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Some people simply don't understand that other people hate exercise. It is extremely unpleasant for me. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: If done at

by kirse 10y ago

Some people simply don't understand that other people hate exercise. It is extremely unpleasant for me. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: If done at a proper relative intensity, everyone finds exercise extremely unpleasant in the moment. It's why we give up on planks, wuss-out on an uphill run or climb, back off the pace, listen to music, blab with others, skip the next rep, try to squeak out a few extra seconds before the next interval, and all sorts of other distractions while exercising. So your friends are BSing themselves or not working hard enough. What people actually enjoy is the feeling of accomplishment that comes after the fact, getting out in nature, or the validation of being in shape, being able to cheat more on meals... basically all the side benefits. It's fine that you don't want to do whatever you prop up in your head as "extremely unpleasant" exercise... just stay active like you are already doing. But please, cut out the mental baloney that you're some special snowflake because you find exercise unpleasant... we're all feeling the pain here.

clock_tower 10y ago
I wonder what magic_beans ("your body WANTS to move around", three posts up) thinks of this response.
- rimliu 10y ago
  I don't agree with "If done at a proper relative intensity, everyone finds exercise extremely unpleasant in the moment.". It may be physically uncomfortable but you can get pleasure from taking control over yourself. It's hard for me to explain, but some unpleasant thing can bring pleasure. Alos, if it is extremely unpleasant I'd doubt it is done at the proper level.
- magic_beans 10y ago
  I totally agree :) I exercise nearly every damn day, and I find it UNPLEASANT. Of course it's unpleasant! My brain screams at me to just sit down and sleep. But exercise, if anything, is a mental challenge. The brain screams at you to stop, but your body, deep down, wants and needs to move. So I make myself do it, and OP makes themselves do it. I'm shocked that OOP doesn't seem to get any exercise-euphoria. That high is absolutely worth it.
  - clock_tower 10y ago
    But your previous comment was: > Your body WANTS to move around. There has to be some sport or physical activity you enjoy!
ksenzee 10y ago
> we're all feeling the pain here Are you positing that everyone hates exercise to the same degree? I don't buy it. It's pretty obvious some people enjoy running. It's also pretty obvious some people hate it. Why should running be any different in that way from Brussels sprouts?
__jal 10y ago
> mental baloney that you're some special snowflake because you find exercise unpleasant... we're all feeling the pain here. The other poster already addressed this, but I'll add: this is the sort response that always comes up. It clearly costs different people differently, in terms of mental energy and willpower. This "we're all feeling the pain here" is a vaguely polite form of the sort of "just suck it up, wimp" response that I've come to expect.
- kirse 10y ago
  It clearly costs different people differently, in terms of mental energy and willpower. Comparatively speaking, we are all wimps anyway. A Kenyan elite marathoner can run my old mile PR twenty-six times over. An elite powerlifter reps out my squat max for a warmup. Which is why I said "proper relative intensity." If 10 pushups for you scores a four on the pain scale, but 100 pushups for me scores a four, then you do 10 pushups while I do my 100, and we both feel the same amount of "extremely unpleasant" feelings together. Both of us gain in terms of adaptation to capacity for work and pain tolerance. I'm not sure what you're envisioning in your head as "extremely unpleasant" pain, but the saying goes that you don't have to train AT your max to UP your max. Exercise done at relatively comfortable levels of pain will still produce positive adaptations. That's why Couch->5K is so successful, it basically starts people off walking instead of running. But again, I don't care if you dance, run, row, lift, bike, hike, walk, whatever... it sounds like you are staying active already, which is great.
  - ksenzee 10y ago
    Ah. You're assuming that the original poster's dislike of exercise is the same as your dislike of the pain of exercise. They're not necessarily the same. As it happens, I dislike exercise as well, and it's not because it hurts. (As you point out, it doesn't have to hurt.) It's because it's unpleasant in a lot of ways, it's boring (no matter what exercise I try), and I don't get anything else out of it. I don't enjoy being out in nature, I don't get a feeling of accomplishment from moving around, I don't feel better afterwards. This is true for exercise at any intensity level. As it happens, my life is active enough to keep me fit without extra exercise, but if I had to dance/run/row/lift/bike/hike/walk/roller skate/rock climb/ski/anything in order to stay healthy, I'd dislike it. That's just how it is. Some people do not like physical exercise, period.
deleted 10y ago
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magic_beans 10y ago
This couldn't be more true. I do crossfit 4 times a week. I hate every single second of it. But the second it's over, I am flooded with euphoria and happiness for having accomplished the day's workout.

by kirse 10y ago

clock_tower 10y ago

I wonder what magic_beans ("your body WANTS to move around", three posts up) thinks of this response.

rimliu 10y ago
I don't agree with "If done at a proper relative intensity, everyone finds exercise extremely unpleasant in the moment.". It may be physically uncomfortable but you can get pleasure from taking control over yourself. It's hard for me to explain, but some unpleasant thing can bring pleasure. Alos, if it is extremely unpleasant I'd doubt it is done at the proper level.
magic_beans 10y ago
I totally agree :) I exercise nearly every damn day, and I find it UNPLEASANT. Of course it's unpleasant! My brain screams at me to just sit down and sleep. But exercise, if anything, is a mental challenge. The brain screams at you to stop, but your body, deep down, wants and needs to move. So I make myself do it, and OP makes themselves do it. I'm shocked that OOP doesn't seem to get any exercise-euphoria. That high is absolutely worth it.
- clock_tower 10y ago
  But your previous comment was: > Your body WANTS to move around. There has to be some sport or physical activity you enjoy!

ksenzee 10y ago

> we're all feeling the pain here Are you positing that everyone hates exercise to the same degree? I don't buy it. It's pretty obvious some people enjoy running. It's also pretty obvious some people hate it. Why should running be any different in that way from Brussels sprouts?

__jal 10y ago

> mental baloney that you're some special snowflake because you find exercise unpleasant... we're all feeling the pain here. The other poster already addressed this, but I'll add: this is the sort response that always comes up. It clearly costs different people differently, in terms of mental energy and willpower. This "we're all feeling the pain here" is a vaguely polite form of the sort of "just suck it up, wimp" response that I've come to expect.

kirse 10y ago
It clearly costs different people differently, in terms of mental energy and willpower. Comparatively speaking, we are all wimps anyway. A Kenyan elite marathoner can run my old mile PR twenty-six times over. An elite powerlifter reps out my squat max for a warmup. Which is why I said "proper relative intensity." If 10 pushups for you scores a four on the pain scale, but 100 pushups for me scores a four, then you do 10 pushups while I do my 100, and we both feel the same amount of "extremely unpleasant" feelings together. Both of us gain in terms of adaptation to capacity for work and pain tolerance. I'm not sure what you're envisioning in your head as "extremely unpleasant" pain, but the saying goes that you don't have to train AT your max to UP your max. Exercise done at relatively comfortable levels of pain will still produce positive adaptations. That's why Couch->5K is so successful, it basically starts people off walking instead of running. But again, I don't care if you dance, run, row, lift, bike, hike, walk, whatever... it sounds like you are staying active already, which is great.
- ksenzee 10y ago
  Ah. You're assuming that the original poster's dislike of exercise is the same as your dislike of the pain of exercise. They're not necessarily the same. As it happens, I dislike exercise as well, and it's not because it hurts. (As you point out, it doesn't have to hurt.) It's because it's unpleasant in a lot of ways, it's boring (no matter what exercise I try), and I don't get anything else out of it. I don't enjoy being out in nature, I don't get a feeling of accomplishment from moving around, I don't feel better afterwards. This is true for exercise at any intensity level. As it happens, my life is active enough to keep me fit without extra exercise, but if I had to dance/run/row/lift/bike/hike/walk/roller skate/rock climb/ski/anything in order to stay healthy, I'd dislike it. That's just how it is. Some people do not like physical exercise, period.

deleted 10y ago

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magic_beans 10y ago

This couldn't be more true. I do crossfit 4 times a week. I hate every single second of it. But the second it's over, I am flooded with euphoria and happiness for having accomplished the day's workout.