Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Haha, I've kind of been doing that the past few years but I'm not sure it's going to work out so well for me in the long run. I'm not afraid of death by any means, but I just hate the idea of kicking the bucket over something that I could have had control over. Trust me, if I didn't have to worry about that kind of stuff I'd take your advice in a heartbeat.
the problem is that exercise isnt fun. even if you find something you enjoy, the repetition of it multiple times a week (and obligation to do it) forever is probably going to take away the fun. so if you have that attitude, you arent going to exercise regularly so dont bother starting. you will have to change your mindframe to focus on appreciating the results instead of how much you hate exercising. maybe setting goals for yourself to achieve will help motivate you.
Walking most certainly will be enough, if you do it every day for at least 30 minutes each day. It doesn't have to be a chore -- find several places you like to walk, and mix them up. Find new places to walk. The 30 minutes doesn't have to be all at once, either, although it's better for you if you can do it all at once.
Also, make it a habit to sneak in "exercise" whenever you can -- parking far away from the door, getting off the bus two stops early, walking to do errands instead of driving (if you can), etc.
And since you like computers, etc., so much, what about investing in a Wii?
I'm happy to hear that. And that's a great idea, to find new places to walk. Right now I typically go to one nature park which is fine sometimes but it does get boring going there over and over again.
I do that all the time, parking further away from the building, taking stairs instead of an elevator, etc.
Funny you should mention that, I do have a Wii! I used to play Wii Sports (love the sword fighting game and bowling!) but we have had a person staying with us (see my other thread for all of the thrilling details ) who sleeps in the living room which is where the only TV is. She watches TV every minute that she is home (not exaggerating, we live in a 2bdrm apartment between 3 people, she has nowhere else to go in the place) and I don't want to make things awkward by asking her for time to use the Wii. Thankfully she should be out by next month. I'm thinking about purchasing Wii Fit and the yoga mat around that time...has anyone here had success with that?
the problem is that exercise isnt fun. even if you find something you enjoy, the repetition of it multiple times a week (and obligation to do it) forever is probably going to take away the fun. so if you have that attitude, you arent going to exercise regularly so dont bother starting. you will have to change your mindframe to focus on appreciating the results instead of how much you hate exercising. maybe setting goals for yourself to achieve will help motivate you.
I think that if there was a form of exercise that was less intense than say, running 25 miles, and more interesting than throwing a ball past a line, I'd be more than happy with it. Maybe I'm not wording my post correctly, but I'm not looking for a magical way to stay healthy, I know that it will take work and it won't be fun all the time. I'm just trying to find different forms of exercise than typical sports, I guess, something that might be a bit more bearable for me.
I've thought about trying martial arts, like aikido or tae kwon do, but with my limited athletic experience I think that might be a silly thing to try to do. What kind of goals would you suggest? My main goal is just to stay healthy, I'm not really looking to lose weight or anything so I'm not sure what a good starting point would be for this.
I'm thinking about purchasing Wii Fit and the yoga mat around that time...has anyone here had success with that?
I've bought the Wii and the Wii Fit Plus...excellent choice for us exercise challenged folks like myself! There's the Sports Active 2 game that is a much more intense workout...has mountain biking, running, soccer, kickboxing, step cardio and much more! I do break out a serious sweat, comparable to previous workouts that I have done at the gym...probably more so since there is no one around.
Ooh, good idea. I'll give that a shot. Thank you for the advice. Although I must say, I'd be shocked if you hated exercise more than I do I practically live in front of my computer and the thought of getting up to play sports or do intense physical activity makes me want to vomit.
LOL you do sound a lot like me. When I was in school PE class was something you HAD to take to get through school. I never enjoyed it and I begged my mother to write me notes all the time so that I did not have to participate.
In my family, exercise was not valued. That probably came from my parents being raised in poor working-class families that required a lot of child-labor to them physical labor was not something to be desired or pursued. I do not recall one time in my life where my mother or father did anything physical other than the obligatory household chores and yard work. Certainly never anything like walking or running or bicycling or working out ever crossed their minds. In fact, our philosophy was... "when you are doing something and your heart starts beating hard, you sit down until it passes."
I'll never forget the first time I went on a "hike" in my life (I was 41) and I kept stopping and sitting down and my dh (then boyfriend) asked me why and I told him it was because my heart was beating hard. He looked at me like I was a little crazy.
Someone on this thread mentioned that nobody enjoys exercise, but I don't know if that is true because I have known people who seem to love it. People always say, too that if you get into a routine, you will learn to love it. There was a time when I decided to go running every afternoon and I did it for one month, but at the end of that month I hated it just as much as I did the first day *and* I did not lose any weight (at all), *and* I did not feel better (at all), so I stopped.
I've bought the Wii and the Wii Fit Plus...excellent choice for us exercise challenged folks like myself! There's the Sports Active 2 game that is a much more intense workout...has mountain biking, running, soccer, kickboxing, step cardio and much more! I do break out a serious sweat, comparable to previous workouts that I have done at the gym...probably more so since there is no one around.
Oh wow, I've always thought that kickboxing would be fun to try. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm definitely going to look into that. And that's a big part of it for me, too, the idea of being around other people while I'm exercising makes me SO self concious because I have no idea what I'm doing It's so embarassing I love the idea of doing these things in my house.
When I was in school PE class was something you HAD to take to get through school. I never enjoyed it and I begged my mother to write me notes all the time so that I did not have to participate.
I had to do PE too! And my mom gladly wrote out notes for me.
I hated the thought of dodgeball!
Quote:
Originally Posted by elephanteazul
Oh wow, I've always thought that kickboxing would be fun to try. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm definitely going to look into that. And that's a big part of it for me, too, the idea of being around other people while I'm exercising makes me SO self concious because I have no idea what I'm doing It's so embarassing I love the idea of doing these things in my house.
You can customize your workouts, warms up, cool downs, cardio, strength, however you want to set it up. Monitors your heart rate...can't say enough good things about it!
You may want to try looking on craigslist and see if someone is selling the game...I found it this way for half the price from someone who didn't like it.
LOL you do sound a lot like me. When I was in school PE class was something you HAD to take to get through school. I never enjoyed it and I begged my mother to write me notes all the time so that I did not have to participate.
In my family, exercise was not valued. That probably came from my parents being raised in poor working-class families that required a lot of child-labor to them physical labor was not something to be desired or pursued. I do not recall one time in my life where my mother or father did anything physical other than the obligatory household chores and yard work. Certainly never anything like walking or running or bicycling or working out ever crossed their minds. In fact, our philosophy was... "when you are doing something and your heart starts beating hard, you sit down until it passes."
I'll never forget the first time I went on a "hike" in my life (I was 41) and I kept stopping and sitting down and my dh (then boyfriend) asked me why and I told him it was because my heart was beating hard. He looked at me like I was a little crazy.
Someone on this thread mentioned that nobody enjoys exercise, but I don't know if that is true because I have known people who seem to love it. People always say, too that if you get into a routine, you will learn to love it. There was a time when I decided to go running every afternoon and I did it for one month, but at the end of that month I hated it just as much as I did the first day *and* I did not lose any weight (at all), *and* I did not feel better (at all), so I stopped.
20yrsinBranson
Haha we might be twins! There have actually been a lot of posts by you (I've been lurking here for years now) that I read and agree with 100%. But if I try to rep you I usually am told that I need to spread the love. Anyway, I never asked my mother for notes (because she'd cut her arm off before she'd do something like that for me ) but I always tried to blend in with everyone else or went to the nurse's office and going home. Ended up doing that so much that my straight A report card was tainted with a D in Phy. Ed. one year. Oops.
My family also never really valued exercise. I asked my mom for advice and she said that she stayed skinny (that's the only reason that people exercise, according to my family) by dancing at clubs when she was my age. But I'm too self concious to do that right now, maybe in the future.
I go on walks with my boyfriend a lot and breathe SO hard the whole way through, I see black spots and start wheezing like crazy...he tells me not to push myself but if there's one thing I hate more than exercise, it's not being good at something Haha. Glad to hear you guys got married, hopefully I'll be able to say the same someday
I've heard the same about people loving exercise. One of my co-workers is obsessed with it, she loves jump roping/jogging/yoga/anything you can think of. Then again, there are people like us who can't stand it. Guess it all depends on the individual.
My daughter in law never cared much for exercise or sports but she discovered Zumba and she loves it she has lost 40 lbs since starting Zumba and counting calories-especially if you like to dance.
I'm wondering if anyone has ideas for fun exercises for someone who runs out of breath just walking up a flight of stairs.
If you are 20 years old and run out of breath walking up the stairs, it is time to start worrying!...Just think how you will be when you hit mid 30's. Start to get in the routine now if you can. Start out by walking a mile 3 days a week. After a week or so of that, start to incorporate interval running in that mile. Run for a minute, then walk for two. Do that for the whole mile. You will start to see it gets easier and you can hike it up to two minute runs and etc...I quit smoking 3 years ago and that is how I started running. I couldn't run for a minute straight without almost passing out, and it was really brutal starting out, but now I can run 3 miles no problem. Once you get into it, it is a great stress reliever and time to think (I hope you don't have too much stress at 20 years old, but you know what I mean). And you feel so good once you finish. Getting your heart pumping for a half hour will do wonders to your health. Also, it's never easy to get yourself to the gym or outside to run..but it's something you have to do. Just make it a weekly routine and a new part of your lifestyle. You won't regret it!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) who sleeps in the living room which is where the only TV is. She watches TV every minute that she is home (not exaggerating, we live in a 2bdrm apartment between 3 people, she has nowhere else to go in the place) and I don't want to make things awkward by asking her for time to use the Wii. Thankfully she should be out by next month. I'm thinking about purchasing Wii Fit and the yoga mat around that time...has anyone here had success with that?
There's the 
Although I must say, I'd be shocked if you hated exercise more than I do 
It's so embarassing 
I love the idea of doing these things in my house.
