[gary290]

I'm 50 years old, overweight, and unmotivated. I had a triple bypass in August and I'm doing cardiac rehab now. The thing is I HATE HATE HATE working out/exercising. It's boring and tedious. I have to get there at 6 am so I can be at work by 7:30. It's 3 x week. I find myself making excuses not to go. This is a HUGE blockage for me. I know I need to do it but I just hate it.

I do have the option of going at 4 pm after work, but I'm worried I'll be too tired and even less motivated then. I know that I'm painting myself in a corner. I guess I'm telling myself "I can't stand this."

I'm going to bring it up to my therapist on Thurs. But in the mean time, does anyone have advise on this matter. Any techniques to "trick" my mind? It may sound silly, but it has me stumped.

[MilitaryMech]

I feel your pain dude..... How close do you live to work? Is is "Bicycle Distance"?

I hate to exercise just to exercise, but if I can bike/walk to work, I'm golden!

I loved it when I worked at a Dialysis clinic that was 6 miles from home. I would get a little "peppy" from the ride in, and would be nice and "loose" from the ride home. On the up-side, I could eat pretty much anything I wanted and not worry about gaining weight.

Then I got fired and went to a different job and couldn't ride to work... Gained 20# and haven't lost any of it.

I'm 53 and arrive at the gym at 6am 3x a week. I suggest that you get yourself an Ipod. Listening to music that you enjoy makes all the difference. Give it a try!

[Anika.]

I like to get my exersice outdoors or at my yoga studio. And as much as I like exersice I dont like to be stuck in a gym. Is there some type of sport you like that might be more up your ally and even fun ? I think the gym is hard for most people because of the fun factor. But there are lots of other options like biking, tennis, swimming. I bike, snowboard, rollerblade, play tennis and swim and I go to yoga. Im not terribly young but the one thing these things all have in common is that I actually enjoy them, so it becomes not forcing myself to do them, but just finding the time to get them in and I look forward to it.

I also run sometimes, went snowshoeing and that was really fun. Hiking is another good one.

hheyy

ive been bodybuilding for 8 years, im addicted to working out, nothing is better than a good workout.....

but music makes it ALOT better.....

get an ipod and put your favorite songs on it.....

after a while, u might start loosing weight and who knows maybe u will keep working out

good luck !

[gary290]

I think the music idea is really good. I can see how that would help. I also agree that if exercise had meaning (like riding a bike to work) it would be more pleasurable.

[Anika.]

Do you like hockey or baseball, anything like that there are usually teams you can find. Ones that just do it for fun not competitive. My bf started playong hockey five years ago. It was hard at first, one night a week. But he is playing five nights a week now and loves it. Plus its more social. He used to force himself to go to the gym and hated every minute of it.

[BipolaRNurse]

I've managed to trick myself into doing more activity by reminding myself that it's ONLY for mood stabilization, not weight loss. I can't walk far enough or fast enough or long enough for that, but I've found that 10 minutes around my building or an hour's work in the garden really help my mood.

[hamster-bamster]

The perfect answer to me has been commuting by bike. It does not feel like exercising. I do thirty minutes each way.

[Gaijin]

How about going for a hike during the lunch hour?

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Gaijin

How about going for a hike during the lunch hour?

Good idea. Use sunscreen for protection.

ever since the suicide attempt that put me in a wheelchair a few years ago (i say the, because their's been multiple), i've not really been able to use the gym machines or swim or what ever

but before that.... i dunno, i used to do some swimming, the odd machine, but it all came to an end when i fell off the tred mill and twisted my kneck.. remember i was hurting for days- no amount of kneck massages or pain killers or what ever would make the pain stop

[thickntired]

I hear you! I need to lose the weight I gained when I quit smoking 6 months ago. I joined a gym, music is a def, a workout buddy is very helpful. It makes the time go by faster, and you can hold each other accountable. I read that winter is the best time to lose weight

If you have a smart phone I use the app Lose It. It's basically a food & exercise log for the day that you program with your goal weight. It also helps me to read books about lifestyle etc.

Peace & Hugs,

TnT

[BlackPup]

I used the app myfitnesspal to lose 20 kg. I agree with the music. I used to walk daily for mood improvement one trick is to say that you will go for 5-10 mins and if you are still really struggling after that you can quit for the day but most of the time you can keep on going. I'm struggling at the moment cos I've less fitness and endurance with my pregnancy so the walks are less pleasant and I walk much slower. Plus I'm putting on weight not losing it so I understand how hard it is to keep motivated.
Another thing that really motivated me was seeing improvement in how fast I could walk (or even run!) It happens slowly over time and you have good days and bad days but that was a huge incentive for me to keep on competing against myself to do better.
A saying I really love is "you're doing laps of the people on the couch" so remember that even on your worst days where all you can do is walk 5-10 mins you are still doing better than if you were sitting on the couch (or had stayed in bed!)
Keep it up - you can do it and its great for your mood too

[gary290]

These are all great replies. Thank you so much! I missed going to cardiac rehab this morning but made plans to go at 3:30 instead. I have a playlist on the iphone and will get ear buds to take with me. I'm also going to check out the apps mentioned. Thanks again!

[BlackPup]

Good luck you can do it!!!

[Speed3]

I feel what you are saying. I'm 56 and desperately need to lose weight.
The only way I make it to the gym is when I go with my husband. Like today.
We chat on the treadmill and the time flies by. Once we are there I am ok.
What I am saying is a work out buddy makes it easier.

Also, my hiking club makes exercise easier. We all talk and laugh. Sometimes we go out to lunch afterwards. Anything that gets you moving more in my book you can count as exercise.

[gary290]

Originally Posted by Speed3

I feel what you are saying. I'm 56 and desperately need to lose weight.
The only way I make it to the gym is when I go with my husband. Like today.
We chat on the treadmill and the time flies by. Once we are there I am ok.
What I am saying is a work out buddy makes it easier.

Also, my hiking club makes exercise easier. We all talk and laugh. Sometimes we go out to lunch afterwards. Anything that gets you moving more in my book you can count as exercise.

Thanks. . .I don't really have anyone to workout with, so I'm on my own.

[gary290]

Originally Posted by BlackPup

Good luck you can do it!!!

Thanks BlackPup

I realized today that my social phobia and anxiety make going to cardiac rehab painful for me. There are a lot of people there and it freaks me out. I see my T tomorrow.

[Moose72]

There are TVs where I go so I can get into a show while I walk quickly for an hour.

[BlackPup]

Originally Posted by gary290

Thanks BlackPup

I realized today that my social phobia and anxiety make going to cardiac rehab painful for me. There are a lot of people there and it freaks me out. I see my T tomorrow.

Maybe going for a walk outside somewhere would be better for you or do you have to go to the cardiac rehab? Is there a time of day that is more quiet? do you need some meds for the anxiety?

Keep it up

[Speed3]

Originally Posted by gary290

Thanks. . .I don't really have anyone to workout with, so I'm on my own.

Have you ever looked up Meetup.com on the web ? You put in your area and groups you might be interested in. That is how I started my hiking group that now has over 1000 members. In my area there are tons of groups that involve exercise where you join for free. You just meetup with people like yourself. It is a very interesting site. There are groups for just about everything and most of them are free or just a small voluntary fee, to pay for the small fee to keep the group running on the site.
Take a look, you might find some exercise buddies.

[noneedtoknow]

About 90% is a mental game. It is like anything-you tell yourself, "I hate it, I hate it I hate it" well, guess what-you hate it. Try thinking of benefits of what you are doing-hey you survived the bypass-could have gone another way, that's for sure. So this is a wonderfull thing you are doing for yourself.
I was a couch potatoe doing nothing, to 20 minute walks-and it was huge for me to do that. I fought myself alot. But i noticed I felt better after. Keep remembering that-youll get there! I lift weights 2-3X/week and do cardio. I run 4.5 miles now-not much to some, but so what-to me it's huge and I like how I feel when I do it. Sometimes it is a struggle to get me there but Iv'e done it long enough-I have history-I make myself go because I know i WILL feel better. So, hang in there-take advantage of the support you have-find some kind of excersize you like to help motivate you while you are doing your cardiovascular stuff. And definetly put on the tunes!!!!That helps so much. My hope is you will come back on this website and report you have come to like excersize and you've had alot of benefit from it. hang in!!

[ArightwayAwrongway]

I can't imagine having to fit in cardiac rehab with work. Is there another exercise program that is monitored and would fit into your schedule? Come to think of it, there are many working people who are in cardiac rehab, so regular gyms could do well if they accomodated people on a schedule and offered their usually far-less-tedious exercise atmosphere.

My beef is that the cardiac rehab I attend is very poorly run. Glaring errors in judgment; lack of attention; understaffed; "grim" is the preferred emotion... there's no point in reporting the problems as it's a culture of staff that is long content with the status quo. I loathe going, and am about ready to take my chances without it as just the thouht of it causes more stress than anything my heart is doing these days. Seriously. Bad. Not just poor; bad; dangerous - and the people that stay just accept it - I envy them, of course - to be able to just take it for what it is would be great - but this isn't a matter of accepting a rainy day - you know? I'd bet that no one has reviewed the program from a medical and staff standpoint in 15 years. And these session cost a bundle.

[bunnifoo]

Is there something you've wanted to try - some sport or exercise - that would meet your exercise goals and also be more flexible with your schedule and maybe be better with your social phobia.

I ask becuase I hate a lot of forms of exericse, it's just boring. I don't want to do a treadmill or some kind of aerobic exercise and even walking is hard for me to do unless it's with a purpose (walking to something).

A few years ago I got to try kickboxing and I loved it. It was physical and interesting and I felt like I was learning a skill not just doing a bunch of moves. But I had some other health issues and had to stop. I haven't gotten back into it because I don't have the money to sign up and there's no place around here that does just kickboxing. There's Tae Kwan Do and Karate but, again, there's a money issue.

I don't like being around new people but with kickboxing the instructors were really nice and I was either focused on what I was doing or paired up with someone for practicing kicks and punches and focused on that so everyone else disappeared.

It might be a good idea to have your therapist help brainstorm some things you'd like to do instead and run those by your cardiologist (or which ever doctor) to see what is reasonable.