How to Finally Start Exercising (Even If You Hate It)
Hating exercise is not the same as being lazy. Motivation to exercise is a tricky subject, but if getting off the couch is the hardest thing for you, we can help you. Here’s how to finally start exercising, no matter how much you hate it.
In fact, there is evidence that your innate enjoyment of exercise may be determined by your genes. A relatively recent study by The Journal of Physiology led to selective breeding of mice based on their predisposition to exercise. After several generations of mating (or, say, inbreeding, like the Lannister’s ), brain activity showed that one group of mice found exercise to be beneficial and thus voluntarily did more exercise while another group did not.
But, of course, humans are not mice, except for Peter Pettigrew . There are many reasons why exercise can tire you out. However, it’s hard to discount the fact that genetics play a role. For those unlucky in this pool, it can quickly get out of hand if you put on weight as a result; you hate exercise, and gaining weight makes getting started harder .
More importantly, hating exercise is not a moral flaw , as many think. Hell, the treadmill was originally designed as a torture device , and what you hate is no more to blame than … well … any other torture device.
But, as I said , guilt and responsibility are not the same thing. You can’t help your innate feelings or preferences, but you are damn responsible for doing something about it. I have found that if there is a kind of laziness preventing people from playing sports, it is not a physical, but a mental one – it is laziness of alternative explanations, rather than reducing the task to pure “laziness”, showing oneself compassion, and then sticking to an effective plan .
So take the right mental space and move forward with the next plan.
Choose the right exercise discipline for your goals
I found that this is where people make the biggest mistake. The default activity for anything health-related is to start running or take part in an event like a marathon. “I need to lose weight … I need to start running!” “I need to improve my flexibility and back problems … I have to run a marathon!” “Dude, this rash is still not going away … I bet there is a treadmill sale somewhere!”
There are natural reasons why running is the preferred exercise by default. Not only is it super affordable, but there is a kind of “just do it” mentality in society, which also implies that you have to “just soak it up” and get to work. But this is the wrong way of thinking. This means that there are several nuances in adherence to the regime, and failure means that you “just couldn’t do it.” Translation: Obviously, you “weren’t cool enough” to do something so simple.
In fact, since most people start exercising with the goal of losing weight, running may be the worst route. This can be painful for those who are significantly overweight and – along with other forms of calorie-burning exercise – provides a low return on your investment .
This does not mean that running is bad. Start running if you really love it (or can honestly see you love it), if weight loss isn’t your main concern, or if you clearly want to improve your endurance. However, if weight loss is your priority or you just can’t stand running, consider other forms of exercise. For those who are overweight and sedentary, it is better to start by walking. Better yet, consider spending some time strength training in the gym (if your finances allow) or using your own body weight .
Find the most important criterion for creating this habit
The best apps are known for getting users to stick with and create a habit of using them every day. One way to do this is by using a concept known as activation – the magical understanding of “aha” that prompts someone to start using a product repeatedly. For example, “activating” Facebook gives seven friends in the first ten days, while activating Dropbox downloads your first file.
Thinking of exercise as “sticky” works wonders in terms of adherence, and luckily, we can apply these same concepts to fitness.
When you choose the exercise of your choice – be it yoga, running, strength training, boxing, or whatever – find the improvement that interests you the most. If you are doing strength training, this could mean that you can do more push-ups in one set, or increase your favorite exercise, such as the shoulder dumbbell press. If you want to get better at running, that could mean better time on a one mile run or better time on a sprint. If you find it difficult to find a score, consider using “felt tension” on a scale of one to ten. For example, if you start walking more, consider using the total amount of time you walk at a brisk pace until you feel 7/10 fatigued.
The concept of activation explains why many group activities , despite their cult hype, are ineffective when it comes to commitment. It’s harder to find your own definition of “activation” by doing something like SoulCycle or a similar class of cookie cutter. Moreover, you are forced to move at the pace of others in the group, and not in your own.
Whichever choice you choose to “activate,” remember that the improvement may be marginal at first — an extra rep in your set of push-ups, or a few seconds per mile. But make no mistake, activation is important because it makes the exercise “sticky”. It’s not enough to just feel good about what you’ve done. It’s okay at first, but it won’t last long, especially for those who don’t like exercise initially. Don’t be fooled into thinking that one day you will like it . Hell, even I still don’t know.
Activate and improve
Once you’ve decided on your metric to activate, measure your baseline. Using the examples above, this means you can see how many push-ups you can do in one set, or how long it will take you to run a mile. Make sure you are using reasonable efforts.
Then go for a proven beginner program rather than continuing on your own. For strength training, I suggest the Initial Strength Program , the Lifehacker Bodyweight Program, or the Minimum Viable Fitness Program I wrote. When it comes to running, I’ve heard a lot of good reviews about the Couch to 5k . The Reddit / r / fitness subsection has a good selection of programs for beginners . Make sure the program you choose includes your metric and the “activation” exercise. Better yet, if you can, select an activation rate that is already included in your chosen program.
After a week, compare with your baseline using exactly the same conditions. You will most likely see an improvement – if not, treat fitness as an objective issue and figure out what went wrong. It’s like a concrete victory … you just got better. It took not weeks or months, but almost a whole week. Be sure to note and appreciate that as a beginner, you will continue to make weekly improvements. Eventually you will realize that success is not about following superficial mantras like “just do it”, but rather going beyond this mentality.