Balancing Act: Navigating the Love-Hate Relationship with Exercise

Are there other people out there who have a love-hate relationship with exercise?

Some days, I am in a let’s goooooo mood, and other days, I would rather sit on the sofa. Yet, I continue to exercise. People who do not know me well think I enjoy myself when working out. Those closest to me know I wouldn’t say I like exercise, and I do not think it is fun. I’ve trained my mind to remember why I exercise before and during the workout. I am not chasing after a feeling, and I am not motivated. However, I know what could happen if I choose not to exercise. So, how do we make exercise enjoyable? Well, we don’t, but we find ways to make it tolerable.

Below are some tips and tricks that worked for me over the years:

• Walking, if you are able, is free. Go outdoors when you can, and when you can’t, try to find a gym with a low-cost no strings attached membership with a treadmill and walk on it.
• Plan your workouts a week in advance. Planning helps you prepare your emotions ahead of time and can help prevent you from making excuses.
• Change is necessary. Your body can get used to movements, so changing up what you do is helpful when wanting to see results. I change my program every 4 to 8 weeks. Boredom comes easily to me.
• Get an accountability buddy. I know you’ve probably heard this before, and maybe you have been let down in the past. The trick is to get someone as serious as you or more serious than you are about exercising.

• Track your goals. Every week, on weightlifting days, I try to increase my weight, and on running days, I try to improve my pace or time. For some people, if you can’t physically see your results, you likely won’t continue. A hack for the days you can’t see results is you’ll already have something logged in your notes app. The results may not be visible, but you’ll see how strong you’re getting.
• Stop doing what everyone else is doing. My mom used to say, “Everything isn’t for everybody,” and now I finally get it. Yoga and Pilates may not be for you. Maybe CrossFit is your jam. Whatever it is, find something that gets the desired results and stop doing things because everyone else said it’s fantastic.
• Reward yourself. I am most certainly not doing all this exercise without a reward. Yes, I know my results are my reward, but I think I owe it to myself to give me more than a pat on my back for doing something I don’t even like.

In the intricate dance between desire and discomfort, my journey with exercise has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Navigating the realms of love and hate, I’ve discovered that beneath the surface lies a unique connection to my well-being. Ultimately, embracing this love-hate relationship has not only sculpted my physical well-being but also unlocked the door to self-discovery, creating a path toward a more balanced and fulfilling life.