I love riding my bike on the weekends and if my commute wasn't 1.5 hours each way, I'd go to the gym pretty often.

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Ever bitten into a spicy pepper and enjoyed the burn? That’s what it feels like! Different strokes for different folks, but for me, every drop of sweat is a medal of honor. It’s tough to describe, but it’s about the journey of getting stronger, faster, better. Embrace the grind, my friend, and you might just find that elusive gym rat bliss.

No. Never. I think I'm very different because I am never motivated, nor feel good during/after exercise. No, my testosterone is fine.

I'm walking every street in my (very large) suburb (think Southern California) and picking up litter while doing so. I track my progress with an app and map it to a website (citystrides.com) that fills in each neighborhood as I go.

It started as something to do during Covid--although I took a year off in there, somewhere. I listen to podcasts while I go. So I'm out of the house (I'm retired now--that helps), get some "fresh" air (🤷‍♂️ )--all while listening to and from and about interesting people. As a bonus, the space I've passed thru that day is a little "better" for me having been there.

I apparently have a dose of "completeism"--a compulsion to 'complete' something thoroughly. There's something psychologically very satisfying about watching that map get filled in.

https://i.imgur.com/GoNzZgP.png

Yep. Especially after the training it’s like “yeah man I did it”.

Also, it’s all about consistency. Perfectionism is the enemy of consistency. Don’t be a perfectionist. Just be consistent and soon you’ll see results.

Like I see some people who just started working out and do as many push-ups or any other excercise with as many reps as they possibly can and after they’re exhausted.

That’s wrong. These people think that if you don’t do 100 pushups first day you’re a failure.

No, do even one push up. It’s more that 0. Then do 2, then 5, then 10, then 5 again coz you don’t feel like it today.

Like don’t starve for perfectionism. Just be consistent and you’ll actually get to enjoy working out. It’s a great way to clear your mind, have a healthy body, build muscles, better body chemistry and less diseases etc. Be consistent, not perfect. And avoid guys who make you feel you’re not doing enough. These guys will make you feel like every exercise should be perfect or with the highest reps possible or smth.

I am not a fan of other workouts but I LOVE cycling. Wind in my face, sightseeing, ability to push harder or just cruise to catch my breath makes it really enjoyable IMO.

Wow, this thread has been really eye opening. As someone who completely hates exercise (I honestly can't imagine many other things that are more unpleasant), it had never really occurred to me that people exercised because they genuinely enjoyed it. I always just assumed that everyone else hated it and just forced themselves into it.

It’s type 2 fun. You don’t want to do it, but you’re glad you did when you do

These people addicted to running tho... 👀

IDK how they do it. I hate running. I have had extended periods in my life where I exercised 6 times a week, but I never enjoyed it.

Lifting weights is fun and feels pleasurable. Cardio feels like I'm trying to get somewhere but I'll never arrive. It's frustrating. I think it's because I have ADHD and, well, most monotonous activities are hella hard to keep up for any period of time. Doesn't help that I've been off my meds for a year since developing high blood pressure.

For cardio, I've tried different things to trick myself into doing it. Some worked better than others. I used to do long and hard warmups before lifting weights. Of course it had a negative effect on the weightlifting itself, but it was good for my health. To increase effort, I just added 5 minutes each session. Started off cycling 15 minutes at a leisurely pace on the stationary bike, and towards the end I was doing 45 at a much harder pace. Watching the average power climb up each week was fun, it was like a game to me. And the weightlifting at the end of it was the reward to make my monkeybrain accept the annoyance that is cardio.

Of course, then I had surgery (nothing major, a scheduled quality of life surgery, septoplasty to be specific, but I was told to lay off any exercise for 2+ weeks) and then a month later I injured myself. So now it's been over a year again. Not because my injury was very serious, but because it's incredibly hard to start, maintain, or re-start healthy habits with ADHD. Incredibly easy to start, maintain and re-start bad ones though -.-

Another thing is, pick a podcast (preferably something funny or informative, not depressing), put it on, and go on a walk. Not the same as running, but on a physical activity for your health scale, if being sedentary is 0% and running is 100%, walking is at least 80% if you ask me. Way closer to running than to doing nothing.

I understand the last bit is difficult for people living in unwalkable cities, but for those who can do it, it feels way better than most other forms of exercise, because you're getting dosed with happy hormones while you're walking thanks to the podcast.

Yes re: lifting weights - it did take a while though. I had to start lifting for medical reasons and the first 2 months were an absolute chore. Now you need to handcuff me to stop me going lol

What helps in my experience is ideally going with a buddy but if that's not possible, finding out what exercises you enjoy and focussing on them first. No point making it more difficult than it needs to be to start, the best workout is the one you can be consistent with. Headphones and a podcast help too

I enjoy reformers pilates a lot, but that's because of the deep stretching worked into the routine. It's a game changer. If I could, I'd be doing it every day.

I fucking hate cardio with the passion of 190 million burning suns. However, I have experienced a runners high before. You get a bit lightheaded and dizzy, but not so much that you pass out. It just feels good. However, not good enough to get me up off my ass and do it, lol.

So I've found there's two different 'pleasure' experiences:

One is during the workout where you disassociate and just feel your muscles working. In running this is usually called a "runner's high", and in weightlifting it's typically refered to "lifting heavy thing make me happy" / "Big rock make sad voices go away"

Then there's the after-workout where you just feel your muscle exhausted as you relax and it's extremely satisfying. You know you're getting stronger and the workout will be easier next time.

Both of these feelings take a few weeks to start, you'll have to get results from your workout and then your mind and body will start rewarding you with dopamine for doing a good job. (Although some days working out still sucks ass though and is both tiring and a chore, that part doesn't go away it's just easier to ignore).

I find working out to be an intensely boring experience. I ended up doing martial arts to stay fit because the work out ends up being incidental and the activity itself is engaging. I recommend trying something like judo or boxing depending on whether you would be more comfortable with grappling or striking.