Let’s talk about the fact that it’s okay if you don’t love working out. And this is an updated version of a post that’s definitely worth revisiting.
It’s okay if you don’t love working out. And today, I’m going to tell you why. I’m also going to let you in on a little secret: You’re not alone. There are a number of common reasons why people struggle to love exercise, and with some coaching and mental shifts, you just may be able to adjust your relationship with the idea of working out.
And by the way, I can relate to this topic. Even though I’m currently a fitness instructor and I exercise a lot, I haven’t always been this way. In fact, for many years, I was totally intimidated by the gym, I dreaded exercise, and I was not consistent with it at all. Over the years, I’ve grown and changed, and now I’m someone who motivates others to get active. But it took work and time.
Although you may never fall in love with exercise enough to become a group fitness instructor, with a little work, you could find yourself in an entirely different situation with your thoughts about fitness one day too. Let’s talk about what you should do if you don’t love working out …
First step: Identify your mental roadblocks
Before we get to the action items, let’s do a little digging. Here are a few mental roadblocks that may be standing in your way …
You think you’re too out of shape to start working out, so you don’t start.
I’ve had conversations along these lines with people often over the years. They want to try group fitness classes and they want to join a new gym, but they think they’re too out of shape to start, so they don’t start at all.
But let me tell you this: Just start. There’s no prep work required to move more. You can start at any time, on any day, in any condition. And the moment you start making even the slightest fitness gains, you will crave that improvement and want to keep at it.
In fact, when you start a workout program, you’re at the very best place possible to see the most amount of gains and improvement. Soak that up. Once you get super fit, it’s harder to make gains and improve. So rather than thinking you’ll start working out once you lose a little bit of weight or once you have the money to join a fancy gym, remember that taking that first step will get you to progress faster than waiting will. Everyone can move and work out somehow, no matter your fitness level or abilities. And nobody is too out of shape to try to exercise in some way.
Also, it’s okay to exercise and not look amazingly fit. It’s still super beneficial for your body, even if you don’t get any visible results for a while. (But I bet you will.)
You haven’t found the right type of exercise for you (yet), so you think you hate all exercise.
Perhaps you don’t like working out because you just haven’t found the right kind of exercise for you yet. Or you’ve been forcing yourself to do what you think you should be doing. You know people who run, so you’ve always tried to run. Or, perhaps you’ve even read on this blog that you should be lifting weights, but because you don’t really know how to lift weights, every time you try, you hate it and you give up.
Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to fitness. And in order to find an exercise program that you love, you have to try many different things and then see what sticks. Also, sometimes you have to try things more than once.
You can try different programs and different settings too, including working out in a group at a gym, working out alone at home or in your garage, working out outdoors alone or in a group and/or working out at little studios and see where you feel the most comfortable.
While it’s best to vary your workouts each week and do a mixture of cardio and resistance training with some flexibility, if you would be totally inactive if you didn’t do the same dance class every day, then choose the same dance class every day. All movement is good movement.
I used to stick to running alone on a treadmill as my exercise of choice. Today, I choose group fitness classes with an emphasis on strength work, and now they’re my true passion. People change. Our tastes change. And remember this: You have to kiss a lot of fitness frogs to find your fitness prince.
You’ve never had a regular routine, so you always feel like an awkward fish out of water when you get started.
If you only lace up your sneakers or go to the gym once every other week, then you’re setting yourself up to feel like an awkward beginner every single gym session. And there’s a strong chance that that factor alone is keeping you from wanting to go back. But if you come up with a regular routine — whether that’s walking four mornings before work or hitting the gym three times a week after work — the consistency will not only help your body to get results, but it’ll also help you find the entire process less painful.
If you wait a long time between workouts, it will feel tougher on your body, you’ll lose much of your fitness gains, and you’ll downright feel like you shouldn’t be doing it. Our bodies do what we teach them to do, so teach your body to become a regular exerciser, and you may be surprised at how easy you adapt and start to enjoy it.
You think you don’t have time to exercise.
We all have time to exercise. And yes, some of us have more of it than others. Everyone can find the time in their day for at least 15 to 20 minutes of movement. Maybe you need to wake up a bit earlier, extend your lunch break or hit the gym directly after work, but you can probably squeeze in something small most days.
Even though most of my classes and workouts are 45 minutes to an hour, I will tell you that this isn’t necessary. You can improve your health, fitness and appearance with even just 20 minutes a day, most days of the week.
So if you think you hate working out and you think you don’t have time, just shoot for a 15-minute power-walk or 15-minute on-demand workout a few times a week. It’s really not much time, and it can totally make a difference. Super-long workouts are not required any more, so bite off a smaller chunk and see if it’s more manageable for your mind and your body.
And now that we’ve established some of the reasons why you may not like working out, let’s talk about what you can do about it.
Second step: Take action with methods to help you get excited about working out
Here are some mental strategies you can employ to convince yourself that you’re looking forward to your workouts …
Focus on the benefit of having a routine and having dedicated “you” time.
Adding a 30-minute activity to your day that is solely devoted to you and to your health and wellness is a beautiful thing. Maybe you don’t get pumped up for a workout, but I bet you can get pumped up for solo time and self-care.
Think about your workout session as something that is just for you. It’s not for your boss. It’s not for your kids. It’s not for your friends. It’s all for you. It’s a benefit for you. It’s yours. Soak up the opportunity to focus on nothing but the good things that you’re doing for your body and mind when you choose to work out. Protect that time, schedule it in your calendar, and know each and every time that it’s a little gift you’re giving to yourself and to your body. It may mean you have to move some things around to fit it in, but there’s a lot of good coming your way if you do.
Live for the reward of endorphins, because they can’t be bought, they can only be earned.
Do you know that feeling you can get at the end of a workout when you’ve completed what you set out to do? That feeling is golden. After a workout, your brain actually releases “endorphins,” and thus you feel less pain, you see an improvement in your mood and you also reduce your stress.
Basically, endorphins are free happiness. They’re better than coffee. They’re better than a treat. And they’re naturally delicious feel-good vibes that make everything seem better. Live for those amazing feelings you get from exercise. You’ll get them every time you put the effort in to work out, because endorphins are your body’s way of saying thanks for the movement.
Know that it will get easier if you stay committed and consistent.
Much like the mental roadblock we discussed in the beginning of this post: the key to success is just to commit and be mostly consistent. Schedule your workouts, stick to them and try your best to establish a weekly routine that makes sense in your life. If you’re able to be fairly consistent, you won’t have to deal with the feeling of being a beginner every time you get moving.
Find a partner or workout buddy who feels the same way as you do and help each other along.
Remember that you’re not the only one out there struggling to love working out or struggling to find the time for it. Maybe you have a coworker or friend who’s in the same boat? What if the two of you sign on to be accountability partners and plan to work out three times a week together at set times? Or you two visit various local studios on the weekends to try out new classes? It’s often better to go at a goal with a support system, and if you can support someone else, maybe they can support you too?
Look forward to rewarding yourself for achieving non-scale victories.
What’s a non-scale victory? Improvements in your mental, physical and emotional state that have nothing to do with how much you weigh. Here are some examples: Having more energy. Sleeping better. Hitting a performance goal, like completing a pull-up or 10 push-ups on the toes. Those are all non-scale victories. And when you start working out and you begin noticing non-scale victories, you deserve a reward. Can you book a massage or buy a new pair of jeans? Can you get some new sneakers? Treat yourself, because you deserve it.
Even though most people think the best thing about working out is the improvement in your appearance or aesthetics, I actually think the way it makes you feel matters more. If you set out to achieve some non-scale victories, that is a mission worth fulfilling with movement. Go for it!
That about does it my, friend. Props to you for making it to the end of this post, because it means you care and you’re interested in making some positive changes. I mean, bodies are meant to stay moving, so you need to find a way to do that somehow, and hopefully this gave you some ideas on how to start.
Thanks so much for reading this post on what to do if you don’t love working out. Get out there and get moving! xoxo
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Questions of the day
What’s something that holds you back from working out?
What’s a positive mantra that you can use to help yourself get excited about exercise?