Motivation to Exercise

[Mikaiah]

Hi all,

The pandemic has made me... lazy.
After months of working from home, the usual walks (either on campus, when I was running around to different classes, or in the office, where I would often take walks to take breaks) are... essentially nonexistent.

But, it's time to make a change! Probably! How does everyone here motivate themselves to stay "in shape", so-to-speak, instead of constantly vegging out watching Netflix or playing videogames? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Kuroh]

Exercise video games are always a good and enjoyable option to do from home!

I would say that Ring Fit Adventure for the Switch is the most popular option and it has fantastic reviews as well! Wii Sports Resort is also great and perfect for the summer with its island vacation atmosphere

 

[Bcat]

Honestly, I need some of this myself as I’ve been off the exercise horse lately. But I’m going to recommend Chloe Ting on YouTube! She has a ton of free workout plans that are perfect for beginners. Nearly every workout has low-impact variations and she encourages you take breaks as needed too.

I cannot sing her praises enough. I did her 2020 summer shred challenge and lost two inches off my waist: plus I got a helluva lot stronger too. Chloe is such a sweet, genuine person, and I truly believe she deserves every bit of the success she’s achieved with her videos.

She has a way of making it really easy to do hard things. If you’re looking for a good starting point on a fitness journey, I don’t think you could do any better.

 

[oak]

Hey there! I recently started jogging during the pandemic and I've never been an athletic person. I started by making a playlist with the most upbeat music possible. I picked a lot of female pop/rap not gonna lie cause they always talk about being the greatest or the baddest ***** lmao. I had no motivation whatsoever so I was trying to create this sense of false confidence if that makes any sense.

Also I schedule a time in the evening and I go always around 8PM so it's not too hot. Just be sure it's not dark where you live. The hardest part is getting started but it's been 5 months now and I get total mood boosts from exercising just like everyone said would happen lmao. I'm a lazy person so I didn't want that to be true but it definitely is.

Good luck though and don't be too hard on yourself, the pandemic hit everyone differently!

 

[Cheybunny]

At home workouts! It's hard to STAY motivated, but this series and this series help me stay motivated. I watch Chloe Ting and Blogilates workout routines, though I think Blogilates is kind of annoying lol

Post automatically merged: Aug 11, 2020

Honestly, I need some of this myself as I’ve been off the exercise horse lately. But I’m going to recommend Chloe Ting on YouTube! She has a ton of free workout plans that are perfect for beginners. Nearly every workout has low-impact variations and she encourages you take breaks as needed too.

I cannot sing her praises enough. I did her 2020 summer shred challenge and lost two inches off my waist: plus I got a helluva lot stronger too. Chloe is such a sweet, genuine person, and I truly believe she deserves every bit of the success she’s achieved with her videos.

She has a way of making it really easy to do hard things. If you’re looking for a good starting point on a fitness journey, I don’t think you could do any better.

OMG yes I second this! I luv luv luv chloe ting!!!

 

[Imbri]

I haven't tried Ring Fit, but I did have Wii Fit and Walk It Out! that I used with a rebounder. Both were awesome for exercise, especially since I didn't have to worry about weather/daylight. I should check Ring Fit out.

 

[honeychi]

you could play games like ring fit or just dance. just dance is fun and it doesn’t feel like you’re working out even though it’s a good exercise. ive been playing wii fit + taking long walks

 

[Miss Misty]

Honestly the initial hump is the worst part to get over. Once you get into a groove of working out, it becomes a habit and you don't want to stop. I was sick last week, and I was more upset over my workout schedule being interrupted than anything. The biggest thing is that you do need to carve out time for it. I use Zombies Run which allows me to listen to my own stuff in between the story beats and that helps a lot. You can catch up on a podcast, or listen to an audiobook, or just jam out to music. I prefer that over generic, royalty-free music on YT workout vids, personally, but it's up to you how you want to block out that time.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I think the best thing to do would be to get a gym membership and make it into a treat for yourself. for instance, maybe you could use it as a way to unwind from your work stress, that way while you're working you can look forward to going to the gym and working out afterwards. that's what I plan on doing when I get back to campus; I want to lose some weight so along with creating a new diet for myself I'm gonna get myself to go to the gym and associate it with some positive experience (for example, listening to good music, watching a youtube series i really enjoy, etc).

idk if that helps at all but I figured I'd give some insight

Post automatically merged: Aug 11, 2020

Honestly, I need some of this myself as I’ve been off the exercise horse lately. But I’m going to recommend Chloe Ting on YouTube! She has a ton of free workout plans that are perfect for beginners. Nearly every workout has low-impact variations and she encourages you take breaks as needed too.

I cannot sing her praises enough. I did her 2020 summer shred challenge and lost two inches off my waist: plus I got a helluva lot stronger too. Chloe is such a sweet, genuine person, and I truly believe she deserves every bit of the success she’s achieved with her videos.

She has a way of making it really easy to do hard things. If you’re looking for a good starting point on a fitness journey, I don’t think you could do any better.

that actually sounds really nice. maybe I'll check it out sometime soon. my main goal is to (as well) take a few inches off of my waist, and if it worked for you then maybe it'll work for me as well.

I think the hardest part of working out to lose weight is having the patience to see results. that'll be the only big hurdle for me.

 

[*The Oakboro Mayor*]

Alright, I'm going to start this off by saying that I come from a line of pretty athletic people and I am in high school. I didn't see results in my body shape (I am very skinny so there wasn't much I could do there ;~; ) but I saw it in my performance. My motivation was staying in shape for soccer when school was let out, so I never really stopped exercising. I did have to get some motivation though, and that was by setting a schedule for myself. I would run Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 3, and that seemed to be enough to get me going. I have a treadmill, so I would put my iPad by the screen and watch a show on Netflix as I ran (it helps me distract from any pain or tiredness I may have), but if you have to run outside then I recommend listening to music or a podcast you enjoy! I just have to remember to hydrate and not eat about 2 hours before I run.

My sister hates to run, but she does Just Dance every so often! It is pretty fun and she gets a great workout from it, so I would try that out if you want. Starting to run is pretty hard, but as others said above, you just have to get into the groove of it. Delaying it won't help either (I've tried lol) so try and kick that thinking if you have thoughts like that. Good luck to you, I'm sure you will be super fit in no time!

 

[Corrie]

Watching exercise type videos. Not workouts but people talking about their "lifestyle." It always motivates me to kinda "be like them" if you know what I mean.

 

[spawnpoint]

What motivates me to work out?

One listen to this song makes me want to go exercise lmao
But maybe that's just me

 

[Neb]

Working out truly is the greatest antidepressant. The endorphins and stress relief really help with anxiety. Plus it can be a great way to lose extra weight.

 

[MyLifeIsCake]

I get tired thinking about exercising

I'm not overweight or anything, but I use a tone up. Since the whole covid thing happened, I've kind of brushed the gym to the side, so I need motivation to get back to it. The gym I go to is located by a craft store I like, so I tell myself if I go to the gym I can go to the store after and look at the stuff there. If I'm consistent with going maybe I'll allow myself to get some paints or something.

We also have dogs so that's pretty good motivation to bring them outside for a walk.

What motivates me to work out?
One listen to this song makes me want to go exercise lmao
But maybe that's just me

Oh man I'm lame, I listen to Sonic music to get motivated to workout

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

My greatest motivation for working out is the endorphin rush afterwards. It also helps me feel like I accomplished something in the day.

I got into working out by watching Cassey Ho (Blogilates) on YouTube. She's very high energy and encouraging, which is as close as I'll get to having a personal trainer (drowning in student loans, lol).

I bought a dumbbell set (pairs of 2, 3, and 5 lbs) years ago and use it now to keep up strength training. It's not ideal compared to what's available in a gym, but it's better than nothing.

Finding an activity that you enjoy helps immensely with transforming exercise into a habit. For example, I generally hate cardio, but I love playing badminton, which is a decent cardio workout in disguise.

 

[ali.di.magix]

I think the best thing to do would be to get a gym membership and make it into a treat for yourself. for instance, maybe you could use it as a way to unwind from your work stress, that way while you're working you can look forward to going to the gym and working out afterwards. that's what I plan on doing when I get back to campus; I want to lose some weight so along with creating a new diet for myself I'm gonna get myself to go to the gym and associate it with some positive experience (for example, listening to good music, watching a youtube series i really enjoy, etc).

Yeah I second this. I have literally never ever been an athletic or sporty person, but I purchased a gym membership a couple months ago to start getting into shape. The membership I got gives you a free access to gyms and pools citywide, free access to group fitness classes, and free workout routines for every 12 weeks. So far I've mainly stuck to the workout routine I've been given, and it's quite rewarding. Especially when you get to up your weights you lift or the time you run/walk, like I started out doing squats with a 7.5 kg weight bag but now can do it confidently with a 10 kg weight bag. Also if you suffer from anxiety, stress or depression, it's so so beneficial as a stress reliever.

Treat is as a challenge or goal, rather than a burden and you'll be fine

 

[loveclove]

I highly recommend MadFit on YouTube! She has such fun workouts you can combine to suit your needs. I particularly love the dance ones! But there's tons, for all your muscle groups and also apartment friendly ones. But I have to say, after almost 5 months of social isolation I have lost most of the motivation I had to workout at home

 

[Uffe]

I just walk down a straight road. I've got to avoid cars and annoying people, though. Grab a stable chair and climb up and down on it. That'll get your heart pumping, but your legs will probably feel strange afterwards.

 

[MapleSilver]

I'm basically the opposite in that this lockdown made me finally start exercising, since there wasn't much else to do. One day I just decided to start and it became a habit from there. At least for me, it gets easier the longer I keep doing it. There's even days I find myself looking forward to it.

 

[Sharksheep]

Starting is the hard part. A habit takes a while to build and it's OK if it takes you a while to make regular exercise a habit. It's less motivation and more of discipline to have a habit stick. It's also important to remember that you aren't always going to improve after every workout session and you might regress or be stuck at a certain level for days or weeks and that's ok.

I like setting goals to keep me going. Like I want to be able to bench a certain weight or do 3 sets of lunges with x weights and keep pushing that number higher.

Staying in shape is kinda vague and I tend to associate it with weight. Do you mean losing/gaining/maintaining weight or muscle mass. If it's losing weight, you can't outrun your fork so you have to start with your diet.

I like this blog Physiqonomics for learning about diet and fitness and its not all about how to get 6 pack and be a body builder. He write articles about diets, habits, and biology with academic sources and helps clear up myths about fitness.



Ring fit is great to start with making a habit. There's a setting for reminders. However, it's not for people with major joint issues especially with knees. So if you are on the heavier side, you can do some serious damage to yourself if you try to go too hard too fast.

Ring fit great for cardio and some core work. I would still supplement it with some actual weight training and body weight exercises.

Flexibility training is also great if you sit a lot at your job. You can train yourself to do the splits but it takes a lot of time (months/years) and discipline to get to that point. Monthly progress pics for this is great to keep yourself going because some days are going to feel like you regressed. I have trained myself to be able to put my palms flat on the floor with bending my knees twice now and about to do it for the third time because I don't have that habit anymore and relearning it.