My exercise is bicycling. I go to work every day with the recumbent, 6 km one way, 6 km back (obviously.) for all you non-european here, that's 7.45 miles per day. of course, not flat. In one way it goes down, on my way back it goes up. waaaay up.
I hated it the first weeks. Now I'm kinda accustomed to it, and don't even think about it. that's the point. to not think about it.
<strong>I always think you should find something that you enjoy doing, but if there is no form of exercise that you enjoy doing, then don't exercise.
It's as simple as that.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, as progmac was saying, the point is the health benefits. And from a perspective of vanity, I like to look fit too. But I have a hard time with this trade-off, because the longer, healthier life I'd get (hopefully -- nothing is guaranteed!) is a longer, healthier life full of exercise that I don't enjoy.
Personally I find going to the gym three times a week, doing a mixture of CV and weight work, mentally relaxing. Whatever was on your mind before you started is soon forgotten or put into perspective. I also find attempting to improve your fitness has benefits in other areas of your life, and they feed off each other, helping you to improve your life overall.
[quote]<strong>How I wish all that exercise had had that kind of an effect on me. I got the direct benefits -- weight loss, strenght, cardiovascular health, etc -- but got no great sense of relaxation or relief from stress or worry. In fact, I stressed out a lot worrying about meeting my self-imposed obligations to exercise.</strong><hr></blockquote>
[quote]<strong>Fitness does require a change in lifestyle, but it doesn't have to be a huge change and once you've made it, it becomes the norm. From your post it sounds as if you were exercising several times a week, at home in front of the TV.
I wonder whether going to a gym just two times a week would be better. It's less time out of your life and being surrounded by other people in a similar situation may encourage you more.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Actually, I did my CV workouts at home mostly, but a little CV and all of my weight work at the gym. The gym never became a social place for me. I basically saw two kinds of people at the gym most of the time, neither of which I identified with -- people who were badly out of shape, who you knew you would probably be giving up after two or three weeks, and the "Rah! Rah! Oh, what fun!" types.
<strong>My exercise is bicycling. I go to work every day with the recumbent, 6 km one way, 6 km back (obviously.) for all you non-european here, that's 7.45 miles per day. of course, not flat. In one way it goes down, on my way back it goes up. waaaay up.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If the weather here in New England were suitable for biking a reasonable portion of the year, and if I wouldn't need an hour (make that an hour and a half during the hot days of summer) to cool down, shower, and dress after I arrived work... and a repeat of this process after the ride home... then biking to work might work for me
<strong>and anything competitive makes it easier too.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Would at least one of you making comments like this have the decency to add the words "for me", and show some hint of recognition of the fact that turning exercise into a competitive activity does not UNIVERSALLY make it fun for everyone!?
Would at least one of you making comments like this have the decency to add the words "for me", and show some hint of recognition of the fact that turning exercise into a competitive activity does not UNIVERSALLY make it fun for everyone!?</strong><hr></blockquote>
um... i think anyone reading MY comments in MY posts would realize that what i say is MY opinion.
I think that sometimes there is a point, like exercising. you might hate to do it but the point of doing it would be to stay healthy.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think that's true for many people, but for someone who downright hates and dreads exercise, can't walk for a day or two afterwards and has suffered from really deep bouts of clinical depression having exercised in the past, the drawbacks may outweigh the benefits.
Perhaps it would be better to have a more enjoyable, possibly shorter life.
<strong>I think that's true for many people, but for someone who downright hates and dreads exercise, can't walk for a day or two afterwards...</strong><hr></blockquote>
That was what happened to me maybe once or twice per year when I'd throw my back out... not after every workout! :eek: I'd never have made it through seven years of exercise if it had been quite that bad.
<strong>um... i think anyone reading MY comments in MY posts would realize that what i say is MY opinion.
my god.... you have issues you need to deal with</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hey, I'm obviously venting a lot of frustration here.
Maybe you weren't doing this, but a lot of people make no clear distinction between "This is my opinion (of what's good for me)." and "This is my opinion (of what's good for everyone)."
When it comes to health and fitness advice, it's a common phenomenon that those giving the advice show little recognition of the fact that not everyone is going to get the same rush out of jogging that they do, that not everyone in the world loves to compete, that not everyone is going to find the gym a wonderful social center in their lives, etc. A lot of advice is given in a manner that suggests that the advice giver thinks "All someone has to do is try this, and they'll immediately see how wonderful it is!"
I dislike exercizing, but I like having exercized. That's my incentive. It's the same thing that spurs me to clean house.
I've fallen off in the last year, though, and I'm paying for it now. So I'm saving up for a new bike to use as a commuter vehicle when it's no longer mercilessly cold in the morning. The last time I did that the mere practice of riding to work shed 25 pounds and made me feel great, and it wasn't tedious because I have a nice route to work, and - unlike an exercize bike - the scenery changes.
Unfortunately, the bike was a little racer, and I'm too big for a vehicle that puny. I broke an average of 3 spokes a week riding on flat pavement, and I got tired of buying wheels so often. The next bike will be beefier.
i almost always exercise with either my lovely wife or one of the lovely young residents at the hospital...i find i exercise more and harder and enjoy it much more with a young lady at my side....or slightly in front of me....not sure why that is.... must be the competition thing everyone is talking about... g
How I wish all that exercise had had that kind of an effect on me. I got the direct benefits -- weight loss, strenght, cardiovascular health, etc -- but got no great sense of relaxation or relief from stress or worry. In fact, I stressed out a lot worrying about meeting my self-imposed obligations to exercise.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I've come close to similar feelings in the past. I'd think I must go, otherwise the years I've been going will be wasted, and the longer you go for, the greater the waste would be.
Now I don't think or worry about exercising, other than during the time I'm actually doing it, when I give it my all. I know my obligations are reasonable (three 2 hour sessions a week) and I know I can meet them, so it takes the pressure off. I also go to the gym for my own benefit, not to compete with the person next to me or to socialise.
I think a little guilt and worry helps to keep you going on a regular basis, but too much becomes stressful and counter productive. I guess it's a case of getting the right balance.
[quote]I dislike exercising, but I like having exercised. <hr></blockquote>
that's it exactly!!! i couldn't put it into words before. if i just excersised the day before it's easy to do it the next day, but if you take a couple of days off you find yourself with trainers on, sitting on the stoop, trying to find a reason to quit stretching and run.
bodies at rest tend to stay at rest, bodies in motion.....
even though running is a solitary pursuit, i do compete with myself as i time myself.
i'm nicely surprised at how popular this thread is.
If you dont like exercising, then you should build it into your daily schedule, or your job. I bike everywhere as my transportation, and I have a job working at a barn, so I get exercise by carrying buckets, and moving horses around, sweeping, and stuff. Theres no way not to go, and its whole lotta fun working with horses and wearing 18 layers of clothing in the winter. really.
You could try a Physioball ( Swiss ball ) as your computer chair.
It is really good with the chair option or as I have by its self. I find it gives my legs, back, and abdominals a nice lite workout as I type.
I have to switch to a regular chair if I sit too long.
I originally thought it was a dumb idea, but my doctor says there are studies that actually recommend using them as chairs. I have been using mine for two years and it is the only real exercise I get besides my weekly bike ride.
<strong>You could try a Physioball ( Swiss ball ) as your computer chair.
It is really good with the chair option or as I have by its self. I find it gives my legs, back, and abdominals a nice lite workout as I type.
I have to switch to a regular chair if I sit too long.
I originally thought it was a dumb idea, but my doctor says there are studies that actually recommend using them as chairs. I have been using mine for two years and it is the only real exercise I get besides my weekly bike ride.
Oh, and if you have kids they will love it too. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Hmm...just read a few articles about how sitting on the ball alone can be very good. You got a source for purchasing one?
EDIT: Thats not to say they are a bad site. I don't know, I just used it as a reference.
I purchased the one I have from a chiropractor that I was seeing two years ago for about $100[US] (her cost). However, I have seen them in the larger toy stores ( similar but lesser quality ) for around $40[US].
There are also ones called Bones that as it suggests is like a bone and is great for wider and balance challenged individuals.
I have recently taken a hiatus from the gym since I had my daugher two+ months ago . . . but my wife has come up with a 'brilliant plan'-- she will spell me by minding our "little lovia" for an hour while I go to the gym, and then I will watch her while she goes . . . this is supposed to restart our exercise regimen and its supposed to start sometime TODAY.</strong><hr></blockquote>
HEEHEE . . . I managed to find minor reasons to forgo teh beginning of getting back in shape for at least one more day . . . . . phwew
I am 32 now and have been bloated fat, super thin, bloated fat, superthin and now I am working on bloated fat again.
I hate to say this but I haven't ever had good motivation myself. I have belonged to a gym and I would do weights but also I enjoy aerobics of various sorts. (No I'm not gay, I just play one on television)
When I really enjoyed the instructor I would go everyday, and have my body fat down to like 8% and everything. When I didn't I would slack off and eat like crap and watch the pounds come back on.
Right now I am DESPERATELY trying to find the motivation to eat well and exercise daily. However I simply enjoy mental activities a lot more. Also I have really gotten into financial stuff lately and been very successful at it. Between pure laziness and gee I might make 50k if I look into this, it is pretty easy to slack off.
Comments
I hated it the first weeks. Now I'm kinda accustomed to it, and don't even think about it. that's the point. to not think about it.
<strong>I always think you should find something that you enjoy doing, but if there is no form of exercise that you enjoy doing, then don't exercise.
It's as simple as that.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, as progmac was saying, the point is the health benefits. And from a perspective of vanity, I like to look fit too. But I have a hard time with this trade-off, because the longer, healthier life I'd get (hopefully -- nothing is guaranteed!) is a longer, healthier life full of exercise that I don't enjoy.
Personally I find going to the gym three times a week, doing a mixture of CV and weight work, mentally relaxing. Whatever was on your mind before you started is soon forgotten or put into perspective. I also find attempting to improve your fitness has benefits in other areas of your life, and they feed off each other, helping you to improve your life overall.
[quote]<strong>How I wish all that exercise had had that kind of an effect on me. I got the direct benefits -- weight loss, strenght, cardiovascular health, etc -- but got no great sense of relaxation or relief from stress or worry. In fact, I stressed out a lot worrying about meeting my self-imposed obligations to exercise.</strong><hr></blockquote>
[quote]<strong>Fitness does require a change in lifestyle, but it doesn't have to be a huge change and once you've made it, it becomes the norm. From your post it sounds as if you were exercising several times a week, at home in front of the TV.
I wonder whether going to a gym just two times a week would be better. It's less time out of your life and being surrounded by other people in a similar situation may encourage you more.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Actually, I did my CV workouts at home mostly, but a little CV and all of my weight work at the gym. The gym never became a social place for me. I basically saw two kinds of people at the gym most of the time, neither of which I identified with -- people who were badly out of shape, who you knew you would probably be giving up after two or three weeks, and the "Rah! Rah! Oh, what fun!" types.
[ 02-07-2003: Message edited by: shetline ]</p>
at times, especially in the cold gloomy months like this its hard to get motivated.... at least for me.
but come spring or on a nice cool breezy summer afternoon its very nice and relaxing to jog, especially along the water.
and anything competitive makes it easier too.
damn north... baseball dont start till march 3 here
<strong>My exercise is bicycling. I go to work every day with the recumbent, 6 km one way, 6 km back (obviously.) for all you non-european here, that's 7.45 miles per day. of course, not flat. In one way it goes down, on my way back it goes up. waaaay up.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If the weather here in New England were suitable for biking a reasonable portion of the year, and if I wouldn't need an hour (make that an hour and a half during the hot days of summer) to cool down, shower, and dress after I arrived work... and a repeat of this process after the ride home... then biking to work might work for me
i have a rowing machine in my house so its pretty nice.
i think i have bad form though.... not feeling much in my legs and apparently you are suppose to feel a lot there
<strong>and anything competitive makes it easier too.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Would at least one of you making comments like this have the decency to add the words "for me", and show some hint of recognition of the fact that turning exercise into a competitive activity does not UNIVERSALLY make it fun for everyone!?
<strong>
Would at least one of you making comments like this have the decency to add the words "for me", and show some hint of recognition of the fact that turning exercise into a competitive activity does not UNIVERSALLY make it fun for everyone!?</strong><hr></blockquote>
um... i think anyone reading MY comments in MY posts would realize that what i say is MY opinion.
my god.... you have issues you need to deal with
<strong>
I think that sometimes there is a point, like exercising. you might hate to do it but the point of doing it would be to stay healthy.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think that's true for many people, but for someone who downright hates and dreads exercise, can't walk for a day or two afterwards and has suffered from really deep bouts of clinical depression having exercised in the past, the drawbacks may outweigh the benefits.
Perhaps it would be better to have a more enjoyable, possibly shorter life.
<strong>I think that's true for many people, but for someone who downright hates and dreads exercise, can't walk for a day or two afterwards...</strong><hr></blockquote>
That was what happened to me maybe once or twice per year when I'd throw my back out... not after every workout! :eek: I'd never have made it through seven years of exercise if it had been quite that bad.
<strong>um... i think anyone reading MY comments in MY posts would realize that what i say is MY opinion.
my god.... you have issues you need to deal with</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hey, I'm obviously venting a lot of frustration here.
Maybe you weren't doing this, but a lot of people make no clear distinction between "This is my opinion (of what's good for me)." and "This is my opinion (of what's good for everyone)."
When it comes to health and fitness advice, it's a common phenomenon that those giving the advice show little recognition of the fact that not everyone is going to get the same rush out of jogging that they do, that not everyone in the world loves to compete, that not everyone is going to find the gym a wonderful social center in their lives, etc. A lot of advice is given in a manner that suggests that the advice giver thinks "All someone has to do is try this, and they'll immediately see how wonderful it is!"
Grrrrrr.
Like I said, I'm venting.
[ 02-07-2003: Message edited by: shetline ]</p>
I've fallen off in the last year, though, and I'm paying for it now. So I'm saving up for a new bike to use as a commuter vehicle when it's no longer mercilessly cold in the morning. The last time I did that the mere practice of riding to work shed 25 pounds and made me feel great, and it wasn't tedious because I have a nice route to work, and - unlike an exercize bike - the scenery changes.
Unfortunately, the bike was a little racer, and I'm too big for a vehicle that puny. I broke an average of 3 spokes a week riding on flat pavement, and I got tired of buying wheels so often. The next bike will be beefier.
<strong>
How I wish all that exercise had had that kind of an effect on me. I got the direct benefits -- weight loss, strenght, cardiovascular health, etc -- but got no great sense of relaxation or relief from stress or worry. In fact, I stressed out a lot worrying about meeting my self-imposed obligations to exercise.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I've come close to similar feelings in the past. I'd think I must go, otherwise the years I've been going will be wasted, and the longer you go for, the greater the waste would be.
Now I don't think or worry about exercising, other than during the time I'm actually doing it, when I give it my all. I know my obligations are reasonable (three 2 hour sessions a week) and I know I can meet them, so it takes the pressure off. I also go to the gym for my own benefit, not to compete with the person next to me or to socialise.
I think a little guilt and worry helps to keep you going on a regular basis, but too much becomes stressful and counter productive. I guess it's a case of getting the right balance.
[ 02-07-2003: Message edited by: RodUK ]</p>
that's it exactly!!! i couldn't put it into words before. if i just excersised the day before it's easy to do it the next day, but if you take a couple of days off you find yourself with trainers on, sitting on the stoop, trying to find a reason to quit stretching and run.
bodies at rest tend to stay at rest, bodies in motion.....
even though running is a solitary pursuit, i do compete with myself as i time myself.
i'm nicely surprised at how popular this thread is.
It is really good with the chair option or as I have by its self. I find it gives my legs, back, and abdominals a nice lite workout as I type.
I have to switch to a regular chair if I sit too long.
I originally thought it was a dumb idea, but my doctor says there are studies that actually recommend using them as chairs. I have been using mine for two years and it is the only real exercise I get besides my weekly bike ride.
Oh, and if you have kids they will love it too.
<strong>You could try a Physioball ( Swiss ball ) as your computer chair.
It is really good with the chair option or as I have by its self. I find it gives my legs, back, and abdominals a nice lite workout as I type.
I have to switch to a regular chair if I sit too long.
I originally thought it was a dumb idea, but my doctor says there are studies that actually recommend using them as chairs. I have been using mine for two years and it is the only real exercise I get besides my weekly bike ride.
Oh, and if you have kids they will love it too.
Hmm...just read a few articles about how sitting on the ball alone can be very good. You got a source for purchasing one?
<strong>
Hmm...just read a few articles about how sitting on the ball alone can be very good. You got a source for purchasing one?</strong><hr></blockquote>
I can't recommend them, but the pict came from
<a href="http://www.bindependent.com/hompg/bi/bindep/store/aisles/exercise/balls/balls.htm"; target="_blank">Web Ball store</a>
EDIT: Thats not to say they are a bad site. I don't know, I just used it as a reference.
I purchased the one I have from a chiropractor that I was seeing two years ago for about $100[US] (her cost). However, I have seen them in the larger toy stores ( similar but lesser quality ) for around $40[US].
There are also ones called Bones that as it suggests is like a bone and is great for wider and balance challenged individuals.
[ 02-07-2003: Message edited by: MrBillData ]</p>
<strong>I know what you mean.
I have recently taken a hiatus from the gym since I had my daugher two+ months ago . . . but my wife has come up with a 'brilliant plan'-- she will spell me by minding our "little lovia" for an hour while I go to the gym, and then I will watch her while she goes . . . this is supposed to restart our exercise regimen and its supposed to start sometime TODAY.</strong><hr></blockquote>
HEEHEE . . . I managed to find minor reasons to forgo teh beginning of getting back in shape for at least one more day . . . . . phwew
I hate to say this but I haven't ever had good motivation myself. I have belonged to a gym and I would do weights but also I enjoy aerobics of various sorts. (No I'm not gay, I just play one on television)
When I really enjoyed the instructor I would go everyday, and have my body fat down to like 8% and everything. When I didn't I would slack off and eat like crap and watch the pounds come back on.
Right now I am DESPERATELY trying to find the motivation to eat well and exercise daily. However I simply enjoy mental activities a lot more. Also I have really gotten into financial stuff lately and been very successful at it. Between pure laziness and gee I might make 50k if I look into this, it is pretty easy to slack off.
My solution, sue McDonalds.
Nick