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Struggling to Start

Old 06-09-2010, 06:46 AM
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Default Struggling to Start

I have no excuses, but still it's so hard to get myself moving! I'm retired and most of my out-of-the-house activities are in the evening. There is a brand new gym within easy walking distance that is offering free use for the month of June! My neighborhood has good walking areas. I want to be stronger and I'm basically pretty healthy. So why don't I just do it?

Maybe I just need a kick in the butt. I have to remind myself that I actually enjoy moving my body, and a 3-mile walk only takes about an hour. I know I feel better when I move my body. I used to really like doing Yoga. I skied a little this year, but now the snow season is over. I love sailing and go probably twice a week, but sometimes that means sitting and waiting for wind. I've never liked going to a gym, but I hear a lot of stories about people who have gone from hate to love in relation to a gym . . . how do they convince themselves to do that?
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Old 06-09-2010, 07:53 AM
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Hi Alice,

Here are a few tips that might help:
--It helps me if I find an instructor(s) that I like and then I take classes with them

--Also, I try to use the gym/exercise in general as a way to clear my mind and de-stress. So then it's more about overall mental health and not just about keeping my thighs in check.

--I have gotten burnt out from going to the gym before because I pushed myself too hard. Now when I go if I don't want to walk more then 10 minutes then I don't. At the same time, I try to push myself hard atleast once per week.

--Getting a walking buddy helps. Or even get a good book on tape and walk to that--outside or inside. Also, if you like trashy gossip magazines there are tons at my gym. Since I never buy them I sometimes want to go the gym just to read up on something as pointless as new outfits that Suri Cruise is wearing!

Last edited by blackrhino2; 06-09-2010 at 09:01 AM.
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Old 06-09-2010, 08:28 AM
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Good advice from Julia...the one thing that comes to the top of my brain is that if you can just commit yourself to five or ten minutes, once you are doing it, you will want to go further. Talk yourself into starting, then your endorphins will take over from there. There have been plenty times when I've been really unmotivated and just did not want to exercise, but not once did I start, do a few minutes, and then stop. That first hurdle is the biggest!
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Old 06-09-2010, 11:07 AM
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I'm not really a "love the gym" person either, but I go. Personally it helps me to equate working out with housework. I'm not nuts about doing laundry either, but my whole life runs a little smoother if I do a load every day. I also do what I can to make it "me" time, I listen to "my" music (not that horrible stuff the kids like), maybe catch up on the news or run errands on foot. I'm trying really hard to make exercise part of my daily routine, so that it becomes ingrained and I don't really think about it anymore.
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Old 06-09-2010, 05:53 PM
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Don't feel you have to do a 3 mile walk. Go walking for 10 or 20 minutes. Make it enjoyable instead of a chore. Decide that this is part of your new life style and not a chore. Find someone to walk with you and make yourself accountable to them. The point is to move forward, any activity is better than no activity.
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Old 06-10-2010, 12:43 AM
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hi Alice,

Here are a couple of tips that helped me to get started:

- Don't use the elevator - take the stairs!
- Whenever you can: don't take your car, but cycle or walk instead (believe me, with all the traffic going on the time you need to add when cycling instead of driving for, let's say, a 10 km distance, comes to no more than 20 to 30 minutes, but you get an hour worth of great cardio!



Best wishes, Molly
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Old 06-10-2010, 03:07 AM
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I don't enjoy the gym either, but I think of it as a means to make the activities I do more enjoyable because I'm fit. This last winter I did a class called 'Holiday Meltdown' and body pump 1-2x a week. I can't tell you how fun skiing was because I was fit. Th black diamonds were a breeze!
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Old 06-10-2010, 03:09 AM
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I love the gym and I have met some really nice ppl there. I would recommend not making it boring, like watching TV, reading mag/book, and zoning out. Put some effort into workingout. Concentrate on your movements and form. You're not going there to be a treadmill zombie, you are going there to burn calaries and build lean muscle. The more you get into what you are doing and the less you zone out with TV, mag/books, the better experience you'll have. You must have a goal other than weight loss. Try making a time/distance goal, or a weight lifted / quantity reps goal. Even some kind of stretching goal (I don't know LOL). Remember, it's called activity, not zoning out. If you become bored, you're not pushing yourself!!! Good luck
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Old 06-10-2010, 04:32 AM
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I understand your struggle....I don't think it comes easy for anyone who isn't already a regular exerciser.

Honestly, I have had to use everyone of these things that the others have stated. I have to do whatever I have to in order to make myself a priority and it happens to be exercise that comes with that package. I have been looking at it a little differently and trying to change my thinking from, "this is a chore" to more of the fact that I am worth whatever effort it takes to make me a priority and enjoy life.

You can do it! You are worth it!
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Old 06-10-2010, 05:37 AM
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Default Things which have helped me

I am a regular exerciser, but I have some tricks that I used to get myself out the door.

1) Don't think of your walk as an hour. Tell yourself that if you don't feel good after 15 minutes you will stop. Generally, if I get myself out for a run, by 15 minutes I am warmed up and will finish.

2) Do the same with the gym. Just get there. If you don't feel like working out, turn around and walk back out. You will proabably do something once you are there.

3) Like others said, do classes. That forces you to be there at a certain time. Too many times, I've said that I will exercise "later" and I never do it.

4) Set goals. I set weekly goals like running 3 times, swiming 2 times and lifting weights 3 times. Then I write them on the calendar on the days I plan to do them. When they get completed, I circle them in red marker. It makes a nice visual of what what planned and what got completed so I can modify the next week.

5) You say you like afternoons, but exercising first thing in the day can be great. You start the day feeling like something has been accomplished and it can really set the tone for the rest of the day.
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