What If I Don't Like Exercise?

If you’re trying to lose weight without exercise, you’re not doing yourself any favours.

“But what if I don’t like exercise?” I hear you ask. Well, if you’re not keen on exercise you are not alone, but there are some things you can do to turn this around.

This article discusses some of the reasons why some of us don’t like exercise and what we can do about it to make sure we are more likely to achieve our fitness and weight loss goals.

Why some of us don’t like exercise.

There are many reasons why some people don’t like to exercise. Here are just some of the most common:

It’s too hard
It’s boring
It’s no fun
It zaps their energy and leaves them tired
It takes too long
It gets in the way of other things
They think they’re too big
They don’t think they need it
They don’t know what to do
They don’t like gyms
They don’t think they can
They’re embarrassed
It hurts
They don’t like sweating
They don’t like running
They don’t like weight training

Let’s explore each of these in turn and list things you can do about them.

It’s too hard

This is probably the most common reason that a lot more people don’t exercise regularly.

And it’s not surprising, because one of the most common mistakes people make when starting a new exercise program is that they employ an exercise intensity that is far too hard.

If our goal is to lose weight, it doesn’t matter how quickly we walk or jog 5 kilometres, it just matters that we do walk or jog 5 kilometres.

If you are new to exercise, make it really easy on yourself so that you are happy to continue exercising until it becomes a habit.

Start walking at a slow pace if you have to, and as you get fitter you’ll find yourself being able to walk further and faster.

Remember, when it comes to exercising for weight loss, anything is better than nothing and consistency is the key. Do whatever it takes to get yourself exercising everyday or every other day for at least 30 minutes at a time and if that means taking it relatively easy, do it.

It’s boring

This is another very popular reason why people don’t like exercise.

But exercise needn’t be boring. Here are just a few suggestions to make it more interesting:

Keep looking until you find exercises you like or dislike the least
Exercise in interesting and varied outdoor locations where there are plenty of things to look at
Exercise with friends
Exercise in front of a TV or radio if indoors
Join an exercise class of some kind
Try something new
Vary your workouts

It’s no fun

This is somewhat related to the above. As well as trying some of the suggestions listed above, remember that exercise is helping you achieve your weight loss goals, making you fitter, stronger, leaner, shapelier and giving you more energy which will help you get the most out of things in life that you do think are fun.

For all of those reasons, exercise doesn’t have to be fun.

Having said that, you’ll find the fitter you get and the better you get at exercising, the more fun it will become.

It zaps their energy and leaves them tired

It sure does! But only during the first few weeks and guess what?

You’ll begin sleeping like a baby
You’ll feel a sense of achievement afterwards
Your body will soon adjust and compensate giving you more energy than ever
Exercise is the second best thing possible to spend your energy on!

Again, if this is a major problem for you, take it nice and easy to begin with and build up your intensity levels over time.

It takes too long

You don’t need to exercise for hours to get benefits.

If I told you that spending only 2% of your time exercising was enough, would that sound reasonable?

Well, with 24 hours in each day, 30 minutes represents just 2% of each day.

If you can’t allocate 2% of each day to exercise, you might have some imbalances in your life and perhaps you should begin questioning your priorities, especially if you really want to lose weight and/or improve your fitness.

If you really can’t find 30 minutes a day, remember that anything is better than nothing when it comes to exercise.

It gets in the way of other things

Again, this is a question of priorities. What is more important than your health?

They think they’re too big

OK, some of us are a little too big to go running around the local lake. But most of us can manage a walk, a swim, a short bike ride, some sit ups, push ups or light resistance training.

Remember to start out easy and progress slowly at a pace you can cope with. And always check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

What If I Don’t Like Exercise?