7 ms·

Sigh. I let myself go weeks without exercising and feel terrible, both mentally and physically.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
krallja 4y ago
And if I would just exercise I would remember that exercise would solve the problem... but I don't have the mental foresight to do so, so I let it go for another day, and another...
- nradov 4y ago
  You have to make it an automatic habit rather than something you remember to do.
  - ohlookabird 4y ago
    Yes, this helps a lot! For me, it also helps to have a training plan, or simply calendar events that remind me what exercise I should do at a given day. Usually this allows me to trick my mind and avoids the decision whether or not I should exercise and I will "stupidly" do what the calendar says. This made it much easier to develop a habit.
  - ButterWashed 4y ago
    I agree with this. I hate exercise so I go into the office a few days a week and I cycle to get there and back which is roughly 10 miles in total. Without that commute I'd be too tempted to do nothing by way of exercise.
  - garrickvanburen 4y ago
    Currently working through an 18month training plan - every day has some work out. This everyday-ness has been huge for installing it as an automatic habit.
    - moitessier 4y ago
      Is it a plan that requires going to the gym or more like running & home exercises? Mind sharing if it is the latter?
      - garrickvanburen 4y ago
        All running. Chapter 10 in Hal Higdon's 'How to Train'. The entire book is filled with training plans I hadn't even considered before - this particular one has worked really well for me in a way other plans have not.
- klipt 4y ago
  Just set multiple reminders on your phone throughout the day to get up and do a little bit of exercise. A five minute walk, two minutes of jumping jacks, and three push-ups are better than nothing.
- ebjaas_2022 4y ago
  I think you just have to make yourself do it for a prolonged period of time, all the while making sure that you do not overexert yourself. Make it pleasant on every occasion, and lower the intensity once it starts feeling like a struggle. There are theories on how long it takes to establish a new habit. The numbers may vary, but I'd say if you can keep at it for around three months, it should be possible, for anyone really, to establish regular exercise as a habit that you both enjoy and look forward to, rather than something that you dread or put off.
- suggestion 4y ago
  Get a cheap magnetic exercise bike (Sunny has a good one) and start with 10 (or even 5) minutes a day at the same time (or event, waking up, finishing work, something like that) every day. 10 minutes is nothing, especially if you read or watch TV while doing it. It'll get easy eventually, and the habit will be established. Then you up it to 15, and keep doing that until you hit at least 30 mins every day. Then you have a nice habitual time period that you can add, swap, or integrate other exercises into.
  - lob_it 4y ago
    You probably answered why people don't maintain a healthy routine for decades. A gerbil-wheel exercise in extreme environments, perhaps (due to pollution, crime, extreme hot/cold weather, etc), but after an extended period, is that really how natural detergents in the body are made?
    - PuppyTailWags 4y ago
      It's not about sticking with gerbil-wheel exercises, it's about developing the habit of scheduling exercise into one's day. Once one establishes the habit of scheduling exercise it makes sense this lowers the barrier to enriching exercise. Although for me it's been the other way around: find an enriching exercise first and then schedule around performing it. For me, my only limit to participating in my exercise of choice is body recovery. If I had no recovery time I'd be in the gym for hours daily. As it is now I'm limited to 1.5-2.5 hrs every other day.
      - lob_it 4y ago
        The lifestyle divide is obvious. If its not an enriching activity (or something you genuinely enjoy), its just a fad exercise to go with a fad diet. I've been enjoying golf for 3 decades now and skipped the gym and other sports. I still embrace it like the 1st day. Golf is unique though. It takes a genius to break their own body with such a beautiful sport :)
        4y ago
- tsol 4y ago
  Habits are everything. If you make it something you can to make yourself do, it'll always be hard. Make it a daily or weekly activity. Start slow, and just make it routine. Then, after you're used to it you can increase the intensity.
- mtalantikite 4y ago
  Having a schedule really helps. For years I’ve just promised myself that I’d work on my physical practices at least 4x per week — if I’ve gotten to Wednesday and I haven’t done anything, that means Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday I need to do something. And because you need rest days, you end up just planning to spread things out. Stick to it for a few months and all of a sudden it’s been years and you can’t imagine not doing it. Just make sure it’s a thing you really enjoy, and think of it more as practicing getting really good at something rather than a chore.
isthisthingon99 4y ago
Exercise gets boring. Just like anything else. Detect this and switch up.
- Jtsummers 4y ago
  Also some exercise may, for you, turn out to not be boring. Try different things until you find an exercise (or set of exercises) that works for you. I really enjoy running, especially outdoors, and rowing, which makes it easy for me to stick with them. But for other people those things are either dull or painful and so they stall out if they only try those exercises. I also found team sports (soccer, in particular) and martial arts (BJJ) to be stimulating in a way that they never become boring. A couple I know use dance as their primary exercise (actually how they met too). There are many ways to exercise, finding the right exercise for you is critical to longterm success.
  - brookst 4y ago
    This. Between running, tennis, climbing, hiking, biking, martial arts, swimming, weightlifting, volleyball, mountain biking, soccer, etc. . . I think there is likely a “right” exercise for everyone, in the sense that it gets to flow state and doesn’t feel boring, or like work.
    - Jtsummers 4y ago
      And if you find a sport (like I did with soccer and BJJ), other exercises become more desirable and easier to stick with because they're complementary or supportive to the actual thing you want to do. Distance running and sprinting improved my endurance for both sports and also my recovery time after a literal sprint in soccer or the BJJ equivalent of a fast moving exchange, giving me an edge against otherwise more skilled opponents but lacking my conditioning.
    - lob_it 4y ago
      Very few of those on the list can be enjoyed by octogenarians. I have enjoyed decades of golf so far with firm glutes and firm abs as an unitended benefit :) I'm always tickled when I read these stories. I'm chasing an albatross personally to complete my scorecard (got a hole-in-one the 1st decade of playing). https://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/news/in_todays_daily_sun/95-year-old-golfer-shoots-his-first-hole-in-one/article_a2a2ab2c-59a4-11ed-a6d0-eb09d0159d5e.html https://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/news/in_todays_daily_sun...
hahamrfunnyguy 4y ago
I am in better shape than I've been in a few years. My exercise is more enjoyable now, and doesn't feel like a chore to do it. This year I signed up for a half dozen mountain bike races, so they were a motivator to go out and ride. Every week my friends and I meet up and run 3.5 miles. After the run, we all hangout and have a beer at a nearby bar. The meetup spot is 6 miles away and I ride my bike hard there, and at a leisurely pace on the way back. It's nice having this activity to look forward to every week. I haven't signed up for any races since the summer, but I have it in the back of my mind that I will start again in the spring, so that helps me make time for bike rides (which I enjoy). My friends don't like to run in the dark, so I will probably join a volleyball league this winter for some weekly socialization and activity. So, I think waaaay eaiser to find stuff you will like doing or at least an activity with people you like being around. Check Facebook for group rides/runs in your area.
- latchkey 4y ago
  Consider skipping the beer and dropping all alcohol entirely (but definitely still be social), you'd be surprised at how much it is holding you back fitness wise and how little you actually need it, beyond the thought that it is nice.
  - lob_it 4y ago
    Zero-calorie vices really are better for aging gracefully. A 30-minute brisk walk may burn 200 calories, but calorie math is easier said than done. You don't have to lose the weight/calories if you do not gain the weight/calories :)
SoftTalker 4y ago
I started lifting a few years ago. Everything was good until this summer when I developed knee pain while squatting that was excruciating at its worst. Got that mostly fixed with some specific exercises and focus on coorect form, and then developed low back pain that I have not resolved yet. Most recently tore a muscle in my shoulder, which I am working on rehabbing. So now pretty much all daily activities are accompanied by some amount of pain. I wake up at least twice a night from shoulder or back pain.
- candiddevmike 4y ago
  Assuming you're not exercising, do you feel terrible mentally like this thread predicts?
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    I am still exercising, the main thing I cannot do at all right now is bench press or other pressing movements due to the shoulder. Squats and deadlifts I am doing at lower weights than what I was up to before the injuries, and I can do focused accessories such as tricep/bicep work, leg work, etc. I am also an older lifter and probably should have backed down at the earlier indications that a problem was developing. However it honestly was never more than some soreness that went away with warmups, so I wasn't really concerned about it. On the mental effects, I can say that for me that exercise doesn't change much. I am generally in a better mood after a good workout, but with the recent injuries I have been feeling more frustrated and dejected. But these feeling are pretty much the same ones I have when I succeed or struggle with a programming task or other mental work.
    - feet 4y ago
      Shoulder girdle stabilization is super important in your lifts, the muscles even help with form on deadlifts. If you look to start a routine to work out your stabilizers on a regular basis it can help prevent future injuries and help you feel even better when lifting. Turkish getups are fantasic
webmobdev 4y ago
One way out of this is to not join a gym but learn exercises that you can do anywhere (e.g https://blog.paleohacks.com/how-to-work-out-with-no-equipment/ https://blog.paleohacks.com/how-to-work-out-with-no-equipmen... ). And be forgiving towards yourself too - forgot to exercise for a day or a week, fine - some days are just shitty in our life - just do one exercise today (motivation follows actions). You don't have to do the full sets of exercise, if you don't feel like it. Just focus on doing one exercise (action is the fuel required to power your motivation). Enjoy the feeling. And continue again everyday.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

And if I would just exercise I would remember that exercise would solve the problem... but I don't have the mental foresight to do so, so I let it go for another day, and another...

nradov 4y ago
You have to make it an automatic habit rather than something you remember to do.
- ohlookabird 4y ago
  Yes, this helps a lot! For me, it also helps to have a training plan, or simply calendar events that remind me what exercise I should do at a given day. Usually this allows me to trick my mind and avoids the decision whether or not I should exercise and I will "stupidly" do what the calendar says. This made it much easier to develop a habit.
- ButterWashed 4y ago
  I agree with this. I hate exercise so I go into the office a few days a week and I cycle to get there and back which is roughly 10 miles in total. Without that commute I'd be too tempted to do nothing by way of exercise.
- garrickvanburen 4y ago
  Currently working through an 18month training plan - every day has some work out. This everyday-ness has been huge for installing it as an automatic habit.
  - moitessier 4y ago
    Is it a plan that requires going to the gym or more like running & home exercises? Mind sharing if it is the latter?
    - garrickvanburen 4y ago
      All running. Chapter 10 in Hal Higdon's 'How to Train'. The entire book is filled with training plans I hadn't even considered before - this particular one has worked really well for me in a way other plans have not.
klipt 4y ago
Just set multiple reminders on your phone throughout the day to get up and do a little bit of exercise. A five minute walk, two minutes of jumping jacks, and three push-ups are better than nothing.
ebjaas_2022 4y ago
I think you just have to make yourself do it for a prolonged period of time, all the while making sure that you do not overexert yourself. Make it pleasant on every occasion, and lower the intensity once it starts feeling like a struggle. There are theories on how long it takes to establish a new habit. The numbers may vary, but I'd say if you can keep at it for around three months, it should be possible, for anyone really, to establish regular exercise as a habit that you both enjoy and look forward to, rather than something that you dread or put off.
suggestion 4y ago
Get a cheap magnetic exercise bike (Sunny has a good one) and start with 10 (or even 5) minutes a day at the same time (or event, waking up, finishing work, something like that) every day. 10 minutes is nothing, especially if you read or watch TV while doing it. It'll get easy eventually, and the habit will be established. Then you up it to 15, and keep doing that until you hit at least 30 mins every day. Then you have a nice habitual time period that you can add, swap, or integrate other exercises into.
- lob_it 4y ago
  You probably answered why people don't maintain a healthy routine for decades. A gerbil-wheel exercise in extreme environments, perhaps (due to pollution, crime, extreme hot/cold weather, etc), but after an extended period, is that really how natural detergents in the body are made?
  - PuppyTailWags 4y ago
    It's not about sticking with gerbil-wheel exercises, it's about developing the habit of scheduling exercise into one's day. Once one establishes the habit of scheduling exercise it makes sense this lowers the barrier to enriching exercise. Although for me it's been the other way around: find an enriching exercise first and then schedule around performing it. For me, my only limit to participating in my exercise of choice is body recovery. If I had no recovery time I'd be in the gym for hours daily. As it is now I'm limited to 1.5-2.5 hrs every other day.
    - lob_it 4y ago
      The lifestyle divide is obvious. If its not an enriching activity (or something you genuinely enjoy), its just a fad exercise to go with a fad diet. I've been enjoying golf for 3 decades now and skipped the gym and other sports. I still embrace it like the 1st day. Golf is unique though. It takes a genius to break their own body with such a beautiful sport :)
      - 4y ago
tsol 4y ago
Habits are everything. If you make it something you can to make yourself do, it'll always be hard. Make it a daily or weekly activity. Start slow, and just make it routine. Then, after you're used to it you can increase the intensity.
mtalantikite 4y ago
Having a schedule really helps. For years I’ve just promised myself that I’d work on my physical practices at least 4x per week — if I’ve gotten to Wednesday and I haven’t done anything, that means Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday I need to do something. And because you need rest days, you end up just planning to spread things out. Stick to it for a few months and all of a sudden it’s been years and you can’t imagine not doing it. Just make sure it’s a thing you really enjoy, and think of it more as practicing getting really good at something rather than a chore.

isthisthingon99 4y ago

Exercise gets boring. Just like anything else. Detect this and switch up.

Jtsummers 4y ago
Also some exercise may, for you, turn out to not be boring. Try different things until you find an exercise (or set of exercises) that works for you. I really enjoy running, especially outdoors, and rowing, which makes it easy for me to stick with them. But for other people those things are either dull or painful and so they stall out if they only try those exercises. I also found team sports (soccer, in particular) and martial arts (BJJ) to be stimulating in a way that they never become boring. A couple I know use dance as their primary exercise (actually how they met too). There are many ways to exercise, finding the right exercise for you is critical to longterm success.
- brookst 4y ago
  This. Between running, tennis, climbing, hiking, biking, martial arts, swimming, weightlifting, volleyball, mountain biking, soccer, etc. . . I think there is likely a “right” exercise for everyone, in the sense that it gets to flow state and doesn’t feel boring, or like work.
  - Jtsummers 4y ago
    And if you find a sport (like I did with soccer and BJJ), other exercises become more desirable and easier to stick with because they're complementary or supportive to the actual thing you want to do. Distance running and sprinting improved my endurance for both sports and also my recovery time after a literal sprint in soccer or the BJJ equivalent of a fast moving exchange, giving me an edge against otherwise more skilled opponents but lacking my conditioning.
  - lob_it 4y ago
    Very few of those on the list can be enjoyed by octogenarians. I have enjoyed decades of golf so far with firm glutes and firm abs as an unitended benefit :) I'm always tickled when I read these stories. I'm chasing an albatross personally to complete my scorecard (got a hole-in-one the 1st decade of playing). https://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/news/in_todays_daily_sun/95-year-old-golfer-shoots-his-first-hole-in-one/article_a2a2ab2c-59a4-11ed-a6d0-eb09d0159d5e.html https://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/news/in_todays_daily_sun...

hahamrfunnyguy 4y ago

I am in better shape than I've been in a few years. My exercise is more enjoyable now, and doesn't feel like a chore to do it. This year I signed up for a half dozen mountain bike races, so they were a motivator to go out and ride. Every week my friends and I meet up and run 3.5 miles. After the run, we all hangout and have a beer at a nearby bar. The meetup spot is 6 miles away and I ride my bike hard there, and at a leisurely pace on the way back. It's nice having this activity to look forward to every week. I haven't signed up for any races since the summer, but I have it in the back of my mind that I will start again in the spring, so that helps me make time for bike rides (which I enjoy). My friends don't like to run in the dark, so I will probably join a volleyball league this winter for some weekly socialization and activity. So, I think waaaay eaiser to find stuff you will like doing or at least an activity with people you like being around. Check Facebook for group rides/runs in your area.

latchkey 4y ago
Consider skipping the beer and dropping all alcohol entirely (but definitely still be social), you'd be surprised at how much it is holding you back fitness wise and how little you actually need it, beyond the thought that it is nice.
- lob_it 4y ago
  Zero-calorie vices really are better for aging gracefully. A 30-minute brisk walk may burn 200 calories, but calorie math is easier said than done. You don't have to lose the weight/calories if you do not gain the weight/calories :)

SoftTalker 4y ago

I started lifting a few years ago. Everything was good until this summer when I developed knee pain while squatting that was excruciating at its worst. Got that mostly fixed with some specific exercises and focus on coorect form, and then developed low back pain that I have not resolved yet. Most recently tore a muscle in my shoulder, which I am working on rehabbing. So now pretty much all daily activities are accompanied by some amount of pain. I wake up at least twice a night from shoulder or back pain.

candiddevmike 4y ago
Assuming you're not exercising, do you feel terrible mentally like this thread predicts?
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  I am still exercising, the main thing I cannot do at all right now is bench press or other pressing movements due to the shoulder. Squats and deadlifts I am doing at lower weights than what I was up to before the injuries, and I can do focused accessories such as tricep/bicep work, leg work, etc. I am also an older lifter and probably should have backed down at the earlier indications that a problem was developing. However it honestly was never more than some soreness that went away with warmups, so I wasn't really concerned about it. On the mental effects, I can say that for me that exercise doesn't change much. I am generally in a better mood after a good workout, but with the recent injuries I have been feeling more frustrated and dejected. But these feeling are pretty much the same ones I have when I succeed or struggle with a programming task or other mental work.
  - feet 4y ago
    Shoulder girdle stabilization is super important in your lifts, the muscles even help with form on deadlifts. If you look to start a routine to work out your stabilizers on a regular basis it can help prevent future injuries and help you feel even better when lifting. Turkish getups are fantasic

webmobdev 4y ago

One way out of this is to not join a gym but learn exercises that you can do anywhere (e.g https://blog.paleohacks.com/how-to-work-out-with-no-equipment/ https://blog.paleohacks.com/how-to-work-out-with-no-equipmen... ). And be forgiving towards yourself too - forgot to exercise for a day or a week, fine - some days are just shitty in our life - just do one exercise today (motivation follows actions). You don't have to do the full sets of exercise, if you don't feel like it. Just focus on doing one exercise (action is the fuel required to power your motivation). Enjoy the feeling. And continue again everyday.