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I am 62, and have been exercising pretty regularly for 18 years. I hate it. At its worst, it is painful and unpleasant. At its best, it is boring. I am fortunat

I am 62, and have been exercising pretty regularly for 18 years. I hate it. At its worst, it is painful and unpleasant. At its best, it is boring. I am fortunate to be able to eat anything I want and not gain weight (even when I don't exercise). It seems to be the case that I can eat any amount of carbs and not gain weight. But I don't eat crap, and I gave up soft drinks completely a long time ago (before I started exercising). The secret for me was to recognize a few things: - I do hate exercise. I don't have the willpower to exercise hard for an hour a day. It works best for me if I have someone telling me what to do. So over the years, I have tried various forms of group exercise. I am currently doing crossfit, (minus the cult aspects, thanks but no thanks) 3 days a week, and working with a personal trainer 2 days a week (basically an exhausting form of physical therapy to address problems with the ways that I move, and my lack of mobility). - Making exercise a priority doesn't work for someone like me, because I hate it so much. No, I made it a habit, which is different. It's a regular thing on my schedule. - It does make me feel better. Not when I do it. Immediately after exercising, all I feel is relief that it's over for the day. But if I stick to my 5x/week schedule, 1 hour/day, then my aches and pains -- charateristic for my age -- disappear. No more aching knees or frequent upper back pain. If I stop for a couple of weeks, these problems return and I generally feel less energetic. - The battle is psychological. The worst thing is getting myself to the gym. I wait until the very last minute, and dread it for the whole short drive. The anticipation before the workout sucks. The warmup is the absolute worst, because I am transitioning from my normal lazy, comfortable mode, to a far more active mode, doing completely unnatural (for me) things. Doing the workout is mostly boring, often exhausting, but mentally easier that the buildup. Figure out what works for you and make it a habit.

dijit 7y ago
I’m 30 and I’ve been exercising for just over a year, everything you said rings true for me too. Especially the aches/pains and energy levels. I have to really force myself to go, but it’s always better afterwards.
- Balgair 7y ago
  That's me as well. Working out just plain sucks. Afterwards I am nauseous, tired, smelly, sweaty, out of breath, etc. These feelings last for about 2-4 hours after cessation of physical activity. I hate going, I dread it all day long. Working out sucks. But yes, generally, I feel better if I have a routine that I stick to and just muscle out the work-out. I have successfully trained for, and ran, a marathon. I hated every single mile. But I never felt better, life-wise, than during that process. Which makes me hate working out even more, as I know it's good for me and makes life better. Gah!
wishinghand 7y ago
I like doing hard workouts and 1 hour a day seems like too much. Try 45 minutes instead. I try not to go past that when lifting weights. I rarely surpass 25 minutes when doing high intensity interval training.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
GoRudy 7y ago
Have you tried group fitness? That changed everything for me. I just show up. Don’t think just work hard for 50 min and then leave. Having people around keeps you honest. I swear by boot camp / hiit classes.
- geophile 7y ago
  That's basically what I said -- group classes. I agree, the point is to do what the guy tells me and not think about it. Before I did CrossFit, I did HIIT classes.
collyw 7y ago
What sort of exercise do you do? I hate the gym and find it mind numbingly boring. I cycle most places - its the fastest way for me to get around my city. Cycling saves me time and money. And I love white water kayaking, skiing and mountain biking. Kayaking especially has made me travel to some amazing places and brought m wonderful experiences. I have kayaked for years and I can understand that they would be difficult for someone older to get into. I imagine that there must be some form of exercise that you could find interesting.
- geophile 7y ago
  CrossFit, which is a mix of cardio and weight-lifting. It works for me because: it minimizes the time getting to and from; I can turn off my brain and just do what they tell me (no self-motivation required); I prefer boring and predictable to unpleasant (too hot, too cold, too rainy) and variable. I have tried many forms of exercise, and I find what I'm doing now to be the least miserable.
- geophile 7y ago
  Cycling is terrifying to me. I'm sure this is a function of age, as I used to bike everywhere. But I keep finding out about people who are maimed or killed cycling. Someone I worked with had a really bad broken arm. People in my town have been killed. (There are bike lanes, but they are just painted. Too easy for cars to ignore.) My neighbor is quadriplegic after a cycling accident.

dijit 7y ago

I’m 30 and I’ve been exercising for just over a year, everything you said rings true for me too. Especially the aches/pains and energy levels. I have to really force myself to go, but it’s always better afterwards.

Balgair 7y ago
That's me as well. Working out just plain sucks. Afterwards I am nauseous, tired, smelly, sweaty, out of breath, etc. These feelings last for about 2-4 hours after cessation of physical activity. I hate going, I dread it all day long. Working out sucks. But yes, generally, I feel better if I have a routine that I stick to and just muscle out the work-out. I have successfully trained for, and ran, a marathon. I hated every single mile. But I never felt better, life-wise, than during that process. Which makes me hate working out even more, as I know it's good for me and makes life better. Gah!

wishinghand 7y ago

I like doing hard workouts and 1 hour a day seems like too much. Try 45 minutes instead. I try not to go past that when lifting weights. I rarely surpass 25 minutes when doing high intensity interval training.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

GoRudy 7y ago

Have you tried group fitness? That changed everything for me. I just show up. Don’t think just work hard for 50 min and then leave. Having people around keeps you honest. I swear by boot camp / hiit classes.

geophile 7y ago
That's basically what I said -- group classes. I agree, the point is to do what the guy tells me and not think about it. Before I did CrossFit, I did HIIT classes.

collyw 7y ago

What sort of exercise do you do? I hate the gym and find it mind numbingly boring. I cycle most places - its the fastest way for me to get around my city. Cycling saves me time and money. And I love white water kayaking, skiing and mountain biking. Kayaking especially has made me travel to some amazing places and brought m wonderful experiences. I have kayaked for years and I can understand that they would be difficult for someone older to get into. I imagine that there must be some form of exercise that you could find interesting.

geophile 7y ago
CrossFit, which is a mix of cardio and weight-lifting. It works for me because: it minimizes the time getting to and from; I can turn off my brain and just do what they tell me (no self-motivation required); I prefer boring and predictable to unpleasant (too hot, too cold, too rainy) and variable. I have tried many forms of exercise, and I find what I'm doing now to be the least miserable.
geophile 7y ago
Cycling is terrifying to me. I'm sure this is a function of age, as I used to bike everywhere. But I keep finding out about people who are maimed or killed cycling. Someone I worked with had a really bad broken arm. People in my town have been killed. (There are bike lanes, but they are just painted. Too easy for cars to ignore.) My neighbor is quadriplegic after a cycling accident.