I used to hate exercise. Then, I pushed myself to do it regularly and the benefits surpassed the negative side of it by a lot. For instance, almost all my chronic pain issues are gone, so I’m saving a couple hundreds yearly on healthcare. I also feel better physically (I can move better, I have better endurance) if I’m exercising regularly compared to when I’m not. Because, let’s face it, I don’t like it, so every now and then I stop for reasons and getting into it back again is very difficult. But it’s always worth it.
The chronic pain relief by itself was enough to keep me motivated. Asthma, joint pains (hypermobility sucks!), etc are now down to manageable levels – if not completely gone.
And yeah, I don’t enjoy it and sometimes look for excuses to slack off. And right on cue, my knee pain starts flaring up after a couple weeks. Followed by the rest of the body.
I was going to say exactly this. When I have to take a break from exercising and need to get back to it it’s not easy, but I remind myself of all the benefits that come with exercising and how much better it made me feel and that gives me the motivation to get started again. The easiest way for me to force myself to exercise on a day I really don’t feel motivated to do it (or I’ve been out of it for a while) is by putting on my sport outfit and readying whatever I need for my exercises, telling myself I can still change my mind and not do it whenever I want. But by the time I got changed and everything is ready I think “I might as well just do it”.
And it just really takes that one time to fully remind myself of how good it feels afterwards and it gives me the motivation to keep going. Sometimes I’ll end up enjoying it so much I can’t wait for my next exercise session and no, it’s not the actual exercising myself I enjoy, but how I feel afterwards.
I used to hate exercise. Then, I pushed myself to do it regularly and the benefits surpassed the negative side of it by a lot. For instance, almost all my chronic pain issues are gone, so I’m saving a couple hundreds yearly on healthcare. I also feel better physically (I can move better, I have better endurance) if I’m exercising regularly compared to when I’m not. Because, let’s face it, I don’t like it, so every now and then I stop for reasons and getting into it back again is very difficult. But it’s always worth it.
The chronic pain relief by itself was enough to keep me motivated. Asthma, joint pains (hypermobility sucks!), etc are now down to manageable levels – if not completely gone.
And yeah, I don’t enjoy it and sometimes look for excuses to slack off. And right on cue, my knee pain starts flaring up after a couple weeks. Followed by the rest of the body.
I was going to say exactly this. When I have to take a break from exercising and need to get back to it it’s not easy, but I remind myself of all the benefits that come with exercising and how much better it made me feel and that gives me the motivation to get started again. The easiest way for me to force myself to exercise on a day I really don’t feel motivated to do it (or I’ve been out of it for a while) is by putting on my sport outfit and readying whatever I need for my exercises, telling myself I can still change my mind and not do it whenever I want. But by the time I got changed and everything is ready I think “I might as well just do it”.
And it just really takes that one time to fully remind myself of how good it feels afterwards and it gives me the motivation to keep going. Sometimes I’ll end up enjoying it so much I can’t wait for my next exercise session and no, it’s not the actual exercising myself I enjoy, but how I feel afterwards.