Do it! Get yourself in a routine and force yourself to commit, until it becomes easier.
I have an incredibly hard time motivating myself to exercise. Often, I'll get a routine going, then something will happen to throw me off my schedule (TMI, I know, but it's usually my period- my cramps are debilitating), and I'll be back at square one. I don't have any available RL friends at the same level of fitness as me, so I have to motivate myself, and it sucks. It's worth it.
Stay motivated. Come here if you need an anonymous kick in the ass, and stay positive. Remember you need to be consistent. Good luck!
I'm feeling good about it right now, post-run :D. Also, I have a plan: keep the exercise as unspecific as possible. When I have clear goals I have a tendency to set them too high, fail, feel useless, and give up.
So, I shall run and/or walk every day. Nothing specific about how far or for how long, it's about doing it every day. A gold star if I reach the recommended daily exercise amount of at least 10min x3 of brisk walking. Which isn't that hard a goal for me. Yay for building confidence! :)
go you, nonnie! I did a whole bunch of workshopping in grad school about goal setting and motivation, and you're right, setting too high goals is one of THE main ways people get discouraged and give up. It is super important to set the bar low to begin with. You may feel discouraged that you're not doing much (going for walks twice a week as opposed to running 5k in 2 weeks!) but the important thing to keep in mind is that two walks a week is waaaay more than nothing at all! Then slowly increase the goals. Patience is SUPER important.
best of luck! And try to in the beginning to make it more about fun than a gruelling must-exercise. If you like rollerblading, go for that. If you go for walks and enjoy the nature or the butterflies or something, focus on that. process goals, not achievement goals! Like, the goal is to go for a walk, not go attain X level of fitness. It will come later when it comes more naturally to you. Also, remember that setbacks are a totally normal part of the process, and try not to let it discourage you.
best of luck, and don't hesitate in researching the kind of activity that really works for you. Whether that is folf, playing with a dog, crossfit, skating, whatever. I believe in you!
Thanks so much! Setbacks are the worst. Atm I actually feel like they're a challenge, like, when I have my first setback and power through it, I'll feel accomplished, you know?
I do know about a lot of different activities I like. I think it's more about the stuff surrounding the activities I have a problem with. Like, if I'm in a situation where I feel like other people can judge me. Or, if it takes effort to get there/it's at a specific time, then I feel like it's an obligation. Fulfilling obligations is not something I'm confident about atm.
So I run instead. :) It's always more or less gruelling at first, of course. But it helps to not make this huge deal about it, going to a track (which is an effort in itself) and angsting over that I should take the 5km track now that I'm here instead of the 3km. Just putting my running shoes on, choosing left or right, and run till I feel like turning, and then run home.
Cramps is the worst. I hate that kind of pain, and mine isn't even debilitating. Have you tried pain revealing stuff that you can use while you're up and walking? Like wheat cushions with velcro? Or maybe TENS? I've a friend that borrowed one for her cramps, but I don't remember how effective she thought it was. I know it's been used for people with osteoarthritis of the knee as a pain relief during walks. My grandma got to borrow a TENS machine from the health care, but no idea how the system works where you live...
I've never heard of TENS. I've been through quite a few pain meds with my doctor, and I tend to get nausea as well as pain, so I stay pretty bedridden till they pass. Normally only a day or two, but it sucks and throws me off. On birth control now, which should help, but it gives me migraines. Womanhood is awesome!
Back to exercise, I like the idea of looser goals. I saw a personal trainer a few months ago, and he wanted me to commit to two hour workouts, four times a week. If you're someone like me who has a hard time motivating myself to begin with, that kind of commitment to a workout regimen seems crazy. But making the time to be active everyday, and having that be your goal, seems like a great place to start. Like I said before, it's about building a routine and sticking to it, which can be much harder than it sounds.
TWO hour workouts, four times a week? Wow. That's a lot. What did he think you wanted to accomplish? For me, a high goal is aerobic exercise for at least 30 min, three times a week, combined with muscle strengthening exercise at least two times a week.
That make a total of three times a week, two of them at least 1 hour, and one of them maybe just 30 min. This is quite reasonable, I think, but too high a goal for me atm. I've tried to do it, and I've worked out more or less irregularly all my life - the only time it was really regular was when it was scheduled in school, plus, I danced, and tried to lose weight.
I'm probably more healthy mentally about my body now, but physically... :/ For the last couple of years it's been less and less, and right now it's like an abandoned WIP. So. Yes. ROUTINES FTW. That's what it's about. If I can just stick with it, I'm confident the other stuff will fall into place.
About TENS. TENS is basically electrical impulses through the skin. The stimuli blocks some of the pain impulses from reaching the brain and thus making you aware of it. It basically got 2 settings:
HiTENS, which works in the way I descried. With that one you're supposed to have an intensity that's just below the pain threshold.
LoTENS, which works at the same frequency as muscle contractions. Apart from blocking the pain, it also activates ergo (not sure about the proper English word here) receptors in the muscles - like when you exercise - which activates pain reducing systems from the brain.
There are precautions, of course. You shouldn't use it if you've got a pacemaker for instance. I do think they're free to buy for anyone, though probably relatively expensive, and it's definitely best to get introduced to TENS by a health care worker. I don't think I'd buy one until I'd tried it and seen if it worked for me.
Um. I've had a lesson in TENS. Sort of awed of myself for remembering this much.
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Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)I have an incredibly hard time motivating myself to exercise. Often, I'll get a routine going, then something will happen to throw me off my schedule (TMI, I know, but it's usually my period- my cramps are debilitating), and I'll be back at square one. I don't have any available RL friends at the same level of fitness as me, so I have to motivate myself, and it sucks. It's worth it.
Stay motivated. Come here if you need an anonymous kick in the ass, and stay positive. Remember you need to be consistent. Good luck!
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 05:50 pm (UTC)(link)I'm feeling good about it right now, post-run :D. Also, I have a plan: keep the exercise as unspecific as possible. When I have clear goals I have a tendency to set them too high, fail, feel useless, and give up.
So, I shall run and/or walk every day. Nothing specific about how far or for how long, it's about doing it every day. A gold star if I reach the recommended daily exercise amount of at least 10min x3 of brisk walking. Which isn't that hard a goal for me. Yay for building confidence! :)
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)go you, nonnie! I did a whole bunch of workshopping in grad school about goal setting and motivation, and you're right, setting too high goals is one of THE main ways people get discouraged and give up. It is super important to set the bar low to begin with. You may feel discouraged that you're not doing much (going for walks twice a week as opposed to running 5k in 2 weeks!) but the important thing to keep in mind is that two walks a week is waaaay more than nothing at all! Then slowly increase the goals. Patience is SUPER important.
best of luck! And try to in the beginning to make it more about fun than a gruelling must-exercise. If you like rollerblading, go for that. If you go for walks and enjoy the nature or the butterflies or something, focus on that. process goals, not achievement goals! Like, the goal is to go for a walk, not go attain X level of fitness. It will come later when it comes more naturally to you. Also, remember that setbacks are a totally normal part of the process, and try not to let it discourage you.
best of luck, and don't hesitate in researching the kind of activity that really works for you. Whether that is folf, playing with a dog, crossfit, skating, whatever. I believe in you!
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)I do know about a lot of different activities I like. I think it's more about the stuff surrounding the activities I have a problem with. Like, if I'm in a situation where I feel like other people can judge me. Or, if it takes effort to get there/it's at a specific time, then I feel like it's an obligation. Fulfilling obligations is not something I'm confident about atm.
So I run instead. :) It's always more or less gruelling at first, of course. But it helps to not make this huge deal about it, going to a track (which is an effort in itself) and angsting over that I should take the 5km track now that I'm here instead of the 3km. Just putting my running shoes on, choosing left or right, and run till I feel like turning, and then run home.
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)Cramps is the worst. I hate that kind of pain, and mine isn't even debilitating. Have you tried pain revealing stuff that you can use while you're up and walking? Like wheat cushions with velcro? Or maybe TENS? I've a friend that borrowed one for her cramps, but I don't remember how effective she thought it was. I know it's been used for people with osteoarthritis of the knee as a pain relief during walks. My grandma got to borrow a TENS machine from the health care, but no idea how the system works where you live...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)Sigh. I need to eat something. Hate, hate, hate cooking.
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)Back to exercise, I like the idea of looser goals. I saw a personal trainer a few months ago, and he wanted me to commit to two hour workouts, four times a week. If you're someone like me who has a hard time motivating myself to begin with, that kind of commitment to a workout regimen seems crazy. But making the time to be active everyday, and having that be your goal, seems like a great place to start. Like I said before, it's about building a routine and sticking to it, which can be much harder than it sounds.
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)That make a total of three times a week, two of them at least 1 hour, and one of them maybe just 30 min. This is quite reasonable, I think, but too high a goal for me atm. I've tried to do it, and I've worked out more or less irregularly all my life - the only time it was really regular was when it was scheduled in school, plus, I danced, and tried to lose weight.
I'm probably more healthy mentally about my body now, but physically... :/ For the last couple of years it's been less and less, and right now it's like an abandoned WIP. So. Yes. ROUTINES FTW. That's what it's about. If I can just stick with it, I'm confident the other stuff will fall into place.
About TENS. TENS is basically electrical impulses through the skin. The stimuli blocks some of the pain impulses from reaching the brain and thus making you aware of it. It basically got 2 settings:
HiTENS, which works in the way I descried. With that one you're supposed to have an intensity that's just below the pain threshold.
LoTENS, which works at the same frequency as muscle contractions. Apart from blocking the pain, it also activates ergo (not sure about the proper English word here) receptors in the muscles - like when you exercise - which activates pain reducing systems from the brain.
There are precautions, of course. You shouldn't use it if you've got a pacemaker for instance. I do think they're free to buy for anyone, though probably relatively expensive, and it's definitely best to get introduced to TENS by a health care worker. I don't think I'd buy one until I'd tried it and seen if it worked for me.
Um. I've had a lesson in TENS. Sort of awed of myself for remembering this much.
Re: Exercise
(Anonymous) 2011-08-08 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)Ouch. My gender stereotypes are shining through. Pretend that he is a hir, would you?