I got a kid but not a car. Just walking to the kindergarten and back twice a day is movement. We spend a lot of time outdoors at playgrounds or parks and I have to do all the grocery shopping by bike or walking. I don’t do other physical exercise admittedly, but this kid is a fitness machine. We be running, playing, I need to lift her, carry her, carry her stuff, clean up, wrestle - for real having a kid made me the most physically fit and active I’ve ever been.
When I was younger I liked to dance. Trying to lose weight I’d just put headphones on in my room and dance for hours. A friend of mine actually lost a crapton of weight this way, think obese to normal weight.
Also, making a kid (and training for it and reenacting it) is great exercise.
Flow arts
Sports or recreational activities, as opposed to going to gym for the sake of exercise. The physical exercise is a part of the activity rather than the sole focus.
It became an addiction. It helps to relax. Not a gym rat. But almost. Need to go everyday. Far away to have those extra big muscles. But the “legs day” are… horrible… It hurts a lot…
I put some vtubers when running.
None. I enjoy exercise itself. No music, no tech, no nothing. Just a program and a timer. When I’m running, I get runner’s high. When I’m doing calisthenics, I look forward to doing advanced moves.
Exercise bike + watching something on a cheap 2016 tablet
Try different things until you find something that feels good even as an idea. Think about things you like doing and how you like them. For me, I dislike team sports and being surrounded by people in a gym setting. I like doing things on my own, preferably at home while not talking to anyone. I first start thinking about maybe enjoying a spooky story podcast while walking so I start thinking about the temperature and the things I like watching while I’m out, etc. Same for weight lifting, pilates and yoga (Those are my cyclical workouts. I get bored easily) I hype myself up in my head first and then use the “do it for five minutes” method.
I have NEVER said “Well I wish I didn’t come to yoga. This class sucked” “That lifting routine was a total waste of time. Not doing it again”
Also, having cute/neat stuff for it helps, just beware of spending habits. Did I need to buy green yoga blocks? No Do they make me Happy everytime I look how they are the exact same shade as my pothos? Yes they do.
Combine with work. Birds and stones.
Find sports that you actually enjoy - try out different things. In my case:
- Cardio: running fucking sucks, swimming is boring as shit. Cycling, on the other hand, is pretty fun. Feels like flying when everything aligns.
- Strength: lifting weights at the gym is doable, but boring. Climbing? Hell yeah, give me more routes where I have to tie myself into a knot while pulling up all my weight with my fingertips.
It can be an exact opposite of it for you. Or you’ll find out that team sports are the bees knees because support from other people is what you’ve been missing.
Combining fun with short-term goals is what works for me. I started playing squash 10 years ago and I love it. I play 3 times a week and that takes care of most of my cardio. Now when I lift weights or do extra cardio, it is because I want to beat that guy from league, move up a division, etc. Open ended reasons like health or beauty were never enough motivation for me.
I used to hate running until one day something clicked in my brain. I just ran my second half marathon last week. One thing I learned was that of your dying from running, you’re probably going too fast and should just slow down.
My PT told me that the best exercise is the one that you can do consistently
the runner’s high maybe? seems like it’s bad for your knees though.
Personally, I like a treadmill.
For years I planned to get one, and all the runners in my family would talk about how awful they are, how no one ever uses it once they have it, and getting outside is so much better.
I finally got the treadmill a couple months ago, and I use it several times per week. Some weeks I use it every day. It’s convenient, I can control the temperature in the room, I can watch something on my phone while I run, and I like being able to set a consistent pace.
Honestly I find it quite enjoyable on it’s own. The more I do it, the more I just enjoy the running itself. But I tend to have some music playing and dream away a bit
music makes just about any chore more enjoyable
Work out watch star trek. By the season 4 you’ll be made of steel
Hold up. Which series? You starting with the original or with Next Generation?
That depends, how massive do you want to be?
For me keeping it quick helps alot. No need to be in the gym for 1.5-2 hours, especially if you can wrap up your workout in 50 minutes. I’m just there to get my reps in, no more no less.
To that end either find a split that doesn’t target as many muscle groups in 1 session. Like Push Pull Legs. Or super set as much as possible.
For finding motivation to actually do it, I tend to workout after already being productive. So clean up your room/kitchen, or code for a bit. And when that productivity train is going, keep it going. Or go immediately when coming home from work, don’t first “relax”. Keep the momentum high and tackle things of your todo list; like working out.
I chart my improvements over time and equate them to role playing game experience points
Do 20 crunches? that’s +20 xp towards constitution
Really makes it a lot easier to reframe boring tasks
I’m really not a charting guy or a numbers guy at all. I hardly write anything down if i don’t have to. A few years ago i kept reading how much people enjoy running or jogging, so i gave it a shot. I absolutely hated it, but i kept doing it to see if it clicks at some point. Suddenly i saw big leaps in improvement. I still kinda hated running, but the “leveling up” part kept me going. I bought a smartwatch, and suddenly i had numbers and graphs to back the feeling up. I got obsessed.
