(Before I start, many thanks to Jeremy Johnson for linking to me and inspiring this post today!)
I’m going to let you in on a little secret (well, technically not a secret anymore as of now): I’m a total WUSS when it comes to exercise. I was one of those people who’d rather shoot tacks in my eyes than exercise.
Sure, I’d give a half-assed attempt once every few months then throw in the towel until the guilt ate at me to try just once more. But that was the extent of it. I wasn’t unhappy with my body: I wasn’t overweight or underweight. I was right where I needed to be and that was fine with me… not.
Wrong mindset = wrong results
I think one of the problems with today’s society is that we automatically equate exercise with the need to lose weight or maintain a certain physique. I mean, those are all fine as goals. But exercise is so much more than that. This is something that just passes over the heads of inactive people and constantly eludes them even if they do try to exercise. Now that I’ve started exercising regularly for the past month (nearly every day now), I’m finally starting to get those fitness freaks who are seemingly obsessed with working out.
In order to enjoy exercise, it really helps to be in the right mindset. Again, as I’ve said, there’s actually nothing wrong with having a goal to gain/lose X amount of pounds or lose Y% of body fat. But it’s just that: a goal. Exercise is really supposed to be a long-term lifestyle change, not a magic pill.
If you’re STILL finding that you have a hard time even trying to exercise regardless of the goal it may be that you’re approaching it the wrong way. Yes, losing X amount of pounds may just seem like an arbitrary number. For some people who don’t have any obvious reasons to exercise, it’s easy to stay unmotivated.
I get it. It’s not easy to connect the bridge between the end goal of doing a triathlon and where you are right now, where shifting positions on your La-Z-Boy leaves you short of breath exercise means walking to the fridge your car.
Transitioning from coach potato to non-coach potato (but not quite athlete)
Keep in mind that the goal isn’t to lose weight. No pressure, remember? This is just something to get you off your arse. It sounds like baby stuff but I’m a firm believer that starting out is not the time to be overextending yourself, especially if you already have an aversion to exercise. Trust me, I have plenty of cramped leg muscles to prove it. So, this is my version of “How to start exercising for wussies idiots.” Don’t feel bad. I’m a wuss, too. So, here goes:
1. The one thing that really gave me the push I needed is to stop seeing exercise as a means to an end and to start seeing it simply as something you do every day. You know like (hopefully!!) brushing your teeth and showering everyday. Basically stop thinking about what you can get from exercise and see it as something that’s as natural as breathing. You do breathe, right?
No goals = no pressure. I know a lot of people work better under pressure, but if pressure isn’t working… it’s time to switch things up.
2. Lower the activation energy needed to start exercising. Okay, so that was my biology background rearing its ugly head up (ugly to you, I think it’s a rather cute head). What I mean is: make it as easy as possible to start exercising. Quit thinking about that new treadmill you need to save up for, that new gym you need to sign up for, or the new Under Armour super-deluxe-magic yoga pants you must have. Quit thinking about how dumb you’ll sound running out of breath. If you don’t do it, you’ll still be dumb … for not exercising.
Don’t have any exercise clothes? In your house clothes you go. Hell, go naked if putting on clothes is too much effort (I’m kidding … kinda…). No weights? Pick up some textbooks. Find some water bottles, fill them up, use that. Don’t know any exercise moves or have a ‘training schedule’? Who cares? Do you have legs that work? You know how to walk? Do some jumping jacks for 5 minutes. Walk and/or jog around the neighborhood for 15-20 min, do some stretches. I’m not even going to show you videos. Don’t learn or buy anything right now. Which brings me to my next point:
3. The point is not to discourage different forms of exercise. The point, at least for now, is to create a habit: It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you do something. That’s why you don’t need gyms for now… if it’s too far away, you’ll talk yourself out of it. You don’t need to walk 5 miles… if you cramp up your legs you’ll get discouraged and stop exercising for gawd knows how long. You don’t need elaborate classes… because then you’ll see how much better everyone else is at it and you’ll beat yourself up. All that matters is that you do something everyday. I don’t care if it’s 15 minutes. I don’t care if you’re just walking or doing a bunch of stretches. And you can’t use the excuse that you don’t have any time. It’s not that hard to start doing some jumping jacks, right? You can do that at any time.
The good thing about all this: the longer your “exercise everyday” streak is, the more you’ll want to avoid breaking it.
4. To really help you out, you may want to use a boost by combining your sessions with something you normally do. You want to know what I normally do? If I’m outside (this happens less often at the moment), I usually take the dog for a jog or go with my sister. My sister and I are close and we’re always chilling/talking, so why not do it while walking? If I’m inside, I get on the treadmill and walk/jog for a mile while watching Star Trek. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a sucker for Star Trek. I’d watch reruns all day if I could. So why not combine it with exercise?? You don’t have to be a Star Trek freak or have a treadmill to do this. We all watch too much TV anyway. So while you’re watching K.im K.arda.shian and company act a fool, do some sit ups and squats. Let Kim’s badunkadunk be your trigger. Can anyone say Pavlov’s dog?
(For the record, I don’t watch that train wreck of a show. *Ahem* Not really, anyway. Getting a glimpse of Patrick Stewart’s acting and other stuff you don’t care about is enough motivation for me.)
Keep it simple, stupid!
Now I could go on a ramble about how exercise is therapeutic and how it gives you so much energy, blahblah, bloogedy-bloo. I mean, all these things are true, as I can attest to after only one month of doing this. I started out walking for 15 minutes. Now I’m fast walking/jogging for about a mile everyday now, ending it with stretches, sit-ups, and push-ups. All under 30-40 minutes. I do feel more energetic just from doing that alone. I can’t wait to see what will happen when I gradually move on to more rigorous forms of exercising.
But that’s not what you want to hear, because you’ve heard it all before, right? Okay, well, hear this:
They say you’ve got to change your beliefs to start doing something and that’s also true with exercise. Sometimes, however, feelings get in the way. It’s often easier to just do it without thinking about how you feel about exercise. Do something. Anything. Choose the easiest thing to do, no matter how moronic or wimpy it sounds. You are never going to automatically start liking exercise overnight. Period. And stop comparing yourself to people who have been exercising for months/years. I’m willing to bet at some point some of them couldn’t do what they are doing now.
Happy leg crampings (I’m just kidding… if you remember to stretch)!
What do you do to keep up your exercising habits? Any tips? Any favorites exercises? I know I could use some. Share in the comments! 
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey now… since when did watching Kim Kardashian’s badunkadunk become such a crime while running on the treadmill!?
Let Kim’s badunkadunk be your trigger. Can anyone say Pavlov’s dog?
This is probably the best two sentences I’ll read all day! LOL While women may need a full out video of instruction, all a man needs is a treadmill and a thiry minute video of a gratutitous camera angle following Kim around. Mule. Carrot. Exercise. LOL!
I couldn’t agree with you more on this post. Exercising for goals can be discouraging, especially when you don’t see what you expect to see when you expect to see it. Exercising as a lifestyle, as you’ve elaborated on here, is the point that is too often glossed over by many.
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*Hard eye roll* Travis… WHY? I should’ve known you’d come crawling out of the woodwork with that.. lmao.
On the contrary, I don’t think it’s a crime. It IS motivational, just… not as motivational as other things! It’s in the eye of the beholder. Now… get off my comments and go find a treadmill!
@ ForNot: You, TOO??? Oh gawd… I think I unknowingly signed up for something extra when writing this. On the other hand, I see a good business model in the making, no? Bwahahaha. You find a treadmill, too, ForNot… go, go, go!
Not seeing exercise as a lifestyle was a big barrier for me. But when you think about it, it applies to everything else… especially the more notorious example: food. I learned that food is a lifestyle choice 5 years ago. I don’t know why it took so long for that same understanding to click in my brain when it comes to exercise.
Valerie, I’m humbled to have had an impact in your writing this. It was well written – and it sounds like you’ve been doing an excellent job with your exercising. It really does boost energy and the spark of life doesn’t it?
You love Star Trek? No way – me too! I especially like the new movie. Keep up the good work with your exercising!
For me, doing something has to have some sort of value and sense.
I like to bike a lot because it helps my condition. I didn’t really know it helped but once I started biking for a few weeks and noticed it was helping, i road my road bike almost every day even in the winter time.
Through ice, rain, wind, freezing conditions, It doesn’t matter. Unless i get a flat tire, or there 20 feet of snow, I am going out there
.
So I guess, to keep your exercise habits you need to find a reason while it helps, instead of mind controlling yourself, or sitting yourself in front of a t.v. If your watching Star Trek are you really going to push your self? If your walking you dog, are you going to be running or walking?
I think it’s best to focus on what your exercise it and not distract yourself because you could easily just not do it one day, then just stop because of something that might change your might.
The value and sense part of it is good as a foundation – that is a good point. But even when you’ve been exercising regularly, there are days where you just need to play to the human variety emotion and mix it up with a movie, or running with a dog, or doing karate, or whatever way you can find to mix it up.
@ Jeremy: Ah… a fellow Trekkie! I’m always happy to find one. Seems like they are few and far between around these parts! Yes, I’m actually surprised with feeling more energetic even though I haven’t been at it for very long. You know how if you haven’t been exercising for a while, the first few times back at it leaves you feeling pooped right after. I’m definitely over that stage and it feels great.
@ Mac: That’s great you’re pushing yourself that far, even in those freezing conditions. A lot of people don’t have that kind of willpower or stamina… and I’m currently one of those people. So all I’m focusing on right now is creating a habit rather than pushing myself too hard. In order to create a habit, it helps to make the task enjoyable. In the past, I started out by pushing myself hard even after weeks and months of no exercise and it is NOT an experience I want to relive again. I’ll stick to my strategy for now and gradually move up from there. Thanks for sharing!
I hate exercising. After more than a decade of near-daily martial arts training, I still hate exercise.
I don’t kung fu because it is exercise, I do it because it is tons of fun!
Nobody should give up on finding a form of exercise they truly enjoy, and resign themselves to doing it as a chore instead. It isn’t healthy to replace 10 pounds of fat with resignation and resentment.
Chris´s last blog ..An Affordable Martial Arts Insurance Plan For Everyone
@ Chris: I hate going to the gym and I’m usually unmotivated to do anything that feels like exercise. I think for the gym rats and fitness freaks, exercise doesn’t feel like exercise to them, hence why they’re so into it. I enjoy cycling the most and I definitely plan on doing more of that. I’d like to point out, though, that we often don’t start out liking something. It usually takes a few tries to find out what works. I hated jogging but the more I do it, the more I enjoy it even if it’s still not my preferred method of exercise (it’s just the easiest to get started).