I want to be fit & trim - but HATE exercising!

[Kimela]

I look at exercise as a necessity, but at the same time exercise is your last resort. You should take every chance you have to work out in your daily life. Take the autumn season, for example. I rake fallen leaves, but I am the only guy in the hood who rakes leaves. Everybody else uses leaf blowers. Some guys are old and overweight so they have an excuse, but my neighbor David is a sport enthusiast. He even walks the trails daily for good health. I've never asked him or other guys like him (there are plenty) but this puzzles me. They do not really save much time using leaf blowers instead of rakes but they avoid a good workout while polluting air and making noise. Even using a vacuum cleaner is an exercise so just do it more often.

Sometimes I turn on my UnderArmor app on my watch and see how much exercise I get from doing housework. It turns out it's a LOT! But I do feel like I'm cheating.

In regards to leaves, I use a blower. I also use a tarp and pull the tarp around back to dump them down the hill. I applaud you using a rake though. You go!

I kicked up my speed from 3.4 to 4.0 on the treadmill today. And I added lunges and squats to my workout today. I'm so very proud!

 

[Subcooled]

"So I thought I'd start this thread to see how other women are working"

This is an interesting thread (about the need to exercise vs motivation). I may not be a woman, but I still find my pelvic muscles invaluable. While there are some differences between men and women, I dare to present some ideas. I may be wrong however, as I am not a woman.

You are worried about the pelvic muscles and also some leg muscles and the lower back that do not get the exercise they would need. Going to the gym is not motivating, so what should you do?

So, you want a solution?

You are a diver. Go swimming, you'd love it. It also benefits your diving. Get a season pass to the local swimming pool. Go there 3x per week to do a pre-planned light exercise - e.g. 500m. Later you can extend it to 600m, 800m or 1000m (or more) if you feel that 500m is not that much really. I'm using meters here instead of feet because the olympic swimming pool is 50m.

• Include breast strokes only (do not use the feet)(one pool length, 50m),
• frog kicks only (no hand movement)(50m),
• both (200),
• crawl (100m),
• reverse frog kicks (50m) [yeah it takes time to learn those, but it's 100% worth it],
• sideways (left side 25m, right side 25m) [use one leg, one arm][horizontal outwards, vertical inwards]

Later you can increase the distances and also include swimming on your back or dolphin kicks or free diving X times 25m.

During all these exercises do pay attention to your ARCHED BACK. Static muscle tension is needed all the time. Feet should not drop. Lay flat. Keep your face in the water. There are snorkels that run over your nose and are great for swimming. An example: Link: https://www.klubbensport.fi/Media/C...eli_Keltainen__Senior__cs095_11625884192.Jpeg

Also make sure the kicks are controlled, symmetrical, and later powerfull.

Double your speed to quadruple the effort (muscle work) needed. Double the distance to double the time you need to apply static muscle tension on your back. Deep breaths keep you floating.

Let me know if I'm wrong, but I believe this type of exercise would activate your lower back, legs and pelvis - because of trim and the kicks.

 

[Marie13]

You’d be surprised but some people don’t have access to a local indoor pool for lap swimming. In my area, the Y is very expensive. My town doesn’t have an indoor municipal pool. Surrounding towns have them, but the non-resident fees are ridiculous. LA Fitness is the only commercial gym chain in the area with pools. About $35/month. Some places will make the local high school pool available for lap swimming, but hours can be limited.

 

[Subcooled]

You’d be surprised but some people don’t have access to a local indoor pool for lap swimming. In my area, the Y is very expensive. My town doesn’t have an indoor municipal pool. Surrounding towns have them, but the non-resident fees are ridiculous. LA Fitness is the only commercial gym chain in the area with pools. About $35/month. Some places will make the local high school pool available for lap swimming, but hours can be limited.

Thanks for the information.

Where I live [in another country], a municipal pool charges about $5 per visit ($3.5 for the unemployed, the elderly, and students). These prices apply if one purchases 30x swimming at once. And they do not ask where you live. A single ticket is around $8.

 

[DBPacific]

Swimming is my favorite all-around exercise, but unfortunately I usually only have access to a pool when class is in session. If you aren't a student, many US universities have pool facilities that you can access, you might just have to pay a bit extra for a member card.

I like to do Pilates for my stretching and strength maintenance - there are a ton of videos and online guides for beginner routines that you can test and tailor to your fitness level. Christmas this year for me is including an extra thick exercise mat so my bones don't grind on the floor and I can restart my routines without having to drag myself through the snow to do them in public on the gym mats. I never thought I'd miss thick carpet!

If you use YouTube @Kimela for guides, I also highly recommend HybridCalisthenics. It's a very calm, wholesome channel and he includes multiple variations for workouts so you can test and choose which version will be most useful to build strength and joint health instead of jumping straight into the standard version if you aren't ready. I'm still on some of the very beginning variations (routines are so hard to keep when my schedule keeps changing) but I definitely notice changes in how I feel when I do manage to get a session in.

Good luck!

 

[DanBMW]

I just came across this thread and have only read the first three pages, so if this is redundant, please forgive me. FORGET pounds.... It's inches that count and a good trainer can help to work on specific groups. The most important muscles though are the core. Lots and lots of workouts can focus there.

Bottom line though is that most people cannot workout enough to counter a bad diet. The wrong foods and drinks will accumulate faster than you can exercise them off. Get a good diet and stick to it. Don't expect that you can burn off the calories. The's a task that won't work and leads to the wrong expectation. Don't eat it and you don't have to think about exercising it off.

 

[BlueTrin]

I have only skimmed through the thread but have you tried swimming for exercising? It’s much more gentle on the joints than weights.

Pilates and yoga are good for core muscles.

Agree with others that just focusing only on weight rather than your overall body can lead to the wrong conclusions, and that nutrition is as important (or more) than the exercise bit.

 

[Subcooled]

Whatever you do, it needs to be pleasurable.

I used to eat one chicken salad or some other salad a day - and nothing else - each day for two years. I absolutely loved it because I loved these foods - the vegetables, the spices, the meat. I lost a great deal of weight.

Only do sports you like. If you find treadmill to be relaxing and meditative, then do that.
If you like the power of weight lifting, then do that.
If you like the fluidity and usefulness of swimming then do that.
Or perhaps you love dancing instead? It's great workout!

If you like what you do, then you will do it more. Yes, even walking is great!

Replace foods with lighter but equally tasty alternatives. Try to replace fat and sugar with spices, for example.

Keep it enjoyable.

 

[Marie13]

I’m back working out at home since the Omicron variant case numbers are so high here. I have an under desk cycle I use in front of the TV. No room for a regular exercise bike at home. Would do the recumbent at the gym. You can get a surprisingly intense workout on the under desk cycle. I have a variety of dumbbells, too.

 

[johndiver999]

Whatever you do, it needs to be pleasurable.

I used to eat one chicken salad or some other salad a day - and nothing else - each day for two years. I absolutely loved it because I loved these foods - the vegetables, the spices, the meat. I lost a great deal of weight.

Only do sports you like. If you find treadmill to be relaxing and meditative, then do that.
If you like the power of weight lifting, then do that.
If you like the fluidity and usefulness of swimming then do that.
Or perhaps you love dancing instead? It's great workout!

If you like what you do, then you will do it more. Yes, even walking is great!

Replace foods with lighter but equally tasty alternatives. Try to replace fat and sugar with spices, for example.

Keep it enjoyable.

I'm not a female but... I wish I found working out enjoyable. I don't really.. riding a bike is the closest to enjoyable, but to really get benefits for me, I have to push at least some of the time into the uncomfortable zone.

Weight lifting, swimming, jogging, stretching is all a very boring chore, the only good part about it is when it is over.

I think it is good advice to try to find something you don't overtly hate, but falling in love with a rowing machine or dumbells is probably unattainable for some people.

I try to tell myself that I should be grateful, I have the health, wealth and time to expend on trying to slow the inevitable physical decline. If it was fun, easy and enjoyable - everyone would be working out hard every day.

Working out (training) is a necessary evil caused by our sedentary life style.