October 18th, 2007 in Lifehack, Lifestyle

13 Tips to Actually Enjoy Exercising

Is staying in shape always something that gets bumped to the bottom of your list? I know many people that complain about not having enough time to exercise. I think they are lying to themselves. The real problem is that they hate exercising, so it will never be a priority.

I used to hate exercising too. Going to the gym, running and most forms of physical activity seemed dull and painful compared to most other ways I could spend my time. But by not giving up and looking for a way I could enjoy working out, I reversed this pattern. Now I exercise 5-6 times per week and I hate not being able to go.

Here’s some tips to make exercise something you actually want to do:

Make it a Habit - Remove the thinking element. If you can make exercise a habit, then it becomes that much easier to go. Here’s some tips on making habits stick if you aren’t sure where to start.
Get a Partner - Get someone else to go to the gym with you. Pick someone who is committed to their health. Not only can you socialize with someone while you’re there, but you’ll have a backup in case your motivation alone isn’t enough to drag yourself out there.
Tune Your Challenge Level - Here are two bad ways to start exercising. Go out and run until your winded and dry-heaving into a ditch. Show up to the gym, walk around, don’t do anything strenuous and go back home. In one case you put the challenge level to high, the other wasn’t challenging at all. Your goal is to set a workout routine that is challenging, but not overwhelming. Challenge is key to enjoyment.
Set Goals - Not weight-loss or muscle gain goals, but fitness goals. Set goals to beat your past records in distance ran, push-ups or chin-ups you can do, weight you can lift or degree you can stretch. Fitness goals make the gym a game where you strive to beat your previous high-score.
Get Past Your Comfort Zone - So what if you aren’t the most svelte or muscular person in the gym? Self-consciousness can be a big obstacle to enjoying your workout. The key is to get used to it. When you continue to show up, you’ll pay less attention to the people around you and more to your workout.
Experiment - Don’t stick with the same routine. Mix it up and try different activities. There are many different exercise routines you can follow or activities to try. If you don’t like lifting weights or running, try sports, martial arts or dancing. Assuming that exercise needs to be pumping iron or jogging may limit you from finding something you would truly enjoy.
Music - This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but music can enhance a workout. I find running almost twice as enjoyable with music than without it.
Short Workouts - Don’t have time or enthusiasm to last an hour? Just go for twenty or thirty minutes. Shorter workouts can be better than longer ones if the intensity is higher and you become more focused as a result. After an hour or two of exercise your body starts to go into a state where more exercise can actually reduce physical improvements.
Daily Challenges - Make your workout into a game. Sticking with the same type of exercises can get boring, so mix it up by introducing an unusual workout challenge. My gym partner and I have played a game that involves sit-ups and a deck of cards or one workout day that involves different types of push-ups. If you aren’t sure where to get ideas, look through a magazine like Mens Fitness which usually features a variety of different workouts.
Reward Showing Up, Not Weight Loss - Some people have gotten the idea that they should reward themselves for losing weight or gaining muscle. I disagree. Instead, I think you should reward showing up to the gym and exercising regularly. There are many ways you can lose or gain weight in unhealthy fashions. Rewarding exercise is rewarding your commitment to health.
Make Exercise Your Stress Relief - I know many people that swear by using the gym to relieve stress. Some of them will head to the gym because of a frustrating day even if it isn’t on their schedule. Exercising can be cathartic and release negative feelings if you get used to using it that way. Then instead of avoiding the gym because of a stressful day, it will be your reason to go.
Record Improvements - Again I recommend recording fitness over body improvements. Recording weight loss or muscle gain is a good idea, but because of the way your metabolism functions it becomes increasingly harder to make weight changes as you go to the gym more regularly. But fitness improvements can, if you work on it, continue to rise. Keep a record of your strength, endurance and flexibility so you can get pride in your accomplishments.
Make Time - You can’t say you don’t have time to exercise. Exercise improves your energy levels and mood which makes you more productive than any time lost. Find your forty minutes somewhere in the day and make it a commitment. Get up a bit earlier and go in the morning. Or schedule it right after work before you settle down for the day. Once you make time and make it a habit, you’ll actually want to exercise instead of just feeling you should.

WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY

Scott H Young

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Remco says on October 18th, 2007 at 10:27 am

I’d think the rule “find something that you enjoy doing” trumps all of those.

It took me a while to realize that, in spite of following most of your tips, in spite of seeing some results, regular weight lifting / cardio exercise in a gym IS boring, for me.

Now I cycle to work (found a nice route through a forest), do power yoga, and go to a climbing hall. Your mileage will vary.

I get much more exercise now than when I tried to get into a habit of going to the gym, and now I actually enjoy it! Makes it much easier to keep doing it regularly.
James says on October 18th, 2007 at 11:32 am

Shorter workouts definitely worked well for me. To start with, it’s better to just to do the exercise, regardless of how long you do it for. Of course, when it’s become an habit, then you can start thinking about setting targets and goals as you know you won’t end up putting yourself off getting the exercise.
PaulW says on October 18th, 2007 at 2:43 pm

Try Crossfit:

http://www.crossfit.com

I think you will never be the same again.
Jeff Rice says on October 18th, 2007 at 4:32 pm

Short workouts - people have heard too many steroid juiced bodybuilders talk about 2 hour long routines with huge volume. If you work out for more than 45 minutes, your cortisol, a catabolic steroid that stops inflammation, creates fat and breaks down muscle, begins to overcome your testosterone, an anabolic steroid that allows protein synthesis, increases strength and builds muscle. 75 minutes is about the top a non-juicer can workout before the negatives begin to outweigh the benefits. Make sure you recover enough between sets that your ATP levels recover (45 seconds to 3 minutes depending on rep range, meaning more for lower), but don’t drag a workout out thinking it will help.

Daily challenges - while I agree that secondary exercises should be mixed up to shock your body into growth and keep things interesting, you have to stick with the big ones to ensure progress. Bench, overhead press, chin ups, deadlift and squat. Don’t substitute leg extensions for squats. Supplement maybe, but never substitute.

Stress relief - once you reach a certain intensity, neurotransmitters will flood your body and brain. They’ve been shown in many studies to regulate anxiety and depression at least as well as medication. It’s hard to reach at first, but stick with it and it happens.
Sarah Stokely says on October 18th, 2007 at 10:10 pm

Thanks for this post. As someone who’s put in a fair amount of work into building an exercise regime this year, I think working out how to develop an exercise regime you *enjoy* is so important.
I linked to your post on my blog,and wrote a response:
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/t.....ercis.html

I would add one very big tip - exercise outdoors where you can enjoy nature, the wildlife, saying hi to people walking their dogs. Much nicer than staring at the walls of a gym!
Perfect Life Project says on October 19th, 2007 at 1:06 am

Great advice. Fitness is one of the keys to a great life.
Productivity Blog says on October 19th, 2007 at 6:22 am

Find a workout partner worked out for me. We motivate each other
Monica says on October 20th, 2007 at 6:30 pm

Great article! These are the rules that clients follow when they lose big time weight and get super fit.

My favorite was number three. Way too many people overwhelm themselves at the beginning when they should focus more on consistency and goals.

I’m linking to this from all my sites!
Tim says on October 22nd, 2007 at 6:48 am

The best work out partner I can recommend is a nephew/niece/son/daughter. Someone who will enjoy going to the park to play with a frisbee or a ball or needs to learn to ride a bike.

Make a regular habit of this and you will be killing two or three birds with one stone. You will be strengthening ties with relatives, improving your fitness and you will be having fun. I’ve tried it and it works. Its also cheaper than gym membership.
jeff says on October 30th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

Getting feedback on how you are progressing is an important part of maintaining motivation. Gym equipment is good in that it does give feedback on calories, speed etc. however, sometimes you just want to get outdoors. There are now GPS enabled wrist band training aids which give you even more feedback than most gym equipment. See http://gpstekreviews.com/2007/.....ning-aids/
for an idea of what’s available.
Anonomya says on January 30th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

“Exercise improves your energy levels and mood” No, not for most people. Or at least most people don’t get ever to that level. Can anyone say how long it took between after starting to excercise to get to this point?

For we competitive computer nerds, Wii Boxing works great and soon Wii Fit will be out.
ashley says on February 3rd, 2008 at 2:11 am

Awesome!
Salar Madadi says on May 16th, 2008 at 11:59 am

Scott,

Another good tip is to try out many different physical activities until you find something that you actually enjoy. Once you find something fun, you stop thinking of it as work and it starts to happen automatically.

I’ve struggled with weight loss in the past and would always start up at the gym and then quit after 3 months. Going to the gym and forcing myself through a routine always just seemed like work and I would give up.

7 months ago I started snowboarding and taking Muay Thai classes. I found that I really enjoyed both of those activities and have been very consistent at them. I’ve gone back to the gym now, but it’s because I want to increase my strength for something I enjoy: Muay Thai. Since finding activities I enjoy, I’ve been able to keep my consistency and have gradually lost 65 pounds so far since last June. The best part is that I’ve genuinely had fun while doing it!