this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2024
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I dislike exercising, I often have to "parent" myself into starting, I have to fight the urge to stop several times during a session, and I almost always feel worse immediately after. Sore, tired, sweaty, or various other uncomfortableness, and I haven't found a recovery activity that erases that temporary badness.
But, my life when I'm not exercising has gotten better, and it's at least partially due to the exercise.
Well, maybe try something else. For example:
I have tried swimming and hiking, and while I can enjoy doing those activities, I fail to maintain an elevated heart rate if I'm enjoying them.
I live in a rural area, the Grocery store I use is 15+ miles up a US Hwy.with narrow/shoulders in places. I can't do errands on a bike. I haven't actually been on a normal bike in years, but on the stationary bikes at the gym, it's another scenario where I won't maintain my heart rate.
What about a local library? Fruit vendor?
I'm in a suburban/semi-rural area (some farms, and lots of single family homes), so I'm spoiled for choice, but anything that's within about 5 miles is perfect for running errands on a bicycle.
As for elevated heart rate, I guess that comes down to personality. I'm very competitive, so I like to see how fast I can do things, and very much dislike doing anything slowly. When I hike, I pass other hikers; when I cycle, I set time goals; when I swim, I try to increase the number of laps; when I lift weights, I try to increase weight or reps (I target 5-10 reps with "one in the tank"). If you're not competitive, I can see how motivating yourself could be difficult though.
There are places I could get to on a bike, but none that are currently in my routine errands. I suppose I could hit the post office on the bike.
I set time goals for my 5k treadmill sessions, but I only meet then by converting over to a pace and setting the treadmill there. I continue to increase my weights, too, though I generally don't go up until I can do an "extra" set.
I get close to the NIH recommendations and I keep pushing myself to be better, and I still dislike exercising. It's just non-optional maintenance for this shell until I can shed it.
Exercise for its own sake sucks, which is why I like replacing other things I need to do anyway with something that includes exercise. When I lift weights, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks between sets, and when I was in school, I would do pushups or situps as a study break. My first job was about 10 miles from home, so I would ride my bike 2-3x/week (we had a shower), which would take 35-45min, which was about twice what driving would take, but I'd get home and have already gotten my exercise for the day.
I honestly can't just do exercise for its own sake, it needs to be accompanied by some other activity I enjoy or need to do.
Podcasts or music are not essential to my gym experience, but they are important. My pace on the treadmill certainly suffers if I forgot my headphones.
A few weeks ago some "commedian" decided he needed to get my attention (pause playback, turn off noice cancelling, "yes?") twice for idiotidic jokes like "When are you going to be done with that machine, because there aren't any others: gestures to empty gym with only He and I".
He did pay me an appreciated comment during one of those interruptions, but overall his behavior was grating and made the session worse than average.
I haven't yet found a combination activity where I still feel like I'm getting sufficient exercise. I think combination activities work better for many people and you gotta find a way that exercise works for you, or you really won't get enough.
Gross. The biggest unwritten rule of going to the gym is you never initiate with someone wearing headphones unless it's truly an emergency.
But yeah, everyone is different, so finding an activity that works for you is super important. For me, it's crossing off other things on my list while doing an activity I dislike (e.g. I listen to podcasts and books while doing yardwork, fixing my car, commuting, exercising, etc).