The things I hate about exercise are too numerous to…enumerate. Which isn’t going to stop me.
I hate being hot. I hate sweating. I hate hearing it wouldn’t be boring and hateful if I’d just find the kind of exercise I LOVE, DUH! I hate how the first month I start exercising I put on ten pounds, and I don’t lose it until I (inevitably) quit exercising. I hate how no amount of exercise is ever considered “enough”: you always need to be doing MORE.
I don’t know if I could choose my absolute least-favorite thing about exercise, but today the honor goes to how much TIME it takes. When Henry started three-morning-a-week preschool last fall, I had a little talk with myself. I was pretty stern. I informed myself that with three mornings all by myself in the house, I certainly could spare 30 minutes three times a week to exercise.
And is it 30 minutes? Is it hell. From the moment I pull out the Wii Fit board until the moment I’m dressed in non-gross clothes again, it’s 60 minutes. And that’s to get an amount of exercise many people would consider completely negligible, and may I just as an aside kick their legs out from under them as they head out for their lazy little 5-mile run because they’re taking it easy today.
So, to exercise just enough that my doctor assumes I’m lying to her, it costs me three hours per week (plus ten pounds). That is a lot of time. And in case you are feeling tempted to argue with me, let me say it again with more of a “now is not the right moment for a receptive response to that argument” spin to my eye contact: THAT IS A LOT OF TIME. Three hours a week is a lot of time. Do you want me to add “to me” to the end of that sentence? I will at the end of the paragraph, but right now I’m to riled up to add that qualifier. I suppose if I were sitting around bored, flipping channels and then going to bed early because I couldn’t think of anything else to do, it might not be that big of a deal to me. But I spend every day almost PANTING with things I need/want to do. I hate bedtime because I’m always in the middle of something. Three hours is a lot of time to me.
It means giving up three hours of things I would rather do, every single week, for a benefit I have to take on faith. I am forced to assume it’s worth it. I am forced to assume the exercise benefit is better for my health than the extra ten pounds is bad for it. I am forced to assume that if I am someday fortunate enough to be an old lady, I will be more grateful for the three hours a week I spent exercising than I would be if I’d spent the three hours a week blogging or reading or cleaning or doing ANYTHING AT ALL I’D RATHER DO. Which I AM assuming, which is why I’m more than four months into this latest effort. But I am not HAPPY about it, and I’m not going to call it “me time” or “time for MYSELF” or whatever: this is a sacrifice, and I hate it. It’s CHORE time. If I were someone who used the expression “Me time,” I’d reserve it for things I LIKE DOING. Such as writing about how much I hate exercising.
Oh Swistle, I am with you. Except I don’t “find the time” as you do. You are a better woman than me.
I hate it too, and it IS a chore. Get dressed in work out clothes, find all accessories, stretch, work out, stretch again, then shower and make yourself presentable? It takes a long time. And to me it’s not fun.
But I’m doing it anyway. Blah.
Sparkpeople.com
Seriously. They have a bunch of short workouts (like 5, 8, 10, 15 minute workouts) that are FREE. You don’t even have to join the site (also FREE) to watch the videos, they’re all on YouTube. I sound like an ad, I just really like Sparkpeople (and FREE things)
Ooh, I’m with you! I know I should, I know it’s good for me, but so is tofu. Do I eat tofu? No!
All right I try to take the stairs etc and I try to exercise at home, and sometimes I am succesful (note the sometimes)! Hang in there, you probably will appreciate it when you are an old lady (if we don’t die first)
Oh Swistle! You said that exactly the way I would write it! The only form of “exercise” I have found that I don’t hate with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns is walking while listening to audiobooks. Particularly the Harry Potter audiobooks. Some would say a brisk walk isn’t enough but i have to believe its better than nothing. And since my youngest started kindergarten this year I thought trying to go for a decent walk several times a week would be really good. I am never going to be a gym person and ill never be the kind of person who loves to work out but walking with something really pleasant to listen to almost makes it almost pleasant if for no other reason than I feel like I’m doing something that’s good for me.
Oh, Swistle, I love this post. You have expressed *exactly* why I hate exercising, and I never could have expressed it so perfectly or succinctly. It’s never “just 30 minutes,” it’s never not uncomfortable, and it’s never not a chore. Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this.
Ramen. I hate every second of it.
I was just reading in The Four Hour Body (which I read in tiny tiny doses) that the simple idea of tracking your weight can help you lose without doing anything else. It helps your subconscious make other better decisions. I was previously of the opinion that I didn’t want to know my weight but perhaps that might give me some motivation. Track it everyday for a month and see what it does for me. Maybe I’ll get some motivation out of it. I do like lists…
The time suck is SO true. A 30-minute walk/run takes my full HOUR lunch hour, just because of dressing (FAST AS I CAN), quick potty-stop before, stretching before/after, cooling down, and re-dressing. I race back to my desk, just barely squeaking in.
I have always maintained that exercise is just one of many worthy hobbies. I do it, but I recognize that there are many OTHER self-improvement pursuits I choose NOT to do: stretching, meditating, flossing, taking care of my skin in any way whatsoever.
And those are just the PHYSICAL ones. We can’t do EVERYTHING.
I do think it’s nice that you’ve periodically TRIED, though, to see if anything has changed for you and if it’s something you’re willing to take time for. That is, afterall, the true spirit of the healthkick.
KHC- I like free things too! The main problem, I think, is that I still hate exercising even when it’s free.
I truly believe the people who say the time issue is an excuse are people who like to exercise, or at least don’t hate it as much. They probably have something else, like visiting the dentist that they loathe and can’t seem to find the time to do, but that’s okay because it’s not as important as exercise, which they do religiously. *eyeroll*
But seriously, you are right. A 30-minute workout is NOT 30 minutes. Taking into account dressing appropriately and showering and dressing afterwards, it takes an hour or more. And that’s assuming your workout time is time you already have free and that you don’t have to find childcare, wait for the buggers to give in to naptime or try to workout with a small child interrupting every two minutes or trying to “play” also.
Shannon- My coping method is to do the free step/run segments on Wii Fit, so I can watch TV/movies while exercising. It helps tamp down the sullen resentment a LITTLE.
Amen sister-friend! I loath working out more than I can say. LOATH! I don’t even think that is a strong enough word.
I have so many friends that are exercise nuts and love working out, my husband included. The more they would all tell me I needed to work out, and how it would be better with friends, or if I tried this work out, or did it at this time, the more I sort of wanted to drown them in a puddle of sweat and then go sit on the couch and eat a pint of ice cream to spite them.
Eventually I made myself do it despite that fact that it eats almost two hours of my day (because I have to drive to the gym and home again plus all the other extra crap that goes with a 30 minute run). I am also working on the sheer assumption that someday I will be happy I sacrificed that time out of my day.
I do not enjoy it though, not now, not ever. I do not like it with a friend, I do not like it with TV, I do not like it any way you hand it to me. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I Am!
Yup. The stationary bike while reading my kindle or watching TV is just barely tolerable. But it is certainly not enjoyable. Nor are the results enjoyable. I’m a tiny bit less fatter than I would have otherwise been? (no, my grammar is not wrong, I carefully chose those words!) That’s not that much of a benefit for me to lose out on the 1.5-2 hour school-and-naptime that is the only thing that makes my house even passably livable. I do it, but it is really really hard for me not to feel resentful and to feel like I’m actually doing something good for myself and not just being guilted into it.
Yes on the “sullen resentment.” That’s what clouds 99% of my workouts, actually. Jason claims running clears and makes him feel mentally awesome, whereas when I run I feel majorly homicidal. The only good part is when I’m DONE.
Oh I’m one of those ‘I love exercise’ people even though technically I’m obese. Meh.
Ok so there are forms I hate…running? Yeah that’s for insane people. Running for a game of squash is ok though. But I do aqua aerobics (with my good natured 18 year old nephew), I do taiko (Japanese drumming-youtube ‘Fubuki’), I do 2 hours of bollywood dancing a week (this part is fun, all the girls are chatty and it’s definitely ‘me time’) and I bike ride and kayak too…but those two are to spend time with my hubby.
You feel free to kick me in the knees lol. It is hard for me to fathom people who hate exercise, but I certainly do understand your time constraints with a house full of children and animals and no, it wouldnt qualify as me time. In your case ‘me time’ would be a nice coffe and a great book would it not? And surely thats good for your health too, everyone needs to de-stress!
Beylit- The poem. YES. LOVE.
Do you know why I am reading your blog right this very minute? Because I am procrastinating getting on the exercise bike.
I did buy a 12-swim pass at the public swimming pool yesterday when I went for the first time in months, though, because I thought having sunk the money might make me go back more frequently.
I go to the gym 3-4 days a week at the unreasonable hour of 5 am (GROAN). I do this so I can be home in the evening to cook dinner, do laundry & spend time w/ hubby. I HATE exercising. In fact, I told fellow gym goers the only reason I work out is so I can eat pizza, etc. Most agreed that was their reason too. I will say it does make it a little easier to have an exercise buddy. Someone you can lament with. Good luck.
I’m a runner and have been for 25+ years now. Eyeroll away.
I don’t do anything else even though there is so much pressure to do more…stretching, strength training, yoga, cross-training…. Hate them all with a passion so I understand where you are coming from. Plus, it’s never done anything for me when I’ve tried it for a few months. I’m just a runner. That’s what I do. yes, it takes up time but I can’t imagine NOT running.
Me time is not running–that’s work, not enjoyment. Me time is reading or watching TV or surfing the internet. Life’s too short to keep doing something you hate with no perceived benefits. That’s why I quit doing everything else and stuck with running. I’ll live with a weak upper body and super tight muscles. Whatever.
However, whenever I stop running, I gain weight, get really grouchy and fall into a depression. I suspect running keeps me from that. So, when I think about not going for a run, I think about how I’ll feel afterwards. If I’m OK with not going, I don’t go. If I know I’ll regret it, I go, because regret lasts all day, a run, less than an hour.
My oldest daughter is now at pre-school a brisk 15-minute walk away. This forces me to walk for at least an hour each day, with pushchair and usually some shopping as well. And now I don’t have to worry that I should be exercising. I hate exercising. But I’d rather walk to pre-school and back than drive (it doesn’t save much time and the parking is atrocious).
Even though I generally like to exercise (once I’m actually doing it, not all day at work when I’m dreading going to the gym at 5pm) but you are right that it takes SO MUCH TIME. Seriously. Last week I was recovering from the cold of death and thus didn’t go to the gym, and I couldn’t get over how much time I had in the evenings! At first I couldn’t figure out where all this magical TIME came from, and then I remembered oh yeah, that whole working out thing usually takes 2 hours from start to finish (with travel time, showering afterward, etc).
I’m not a fan of exercise either, but I do it anyway, seven days a week because it is good for me and my health. (And not in an abstract way, but a very concrete way.)
My husband is not a fan either, but he has started exercising with me.
We want to show our kids how important taking your health seriously is.
I’ll never be a marathon runner like my sister (she averages at least a 14 mile run a day plus a workout–yuck!) but hopefully I’ll improve my health and impart an important message to my kids.
When you spend 159 hours of your week responsible for children and 9 hours on your own, then 3 hours is a HUGE amount of time.
You need some sort of reward system, maybe something like the crappy day presents. Would it be easier to exercise three times a week if you got a little surprise at the end?
Hm. I kind of vote that you quit. I wonder if this is bad of me?
I vote that if you would RATHER be cleaning for those three hours, strap on a pedometer and clean for three hours a week. This will make you much happier on so! many! levels!
I think that is why my resolution this year is to DO. Not “exercise”, but to dehydrate vegetables and plant chives and straighten the living room and finally buy that primer. Just, do. Because you are moving, accomplishing, right? Our ancestors didn’t do WiiFit, they just DID stuff.
Amen. ;)
My husband and I weren’t exercising at all. The weight gain creep was slow but steady. Our thoughts went like this:
1. Something is better than nothing.
2. Our free time is minimal and very important to us.
3. Our goals need to be realistic and a routine will help us stick to it.
We found something we do every single day – put the children to bed. We agreed to exercise for only 15 minutes every single day after we put the children to bed. I don’t even change clothes because it is only 15 minutes. That keeps the extra time necessary for exercise-based setup/cleanup tasks to a minimum. It ends up being 20 minutes total, which doesn’t feel like too much of the 90 minutes or so between the children’s bedtime and ours.
It’s going well so far (for the entire week we’ve been using the plan). I don’t resent 15-20 minutes the way I resent bigger chunks of time and the routine will help the plan be sustainable. And cumulatively it is still at least 90 minutes a week.
Do you find the Wii Fit to be challenging enough? I know my most annoying workouts are those where I feel I didn’t get a good workout. Because the fixed cost of going to the gym (changing, driving, parking, etc.) are always the same, so when the benefit isn’t there, I resent it. At the time I may be happy I’m giving myself an easy workout day (stationary bike or walking on the treadmill), but afterwards I’m always annoyed because I feel like I wasted my time.
As far as the gaining 10 lbs thing- are you sure you’re not eating more? I know the most I ever weighed was when I did a marathon. I was hungry all the time and ate more than I needed to to make up for the burnt calories. This is really common when people start working out.
Yep. Yep yep yep. I wish people would stop saying that it’s “only” 30 minutes a day. Because that totally negates the other time involved. Getting to the gym, if one needs to get there. Dressing in the gym clothes. Walking around in a sweaty out-of-breath state until one is cool enough to move on. Undressing. Showering. Getting ready.
ARGH.
I am with you because anything other than running seems like a Chore. I do think of running as me time, which I know is just a lucky happenstance because of how many people loathe running. But doing the Shred? Chore. Yoga, even though I do like it? Chore. Lifting weights? Chore.
Allyson- Yes, I’m assuming it’s that I’m eating more.
YES. This is what I was trying to get across to my husband yesterday and it didn’t come out right. He loves to run and running IS his “me time.” It was nice out yesterday and I thought I might run, too. So we’re trying to negotiate the day – church, grocery shopping, running, etc – and it becomes apparent to fit it all in the time we spend each spent running would be the ONLY TIME either of us would get a break from the kids/housework. I tried to tell him that while I wanted to run, I definitely didn’t want to spend all my precious kid-free time doing it. We kept going in circles where he said well, if you want to do something else for 30 minutes, then do something else. I said yes, I do want to do something else, but I also feel like I have to fit in the running somewhere.
I see our problem was that we approach running completely differently. For him it’s me time. For me it’s a CHORE and needs to fit into the chore time of the day and not the me time. If I run I want CREDIT for doing chores. I never get it, though, since he runs longer and doesn’t even want credit.
I chose to take a nap during my time off (he let me sleep for an hour!) and that also pisses me off. I get up every single night with the baby, hence the need for a nap (although I rarely get one). He, however, doesn’t need a nap, so he can choose to do other things with his time. NOT FAIR. How am I supposed to exercise when I can barely stay upright?
(BTW, he totally would get up with the baby at least every now and then, but the baby wants milk and I’m the one who’s got it.)
I like the way I feel AFTER exercising, but apparently not enough because I haven’t been to the Y in over a month, and even when I AM there, I keep thinking, “How long do I have to stay to make it worth it?”
Oh, Swistle, I am completely in agreement with you! I hate exercise. I absolutely despise getting all hot and sweaty – it itches, it’s stinky, I get all splotchy, and there is nothing remotely ‘fun’ about it. And all those people who claim that exercise gives you an adrenaline rush and that if you just keep at it eventually you will learn to love it are BIG LYING LIARS WHO LIE.
The only exercise I ever enjoyed was back when I was doing synchronized swimming in high school and college, but trying to find a place with a pool that actually has lap swim time available at some point other than in the middle of the day when I am stuck in an office has proved impossible (No, I’m not bitter about that at ALL).
Another blogger- who I also know in real life- recently wrote about what she is doing to feel more energetic, etc. I like that she is figuring out what works for her. More exercise did not equal better weight management for her. She had to go another route. I will include her post link at the bottom. Also: I hate the whole process of before/after exercise as well. The sweaty/hot thing is a real turn off!
http://the-mother-load.blogspot.com/
Mind you, I’m on the couch reading my RSS feeds right now instead of exercising, but someone sent me this link to a YouTube video about the benefits of exercise, and even though the half hour of exercise, as you say, does actually turn into 60 minutes of effort, it might be more worthwhile than you think. (I am in no way affiliated with the makers of this video.) Watch it to the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo
Swistle – you’re totally right in all of that.
That said, I don’t like exercising really, I feel like it’s a waste of time. But I LOVE being active. I love walking and running with my dogs, I love roller skating down my street, I love walking all over my city, and suchlike.
The blogger that spoke to me was Andi from Can You Stay For Dinner (link at bottom.) She lost a lot of weight, but that’s not the point; the point is that she doesn’t force herself to run or exercise. She also explains in a loving way WHY exercising is not always worth it (hello! I burned off 200 calories in my mile walk/run. How easy is it to inhale a nomtastic 200 calories?)
http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/
Life is too short- focus on the things you love to do. And do a Google search, I bet a LOT of those things you love to do burn calories. The point is to MOVE your body in some way every day and you do. Tell the Wii Fit board to F Off. That is not fun at all.
Capital letters YES. I have tried many, many times. It is a lot of time and it sucks. Sometimes I love it, but then I stop because life happens and then I start all over hate it again for many many months until for a brief month I love it. Repeat.
For a short time I really did love “exercising,” but that was only because we had a gym membership with child care, so I could take my clingy/whiney/teething but happy with everyone but me baby to the gym and drop him off with someone else, and I could sit on an exercise bike and read my book without anyone bugging me or asking me to come do something ;) So it was really “reading with a side of exercising so that I have a reason to be someplace where somebody else can watch the baby for a little while and I can have some peace and quiet” as opposed to “exercising”. Now we don’t have that gym membership and my baby is less clingy, so we go on walks around the block and I call it a day ;)
I so understand your upside-down hearting exercise, even though I feel the opposite. I’m one of those people who doesn’t feel right or good or human if I don’t sweat every day or at least every other day. I think it’s because I was heavily involved in dance from an early age so sweaty = normal for me. Were you into sports/dance as a kid? Have you ever lost yourself in movement of any kind to the point where you forgot that you were “exercising”? If so: that’s the exercise you “LOVE, DUH!” If not, maybe there is something you haven’t tried. Or maybe it’s just going to be about finding something tolerable. Some way of multi-tasking when you exercise to make it not such a loss of time.
In my book: no exercise is negligible if it a. feels good and b. is tolerable.
Jessica, what you said about “me time” and chores is exactly the battle I have with my husband, including the getting up with the baby and naps part. Except he doesn’t run, he just enjoys the handywork stuff like mowing lawn and working in the garage and gardening and even housework. ALL of that stuff to me is CHORES while for him it’s FUN. So he happily does that “productive” stuff in his free time and acts like I’m a lazy bum for working a puzzle or watching a movie. Not fair.
Have you tried Just Dance for the Wii? I rented it this weekend (from a REAL video store! Imagine!) and LOVE it! I get a great workout but it’s FUN! And I HATE exercising.
They also have a Just Dance Kids, that might be fun to do as a family. So rather than a dull, boring workout, you could playing and laughing with your kids. Just a thought. One thing I swore to do this year is play Wii at least once a week with my soon-to-be 7 yr old and Just Dance is great fun for both of us. My 15 yr old son will even play with us!
OK, so here is my question – does it make you feel good? Like, are you getting any kind of endorphin rush or mood elevation for the rest of the day when you exercise? Because this might be totally the wrong thing to say, but if it makes you gain weight and you hate it AND it doesn’t make you feel better, I wouldn’t do it. I really wouldn’t.
For me, even though I hate that 30 minutes, I feel like A MILLION BUCKS for the rest of the day, so it’s worth it. If there wasn’t a “feel great” pay out, it would so not be worth the time output. I mean, it barely is at this point, and I have figured out to minimize that as much as I can.
Wow, that wasn’t very encouraging.
Sorry.
I hear you on the time suckage. Exercising takes all my extra time, and I really hate that.
I am with you 100%. I don’t think I will ever “enjoy” exercise or find the one that makes me unresentful. The ONLY way I get myself on the treadmill is to have something good to watch (currently started Friday Night Lights) and I bribe myself.
i’m in the “enjoy the AFTERWARDS of exercising” camp, so i do force myself to work out occasionally because i know i will feel better afterwards. however, i do usually need some form of exercise that involves other people – like going to my pole classes, or playing frisbee. sports are good for me because i’m competitive, so i’ll run a heck of a lot more to prevent someone from scoring on me than i would if i was just.. running. for “fun.”
I completely understand where you are coming from. I just recently found something I LOVE doing, which I never thought would happen. ZUMBA! But, I love dancing and have always loved dancing. It also helps that the class is from 7-8 pm which means I get to leave right before bedtime and my husband gets to do it all by himself 2 nights per week. So, for me, it IS me time and the only thing I am missing is bedtime! (and I am a SAHM so I see the kids all day long, so I am not sad to miss bedtime).
That all being said, I also seem to put on weight and have trouble taking it off while exercising and I think it’s because it makes me hungry and I come home and then stuff my face!! Also, I am 33 and it took me this WHOLE time to find something I loved that was also affordable and didn’t take too much time (for me). (I also loved power yoga back in the day, but at $10-15 a class, I just can’t justify it. And also, many of the classes were 90 mins long!)
AMEN. God, I am so sick of reading the New Year’s-y “I love running so much!!!!!!111!!1!” posts. It’s great that you love it — truly, I’m pleased for you — but enough already.
YES. YES YES YES. I’m not doing it at all, which is terrible, but it’s not high enough on my meter to register. My I’d-rather-do-this-than-exercise list is miles long. It DOES take up too much time! Which I don’t have!
I know there are a thousand reasons this wont work for you…but have you tried zumba? (www.zumba.com put in your zipcode and it gives you classes nearby…) I’m a complete loaner, I hate talking to people, I get this horrible feeling that I’m going to say something STUPID and then everyone will think I’m STUPID. Except at Zumba, where I’m friendly and flirty and have a blast, and I’m kinda bad ass. I DON’T KNOW WHY! I just am. And I’m kinda addicted.
Just for the record *MOST* classes will allow you attend one class for free. Then usually it’s about 5 bucks a class afterwards, but some places give you discounts if you buy more than class at a time. Anyhow, I recommend it, and I’m a fat girl that hates excersize!!!!
The only exercise I’ve ever enjoyed is a) Hawaiian Dance (very body positive, low impact, and makes you feel graceful) and b) canvassing door-to-door for candidates.
Do yourself a favor, and wear a pedometer during ALL the stuff you do (without adding extra exercise). Track your steps on America on the Move. (https://aom3.americaonthemove.org/join-the-movement.aspx?gclid=CIKr_qbaw60CFegSNAodVRRECA).
You’ve got 5 kids, and only 3 hours to yourself. You are on the move constantly. Stay aware of it.
I recently found a new kind of exercise I love – WAIT come back, I STILL don’t do it enough because of the time factor. The class I love is an hour long, then there’s getting there, showering and dressing afterwards and getting back and I’m up to two hours. Well, my employer is not so wonderful as to allow me a 2 hour lunch 3x a week, so I do the class only on the week-end. The rest of the week I try to cobble together some other half-assed exercise that I can get to, do, and recover from in 1-1.5 hours, which is the absolute max of my lunch hour that I can take maybe 1-2 days a week. I do it because when I don’t exercise I sleep like crap and become a grouchy, depressed hag.
I wish someone would invent a machine I could walk through when done with exercising and be clean and ready to go in 5 minutes. Sigh.
I feel this way a lot, too. I throw an annoying amount of hours into exercising at the gym every week, and it sucks SO MUCH. Well, except for the class I take on Tuesday nights because the instructor is SUPER HOT and also REALLY NICE and that is a major win. But all the other workouts SUCK SO MUCH. “Me-time” my ass.
I have no advice other than get a hot fitness instructor. Not really useful, I’m sure.
I wish there was a better answer. (I also wish my schedule let me get to more of Hot Instructor’s classes because SERIOUSLY.)
I also hate exercising. I like how I feel afterwards, and I like seeing that I can go faster/further than I did before, but I hate actually doing it. The only way I cope with it is that I turn on one of my pandora stations and let myself daydream as wild as I want to, like little-kid imagination type stuff. It seems to help. Also, the fact that I can’t fit into any of my pants and we simply can’t afford to buy any new ones help the motivation factor.
I am sorry I’m unable to fling myself at you and hug you. Please consider it done.
Just today I was thinking, “I wouldn’t have to pay for a gym membership that I hate if I would just get out and walk.” But the only time I have for walking is in the evening — the same Only Time I have for writing. So I wonder, Which should I do? Writing, which feeds my soul and pushes me closer to what I really want out of life, or walking, which I don’t like but supposedly makes me feel GOOD and HEALTHIER? So I was very receptive to your post today.
— SJ
So glad to find someone else who agrees that exercise makes us fat. And the problem with adding extra years to your life is that those extra years are at the end, where you don’t want them. I’d want them in my 20’s or 30’s somewhere.
I don’t like to exercise, either. But I DO find that once I’m “in shape” it’s more tolerable. I find satisfaction is seeing how something that was once hard for me is now not as hard. And I prefer long, fast walks outside, with a friend. That way, I’m getting some “social” time in, away from the kids/noise/house/responsibilities, and also it makes the time go so much faster to talk to someone.
I’m having so much trouble finding the TIME to exercise these days. I loathe home DVDs but I might have to go that route. SIGH.
I will commiserate with the amount of time it takes. My classes are usually 45 min-1 hr and the Y is 10 minutes away and I have to get there a bit early because I’m compulsive and then I have to come home and shower. I do like the classes I take and find them fun and I like my results, but it does take a lot of time. I’m always amazed at the things I can get done on no-exercise days.
I’m almost (but not quite!) embarrassed to admit that I’ve never been to a gym in my life (apart from school, of course, but THAT unhappy time is now waaaaay in the past). I do no “exercise” at all and pretty much never have since leaving school in 1987 (egads, I’m old!). I did a dance class – flamenco – for a year, learnt to swim (as an embarrassed adult) once and have never swum since, tried tai chi very, very briefly and “did” (and HATED) yoga for about 6 months. But that’s it. That said, I don’t drive so I walk a LOT – at least 30 minutes every day, often way more, so I figure that is enough.
I hated sport at school with a passion and totally, totally identify with your post! Even though both my girls have been in full-time school (8.30 to 4.45 every day but Wednesday) for several years, I still don’t have the “time” to use any kind of fitness DVD and certainly can’t afford a gym subscription I know I’d never use as I’m way too self-conscious to go out in public…
I do wish I enjoyed sport more, I must admit. But hey. I’m not overweight (could lose a few pounds, for sure though) and I’ve survived this far…
As I read this I have put away 7 mini reese peanut butter cups. Oops.
I would love a detailed review/talk about wii fit. We are thinking of purchaing it soon.
I hate hate hate exercising, for the reasons you listed. I don’t like feeling gross! The only exception is during camping trips “hey, let’s hike up to the haunted house!” because you just stay dirty the whole time anyway. Or beach vacations “let’s go walk along the shore!” because I can take my time getting cleaned up and don’t have to be presentable unless I want to be. Working out at home? Going to the gym? Been there, done that, too old to waste my time on it ever again.
You did a marvelous job of putting my exact thoughts on exercise into words. But you win the better person award because I still haven’t actually started an exercise regimen yet.
I AM SO WITH YOU. so far the only exercise I’ve found that I like is tumbling classes…which so far has led to 3 ankle surgeries. So THAT’S good.
however! I do suggest getting a dog and taking it for walks! walks are exercise and dogs are cute, and my verification is liftsoff, which is what I DO NOT DO.
Oh, amen amen amen! I hate exercising. The doing of it is miserable, and all I feel afterward is hot and tired and cranky because I’m hot and tired.
I also have heard that I wouldn’t hate exercise if I just found The Right One For Me (uh-huh). And even better, because I never get that fabled endorphin rush after exercising, I’ve been told that maybe I’m just not working hard enough. Which makes me want to Bite (I would hit them, but I’m too tired).
“It means giving up three hours of things I would rather do, every single week, for a benefit I have to take on faith. I am forced to assume it’s worth it.” Oh, and THAT TOO!
Swistle, I hate it too. Hate it. But I read once that exercise is like medicine. Even when it tastes bad, you just have it take it. Popping a pill takes much less time than a hour long regimine, but the analogy stuck with me. The only grace is that the more you do it, the easier it gets. My sense is that you’re a busy mom of 5 kids so you’re probably moving and using your body more than those of us sitting in an office chair all day anyway, so cut yourself some slack.
I think I might feel about cooking the way you feel about exercise. And if our feelings are even in the same ballpark….lord help you! I commiserate!
Loved this post! Worth the wait after the blank “Things I Like about Exercise” post, which I also maintain was GOLD, despite your unpublishing it.
Yes, exactly! Hate all of it so much. I am impressed you get 3 hours in. Good job.
Halle-frigging-lujah! I hate it. Always have, always will. All kinds. I don’t understand the people that say it makes them feel good…or gosh I feel so great after that half marathon I just ran. It.is.bullshit. I can’t get into it. I wish I could. I want to be the girl that “runs”. Does fun races “with the girls”. But it makes me feel hot, sweaty, disgusting, tired, gross, lethargic. I must not have those “enorphins” people claim exercise releases. Missing that gene, I suppose
“I hate bedtime because I’m always in the middle of something. “
I snorted the coffee at that one (yes, I’m drinking coffee just before midnight, in the hopes of getting one more thing done!)
I feel that way a lot too. I used to not. Before I had sixth kid I was really fit and I actually did like to exercise. I liked feeling powerful and strong. But now I just resent the time it takes. Sometimes I will not feel this way, but not often. I am hopeful that if I will just get into a good routine I will get back to liking it.
Just had to comment again to say Lindsay I feel the same about cooking! I know some people love it. But I always resent it. It takes forever and makes a huge mess that must be cleaned to make something consumed in about 15 minutes. Not. Worth. It. Of course we cook because we are not millionaires and can’t afford a chef, but I swear if I win the lottery, cooking is the thing I’d give up before the ink on the check was dry!
I have a hard time getting myself to exercise, despite the following:
– I don’t COMPLETELY hate it
– I like to watch trashy TV shows on MTV while I run on the treadmill (16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, Jersey Shore)
– I live DOWN THE HALL from the gym room in my building
– I only have to take care of myself
I am very very impressed that you manage to get yourself to exercise, even when you pretty much hate it AND you have five (FIVE!!!) children to take care of. Hats off to you.
I meant to post yesterday and just never got to. Probably because I wasted commenting-time on EXERCISING, ha!
I do kind of like to exercise but only because I like having exercised. I wanted to say that I feel you though, LORD it takes a long time. It takes so much time that I don’t have that I do the following: I stay gross, like if I showered in the morning and then I exercise, I just don’t shower again, sometimes I even stay in my freaking exercise clothes, what can you do? I also really enjoy Leslie Sansone workouts, they are just walking workouts, basically low impact aerobics, and sometimes I can walk AROUND my livingroom and pick up some things, or dust some things, or whatever.
Also, I wanted to say, I log my food and exercise on My Fitness Pal and there are LOTS of things that are exercise there, like housecleaning, for example, and I would totally count that. I do! Some days I just do what I call EXTREME! housecleaning or EXTREME! yard work and I just try to keep moving while I’m cleaning. It has to count, no matter what that asshole Jillian says. I sometimes do her workouts too, so I am always ready to hate her.
It ALWAYS takes SO! MUCH! LONGER! than the actual “workout.” It is infuriating.