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I appreciate all the responses. To address a few things: I wake up at 5:30 and leave at 6:30 for work. My kids have after school activities every day but Monday, so I have to pick at least one of them up at 5:15 or 5:30 each evening. I do that on the way home from work. We get home, they start on homework, I get dinner ready. We usually eat dinner at 6:30, then clean-up, etc. I usually throw in a load of laundry or something too. It's about 8:00 by the time I sit down and decompress, usually hanging out with the kids.
I have invested an inordinate amount of money on absurdly expensive shoes, workout gear, etc. That's not an issue.
I will also add that in the summer months, it doesn't really cool down at night. It's not unusual for it to still be 90 degrees at 10:00 at night.
I think one of the biggest obstacles for me is that I don't really notice a difference. If I eat junk, I will instantly feel like crap. Like physically feel bad. So I really don't ever eat junk. But if I exercise, I really don't notice a difference. I've consistently exercised for as long as a year at a time before (pre-kids), and honestly didn't notice any difference in how I felt. So then I get to thinking, "What's the point?' and wonder why I'm torturing myself to do it. Not that the workouts were torture, just that I hated it when I was doing it. And I ultimately just throw in the towel.
I just wish I could bring myself to like it, or even tolerate it. I know it's important, especially as we get older (I'm 47).
I appreciate all the responses. To address a few things: I wake up at 5:30 and leave at 6:30 for work. My kids have after school activities every day but Monday, so I have to pick at least one of them up at 5:15 or 5:30 each evening. I do that on the way home from work. We get home, they start on homework, I get dinner ready. We usually eat dinner at 6:30, then clean-up, etc. I usually throw in a load of laundry or something too. It's about 8:00 by the time I sit down and decompress, usually hanging out with the kids.
I have invested an inordinate amount of money on absurdly expensive shoes, workout gear, etc. That's not an issue.
I think one of the biggest obstacles for me is that I don't really notice a difference. If I eat junk, I will instantly feel like crap. Like physically feel bad. So I really don't ever eat junk. But if I exercise, I really don't notice a difference. I've consistently exercised for as long as a year at a time before (pre-kids), and honestly didn't notice any difference in how I felt. So then I get to thinking, "What's the point?' and wonder why I'm torturing myself to do it. Not that the workouts were torture, just that I hated it when I was doing it. And I ultimately just throw in the towel.
I just wish I could bring myself to like it, or even tolerate it. I know it's important, especially as we get older (I'm 47).
I do most of my workouts starting around 8:15 to 8:45 at night. I work out at a Y, which is about a 12-13 minute drive from my house. It closes at 9:45 and I'm usually one of the last out the door. I get up anywhere from 5:20 to 5:50 am depending on my schedule that day. It is all a matter of getting in the routine and doing it for years and decades. I've been working out consistently since I was 39. I'll soon be 65.
I appreciate all the responses. To address a few things: I wake up at 5:30 and leave at 6:30 for work. My kids have after school activities every day but Monday, so I have to pick at least one of them up at 5:15 or 5:30 each evening. I do that on the way home from work. We get home, they start on homework, I get dinner ready. We usually eat dinner at 6:30, then clean-up, etc. I usually throw in a load of laundry or something too. It's about 8:00 by the time I sit down and decompress, usually hanging out with the kids.
I have invested an inordinate amount of money on absurdly expensive shoes, workout gear, etc. That's not an issue.
I will also add that in the summer months, it doesn't really cool down at night. It's not unusual for it to still be 90 degrees at 10:00 at night.
I think one of the biggest obstacles for me is that I don't really notice a difference. If I eat junk, I will instantly feel like crap. Like physically feel bad. So I really don't ever eat junk. But if I exercise, I really don't notice a difference. I've consistently exercised for as long as a year at a time before (pre-kids), and honestly didn't notice any difference in how I felt. So then I get to thinking, "What's the point?' and wonder why I'm torturing myself to do it. Not that the workouts were torture, just that I hated it when I was doing it. And I ultimately just throw in the towel.
I just wish I could bring myself to like it, or even tolerate it. I know it's important, especially as we get older (I'm 47).
I think at your age, it isn’t even about noticing a difference so much as keeping muscle declines to a minimum. Once women get into their 30s, they start to lose muscle, and by the time we are in our 40s, it becomes even more pronounced. You don’t even need a lot of equipment at home to help with this- some resistance bands or free weights and a mat is really it. I think there are a lot of other tools you can get on Amazon- for example, I think they have workout decks that will allow you to make workouts for dumbbells or resistance bands. You can just string those together for a short strength training workout for 10-15 minutes.
OP, I feel your pain. I too hate to exercise. I get that you don't enjoy it while you're doing it, and you don't feel any better having done it. I get that it's not motivating enough to think, "I really should exercise. In the future I may regret not having exercised at this time of my life."
That's not enough to motivate me to exercise either. I don't enjoy it, except for the virtuous feeling I experience on the rare occasions when I do exercise, and I guess I just don't believe that future-me is going to be angry at present-me for not working out regularly. Or ever.
I used to exercise, when I was younger. But thinking back on it, I now realize that in those days, exercise classes (mostly Jazzercise and similar) were my social life, and my way of getting out of the house and away from the problems at home.
Now I don't have problems at home, and I feel no need to expand my social life. So I have nothing to motivate me to get out and do exercise classes, and certainly nothing to motivate me to do at-home workouts. My condominium even has a fitness center, which I almost never use.
Sometimes when the weather is perfect I get the urge to take a walk around my neighborhood. I just returned from ten days in the Swiss Alps, which involved a lot of walking, and that was enjoyable. I didn't think of it as exercise.
As I say, maybe someday in the future I'll regret my failure to exercise regularly at this point in my life. I guess I'll just have to deal with that when it happens.
OP - I am a physical therapist and work with very deconditioned folks (mostly seniors) every day.
The consequences of not exercising will eventually show up, at a time where we can least tolerate them - as in our 70s or 80s. Our muscular system starts to deteriorate in our 40s. Bone mass peaks even earlier, in our 30s. Of course environmental factors play a role just like lifestyle and genetics, but that's the general course.
A good friend called me yesterday to ask for advice. She is an extremely career-focused woman and is quite successful at her age (late 40s). But she has *never* exercised, preferring to spend all of her day behind a computer screen. She went for a check-up recently due to having back and knee pain. She was told she has degenerative joint disease in her spine and arthritis in her knees. If she's like this in her 40s, I'd dread to see her when she is 70 or 80.
When we are young(er), our overall stamina can mask the effects of not exercising. But we reap the rewards of regular exercise several decades down the road. I see it daily in my job - older folks who are/were active and exercise regularly have a *much* better quality of life than those who are/were sedentary.
OP, the key is finding things you ENJOY and/or can tolerate. I am 70 (female) and I can tell you, that you lose conditioning FAST at this age! The things I really like to do are walking (lots of parks/lakes where I live) bike riding and dancing. I recently started back at the Y for some light weight training which I desperately need due to degenerative spine disease. Fortunately, the Y is just a few minutes from my house. All my activities are close by. You can always get a few pieces of equipment and work out at home; or take up bike riding and walking. BUILD on it! Make it a part of your life, it does NOT have to be drudgery! And the bonus is that you will look and feel better!
I can relate to this post so much. I also get up at 5:30 and leave around 7 and don't get home until 7, IF I AM LUCKY. I have a gym at my workplace but it is impossible to get to because my job is the job that like, everyone reports to but no one seems able to do anything without hearing from me. So I have to be close to my desk almost all day. If I leave for 1 hour to go to the gym I come back to a full in box and typically because of the delay, things don't get done and I have to stay late. I have taken the phone to the gym to try to direct people from there but it is very hard .... people call instead of e-mailing and literally if you don't write a perfect e-mail they will mess it up.
But I personally hate exercise. There are so many people who say it makes them feel better. It doesn't make me feel better, at all, and usually ends up in some sort of damage to my body. A muscle pull or something.
I get so tired of hearing you must do exercise. I do enough exercise not to be sedentary but I think my body has for years told me exercise is not my greatest tool. For me, there are other things that are good for health and I use them. But listening to my body says, exercise is not the key.
I have a gym at my workplace but it is impossible to get to because my job is the job that like, everyone reports to but no one seems able to do anything without hearing from me. So I have to be close to my desk almost all day. If I leave for 1 hour to go to the gym I come back to a full in box and typically because of the delay, things don't get done and I have to stay late. I have taken the phone to the gym to try to direct people from there but it is very hard .... people call instead of e-mailing and literally if you don't write a perfect e-mail they will mess it up.
Do these people actually work for you?
They wouldn't be working for me... not for long, anyway!
"No Goofs Allowed" is one of the reasons I have time to go to the gym.
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or take up bike riding and walking. BUILD on it! Make it a part of your life, it does NOT have to be drudgery! And the bonus is that you will look and feel better!
