Sports or recreational activities, as opposed to going to gym for the sake of exercise. The physical exercise is a part of the activity rather than the sole focus.
When gym is no fun, go out and run
I’ve never enjoyed gyms or traditional workouts, but yoga clicks with me.
Embrace the Suck.
find an activity that you legitimately enjoy. that’s it
And ideally also something that doesn’t require too much preparation. If it takes a long time to prepare for or get back after you are usually less likely to do it.
I hike/walk daily with my dog. ~8km per day, although some days are shorter, some are longer.
is your dog Clifford?
No, not last I checked… Why?
This is the way.
still trying to get laid daily as a form of exercise…
well thats not going to happen.
activity causes pain and exhaustion, both things i am very much not fond of.
Well, shit.
I can emphasize.
I only found out with past 40 why that is, because I am a medically very curious case. Happy to have found out it’s not my fault but it still sucks the same.
Trial a load of sports. One will click.
wasn’t trying to be flippant or trivialize this but at the core it’s what is needed
I found that trying to distract or occupy my mind while trying to work wasn’t enough, for example watching a show or listening to music while using my row erg as a primary workout. Still found myself counting down the time and minutes
I climb shit. In the gym and outside. It feeds my inner child, it’s fun, it’s exciting, and it involves problem solving so stimulates the mind. Rowing and biking are now secondary exercises or activities to support my climbing fitness and ability. I find doing them with less intensity, less often, and as support (shorter duration) makes it easier for me to digest because I know it will better me for what I truly enjoy. Along the way you just may find yourself growing to accept, like or love something.
Kinda gotta find workable angles that suit your mind and goals. eventually you’ll have tricked yourself into becoming a healthy bastard who has some fun along the way
Sorry, I totally wasn’t trying to be dismissive either, but I think it came across like that. When depression gets bad it’s just hard to find anything enjoyable, and sticking with it anyway is real hard. I’ll just have to keep at it until something clicks I guess.
The other side of the coin is that it should be something that you do on a regular schedule with other people who you enjoy being around.
Fun and accountability are the keys.
Not the person you replied to, but I’ve also experienced depression. Just let me add that exercise doesn’t “feel good” either during or after a workout, but once it becomes part of the weekly routine, yes, let me repeat that- routine - the impact on mental health starts to show as well. It’s tricky because it’s not so much a “positive feeling”, instead, it takes the edge off the blues and anxiety.
I’ve also noticed the thoughts that swim in my head all the time tend to be more positive after a workout. This feels completely out of my control, if you ever tried meditation and found it really hard to clear your mind of thoughts you’ll know what I mean. But, for example, immediately after exercise I have a tendency to think or remember positive moments in my life or positive people. Worst case scenario, if I was on a trend of self sabotaging thoughts or constantly going over resentment and painful memories, those thoughts are likely to stop after a workout for a while. If I really want to I can of course think of whatever I want, but soon again I’ll catch myself with some positive thoughts.
My two cents. Hopefully this adds up.
I’ve never enjoyed anything at all in my life.
So we need to harness your disdain and hatred and work with that…
what do you hate most?
Opinionated software.
Perfect, Grok it is
Get a sword and hit things.
This is what I did. I joined a football league for fatties and it’s helping keep me active whilst not being massively outclassed by people younger and/or fitter than me 🤣 there’s no pressure to be ‘good’ at it, as the weightloss aspect of the game is more important.
Holy crap, How does one find something like that
By doing physical activity that’s intrinsically rewarding.
If you enjoy bike riding, go ride your bike, and don’t even bother thinking about it as exercise. Enjoy, and get into it.
The fitness part is just a side effect.
Search apartments.com or whatever for places 1-2 hour bike rides from work. Move there.
…not joking, I’m fortunate enough in that that’s what I’ve been doing. Biking/walking to work is the only way I get any exercise (even though I can work from home). In winter months/if it’s too cold or snowy I’ll use the stationary bikes our work building put in to entice people back from COVID.
I have to have a purpose to exercise (other than health I guess?) otherwise I won’t do it.
I’ve speculated that it takes time and discipline of exercising regularly for a long enough time, until you get the psychological reward from it. After which for some including me, makes it an addiction. I literally crave it. And if something happens to where I can’t workout, like an injury or work or whatever, it really sucks and I can’t wait to be able to get back into the routine. I’m talking of a mix of “boring” weights and cardio. I love it.
So my two cents is, muscle through the initial several months of boring suckage but make it count. Eventually, maybe you’ll catch the addiction. But this might not work for everyone.
If you’re looking for a “life hack” to make any exercise instantly enjoyable, then that’s really not going to happen.
But you sound like you’re motivated to start exercising so that’s great. You can add this in layers to make this genuinely enjoyable:
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find something you like (for me: weight lifting and squash are fun. Running and swimming are hell)
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Decide on a fixed time (for me: 10pm every day is designated for exercise)
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Make it as simple as possible and remove as many barriers as possible (for me: I don’t sit to watch TV or play video games close to exercise time, otherwise I know I’m not going to get up again. I put on exercise clothes when I get home from work so I’m already ready when the time comes).
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Add something else that’s really enjoyable (For me: I have a TV series that I only watch when I’m in the gym. So if I want to find out what happens next, I’ll have to go to the gym tomorrow.)
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Make this routine (once you’re habituated to doing this regularly, then it stops taking will power to force yourself and is just embedded in your routine)
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Forgive yourself for missing sessions (any time you miss a session, it doesn’t matter, you’ll start making progress again any time you start exercising again)
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Make it social (some people love this and you can do exercise with someone. I personally hate that and I love the meditative solitude of exercise time)
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I noticed that I feel better emotionally and physically when I exercise regularly and feel like shit when I don’t, so it’s kind of a self-preservation thing.
I discovered I like hitting things a while back so I go boxing regularly. These days I read some Trump news and then go take it out on a heavy bag for an hour.
I lost 30lbs and doubled my muscle mass by doing a gentle calisthenics routine to failure every night while watching the whole series for King of the Hill. I found it kept me busy enough to not notice how much I hated exercise but it wasn’t distracting enough to need to stop and watch.
What did this routine look like?
20 pushups, 20 crunches, 20 squats, 20 good morning’s, 30-60 second plank, 30 second deep breathing stretch. Repeat this routine until you can’t keep proper form then stop for the day. Takes maybe 15min to do 4 reps
I greatly appreciate your comments and clarification, and I don’t mean this in a rude way but… that’s not gentle for most of us 😅
That’s perfectly cool, I started this whole working at a pretty lift heavy job so I had already had some muscles to work with. Do the same rotation, just do 5 each. When of feels like it’s easy, step it up.
I’m a lifetime noodle armed gamer, if I can pull this off, you can. I believe in you.
I dont tolerate cardio, its really not feeling good and it seems to take forever to get to a place where its supposed to feel good. If it ever does.
But lifting weights is fun. I enjoy that since body looks better and feels stronger. And there, results show clearly in just 2 months or faster.
Find something you actually enjoy.
Historic European Martial Arts. Swing a sword and mace.
Or you can dance, or juggle, or tumble…
Stephen Fry lost 100 pounds by listening to audiobooks while he walked.
There are game consoles that connect to a treadmill; you have to keep your legs pumping or the game stops.
I do kickboxing myself. I can’t stand most other exercises, but when punches are coming at you, it’s hard to be lazy and give up.
Rhythm Games (Samba De Amigo, Fitness Boxing Ft. Hatsune Miku) + needing to walk to bus stop to go to arcade
Ring Fit was also good, but I foolishly left that behind when I moved out x.x
Exercising is part of my precious me-time. I put on a good podcast or some nice music and have a good time. No stress, no hanging on the phone, no Netflix - this is my opportunity to dwelve into thoughts or just do nothing. It is super relaxing.
