Asklemmy

I only cycle once in a while and it feels amazing when the wind rushes through my hair and I zoom through the city.

I hate being in a gym, all those people around, not being able to see outside, stationary...yuck.

I picked up cycling and try and ride my bike frequently. I used to be much more into it, but that was also as a stoner kid and it was a great way to get out some energy before work and calm down after work.

Now it's more of an effort but I like to reward myself with a beer and some food. I try to ride about 14 miles every other day. It takes an hour or two at my pace but I can spend that time thinking, listening to music or a podcast. It can be really meditative and it feels good to have my muscles tired.

Lifting: I definitely don't like while I'm doing it.

Riding my bike though: it's great to get out there early in the morning and explore, see nature, etc. with the bike, I also just like the feeling of speed, so the physical act of riding can actually be enjoyable.

To a lesser degree, the same can apply to running. I find that when I've been in better shape, I could experience that runner's high.

As I get older, I enjoy it more. It's a reminder that I'm not as old a bastard as I feel some days, and I know the benefits are real, noticeable, and literally life changing. And at that moment I'm the youngest I'll ever be for the rest of my life, so it's a good time to do it.

Maybe I don't love the specific moment that my muscles are on fire but perspective keeps me happy while doing it

I have a little limitation on my leg because of a work accident, so every time I exercise it makes me feel "normal", like a boost of confidence despite the limitation, I even feel happier when I'm tired, like I needed to expel that extra energy out of me.

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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).

It takes some time to build a routine, getting to that point requires effort. Once you're comfortable and know your limits I personally get a lot of satisfaction from pushing my body to get faster, stronger, more agile and so on. You might feel exhausted but you know you can keep going and your body will respond.

Together with all other health benefits you get from it makes you feel good about yourself after a workout which translates to better confidence, mood and more.

I enjoy it in that I find it helps me disconnect from work. Not even consciously, I just find after running for 40 minutes any lingering mental hangover from my office job are gone. It's similar to what happens when doing volunteering or community work.

For me it’s about making it a routine and part of your daily life. I started out with 3 days a week lifting and now do 3 days lifting and 3 days cardio. I find it’s easier to stick to and enjoy if it’s something I do everyday. The other thing I’ve noticed is you really need to pay attention to nutrition and sleep too. Working out is a lot easier/ more enjoyable if you are providing your body with the nutrients it needs and getting enough sleep. If you just eat junk food you’re going to feel like junk when you workout

I certainly do. Sometimes I have to get over the hump to actually GO to the gym on workout days but I've never once (well, okay, one workout I had one time after going regularly for years did leave me unsatisfied - I will admit that) finished up a workout and been like "what a goddamn waste of time and energy".

I've tried for years to go to the gym regularly. I despise going to the gym. Putting on workout clothes, mindlessly trudging on a treadmill or whatnot before slogging through a bunch of machines then shower and going home. I loathe the idea of sacrificing 1+ hour of my precious free time just to feel miserable and accomplishing fuck all... Everyone claiming "just stick with it and you'll start to enjoy it" lies. There's no other way to say this. Lies. If you love it, good for you, but it definitely isn't a universal thing.

Walks around town I do kinda enjoy but not enough to make me want to do it. But point me someplace new or nice to hike and I'm off to the races. I love being out in nature, taking in the sights and I don't care whatsoever if I need to work for it.

The last few weeks I've also started to go swimming with my girlfriend. I've not been a fan of swimming as a child and basically never did it anymore since then. So I'm pathetic at it but to my huge surprise I do quite like it.

So my recommendation to you is: try loads of different things. Chances are you'll like doing certain things way more than others. Ideally you'll find something you love. Or at least you should be able to find something you don't hate.

I'm addicted to my bike, I love riding on my bike and its super addicting to go fast and almost getting hit by cars.

The feel of your muscles tightening. It sure makes you feel that you're doing something great and you're achieving something good.

Thats how I feel.

I only enjoy it after I'm done with it. Never before or during the workout. I still do it, just it's pulling teeth everyday.

For me it was a process of finding a certain sport that does that for me. Try out as many sports that you can. I hate running. I find cycling ok. I love climbing. Sometimes I like lifting. Music and enough sleep make a huge difference for me, I hate working out when I am tired.

It varies for me. Some days I’m like “I get to work out! 😄”

And other days are closer to

“I have to work out 😣”

But I like the progress I’ve made, I’m even starting to see shadow under my ribs. I always feel better after the workout though, and it makes me feel like the relaxation time I typically do after is earned.

I like the way I feel after a workout. That's enough motivation for me to do cardio and lift.

No and I never liked it. I tried going to the gym for a while to lose weight but I felt horrible afterwards and during the excersice and the actual Impact on my obesity was quite minimal (probably my fault as I‘m sure I didn’t do everything right). So i stoped going eventually. I know started walking more, I don’t take the bus from the train station home anymore and rather walk the 3.5km with some nice podcast oj my ears. I like doing it, even atvthe current temperatures as I feel like a get 45 minutes just for me where I don’t have to listen to anyone or anything other than my podcasts I enjoy. I work ij Retail so there’s a constant barrage of people and at the end of the day you just don’t want to see people for a while. So while it does help my weight loss it also just feels kinda therapeutic in a way. I just crossed 120kg (down from 136) this morning and plan to try to extend my walks to my days of as well :-)

I hate exercise for the sake of it. I'd gladly ride my bike all day, but put me on an exercise bike for ten minutes and I'm bored out of my skull.

Unrelated: I'm really fat.

Sometimes I’m loving the workout and feel like I’d be able to workout for hours on end and other times it’s not as enjoyable and I just want to get it over with.

But what I do enjoy is being able to see myself progress. Looking at progress pictures over the months/years and seeing growth, as well as being able to lift more than I ever have before. It never fails to make me happy.

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.

I love running, but running is the worst when you haven't run for a while. After a few weeks when your body is into it it feels amazing and I am craving to get out there. I do mostly trail running so for me it's an opportunity to get out in the nature, a break from work and kids and just be by myself and enjoy the moment

I recently started and I fucking hate it. I need a 'reason' like playing a sport. So for now my motivation is my daughter. So I can keep up with her. And I'm going to try join the local soccer club next year as a carrot on a stick to aim for.

I lift 3x a week. I do it because it helps my mental health a lot and I feel good afterwards. The high is real but you gotta push yourself pretty hard to get it.

As for starting, start small. Maybe start with a half hour walk every day. Then make it longer. Then replace the long walk with a short run. Then longer runs. Then maybe you want to try something else that's a little tougher and you start lifting weights. That's what happened to me.

But you gotta stay on schedule. That's the hard part. It's really easy to get complacent and stop.

Yes, I feel pleasure when lifting weights. It's good to feel powerful, and it's good to feel like I'm getting stronger. I also get pleasure from knowing I can do it and that I'm dedicated and can keep up the routine. So I suppose it's mostly mental pleasure, but physically having that feeling of power is great at the very least.

I'm a podcast listener, can't do music.. Wish I could but It makes workouts drag for me.

But I absolutely love mt biking. I'm not good or fast, but it's zen for me.

It takes a while. A long while. But once you develop a habit, a day will feel empty without your routine exercise, and doing it will feel real good.

The important thing is to find what works for you and do that. I bounced off many gym programs and could not keep up with them. Then I hurt my leg and decided to talk to a physical therapist. He developed a program for me that's easy to stick to, yet challenging enough.

Not everyone's into jogging and lifting. Look and ask around. Good luck!

I figured out for myself that I need to have a goal when working out.

Instead of aimlessly running on a treadmill, I'd rather go cycling to some nice place with a view.

Instead of lifting weights a number of times, I rather climb up a wall and challenge myself mentally in addition to physically.

I've always found myself having trouble getting to work out if I didn't have some sort of tangible goal to achieve in the process. Like with walking, I need a destination to reach, like maybe going to pick up lunch or groceries. Same for other forms of body work outs, I've found vr games can be handy for giving me something to get lost in while still working out, like this one squatting game called hotsquats, or some of those rhythm games

Just doing a treadmill while staring at a tv doesn't keep my brain as engaged.

I genuinely enjoy it. Especially cardio. Running cycling, doesn't matter. I almost always love the feelint

I am a bit surprised about the diversity of opinions. For me, well organized muscle movement, both cardio and weightlifting, is quite enjoyable simply physiologically. Plus other things like resting the mind, enjoying the scenere, etc.

I don't have fun at all - when I work out just to "work out," anyway. Then I have to think about it sort of like physical medicine. I do it cause it's good for me.

But if I can find a way to get the heart pumping that's primarily about doing an activity, with fitness just being secondary, I have a lot more fun. I recently got into boxing for fitness because kneee trouble was making high-impact cardio painful. Love it. Training becomes something to look forward to because boxing is fun rather than metaphorical castor oil that I swallow down because I need to.

No, I hate it. I listen to podcasts while working out. It's the only thing that makes it bearable.

Yes, I love it. I feel that enjoying it comes with a few factors: knowing what you're doing is correct and maximizing each workout, and a shift in mindset that the "dread" of it doesn't actually have to be dread, which takes time to shift your head into as you get familiar. Of course, there are days where I'd rather not go, but showing up for the ritual is what matters, at that point. To get the post-workout high, you have to push yourself adequately to feel it. It doesn't have to be equal intensity of it afterward every single time, but it's a good sign that you've worked out really well.

Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?

For cardio it's basically "go slow". The main source of discomfort is the exertion.
An easy long run with good music is quite meditative and enjoyable.
When your legs hurt and you're wheezing your lungs out, not so much.

Ive made the argument for years that working out in the gym is by far the worst possible way to work it. Its just so boring and depressing and take sup your limited time.

Why would I spend an hour at the gym working out when I can play football with freinds, or go to a skate park or go mountain biking, or even just go for a run through a park? Its like trying to learn something by just doing math problems over and over again instead of working through actual problems.

If you mean in a gym? I hate the gym and am one of the people that only likes the effects.

If you mean outdoors, like cycling or running or hiking, then oh yeah! It’s fun to lose yourself in the action: it’s meditative as the physical action is repetitive and it allows you to just take in your scenery and let your mind wander freely.