet after for a soak in the hot tub. Its completely changed everything about how we work out and we've finally been able to stick to it and got four-five times a week.
And, as a bonus today, my husband decided to joine in the pool to see what I do and he was pleasently surprised. My husband is always sweet and supportive of my journey to weight loss and fitness, but he always thought I was "wimping out" a bit in the pool. Today he saw that its not the case at all.
Enjoying exercise, isn't it weird?
I miss the fresh air, the sun, the feeling of knowing I'm doing something healthy for myself, the peace and being off in my own world with the music blaring.
