Okay. I said it.
The important bit isn’t even that this is posted on a blog that any one can read. The important bit to me is that I finally accepted it myself – I hate exercise. I fucking hate it. And… that’s okay.
I’ve always hated exercise. Even when I was a compulsive over-exerciser, I hated exercise. I was simply obsessed enough to thinness and trying not to be fat that I could force myself to exercise anyway.
When the topic of exercise has come up nowadays, I tend to think first that yeah I do hate exercise… but then I add this big “BUT.” BUT, it’s prolly cuz I had years of eating disorders that included lots of overexercise on top of all the food restriction that made my skin turn gray and made my hair fall out. That BUT is just denying the real truth that I have been ashamed of my whole life. It’s just a cover to avoid the judgement of others. I hate exercise.
That’s right. The fattie hates exercise. And, I’m not going to be ashamed of it anymore. It’s time to accept myself and be proud of myself as is.
At the same time, I realize that exercise benefits me… non-compulsive exercise, of course. I wonder if my denial of exercise hatred has been part of my difficulty in getting up and getting moving. I wonder if at long last accepting my true feelings about exercise could actually help me bring more activity into my life. Ironic. 😉 I dunno about you, but my brain tends to work in ironic ways just like this one. Even accepting very negative feelings about something can help me to face it and bring all sorts of good things into my life that denial of the negative feelings kept me from.
What is interesting is that once I allowed myself to own that I really hate exercise – without qualifiers… that suddenly exercise didn’t feel like such a big deal. I could picture myself being active without clenching up inside. It felt like a weight being taken off my shoulders. We shall see…
Then I considered other things that I hate, but I don’t want to admit that I hate. When I’m tired at work, I hate having to be nice to people. I’d rather just yell at them to GO AWAY. I hate walking the cats sometimes. I hate cooking. Sometimes I hate doing housework. I hate picking up take-out. And, more irony ensues. The more I accept the way I really am, the less intimidated I feel by imagining doing the things I don’t want to do…. the less completely blocked I feel about actually doing these things. Maybe it’s human nature to be so contrary or maybe it’s just my nature…
Owning one’s feelings doesn’t mean that one has to be owned by them. Even my acceptance of these things doesn’t mean that I will start yelling at customers and sit on the couch for the rest of my life. Right now I’m hopeful of what letting go of all this denial might mean for me. At the same time, I am not one that thinks people MUST exercise to be morally correct or worthy of respect or anything. We’re all human beings here and I don’t believe in the “good fattie” (that exercises and eats veggies) and the “bat fattie” (that doesn’t exercise and eats lots of candy) dichotomy.
It’s time to love myself inside and out – even my hate of exercise.
Thoughts? Secrety hate exercise anyone? 😉
–AngryGrayRainbows
Angry Gray Rainbows 
I’ve always hated exercise, but I’ve also done a lot of things that I don’t consider exercise (other people do consider them exercise, but I think of them as fun things I enjoy) – like roller skating (my back problems won’t let me do that anymore), swimming (I still do that, even though some people might not like looking at my fat ass and thunder thighs in a swimsuit), and bicycling (don’t do that anymore, kills my knees).
I used to dance a lot and didn’t give a rat’s ass whether people thought I was good or not, I was having fun. My back and knees won’t let me dance much anymore, so I do a lot of chair-dancing at home (used to do that at work when I had my headphones on, freaked people out when they saw me doing that as I was working on the computer).
I finally ordered my wheeled walker with the seat and as long as the weather here in MN allows, I’ll be walking with it. And when my back hurts so bad I can’t walk anymore, I’ll be sitting on the seat and using my feet to pull me along so I can keep moving. Do I care what people will think when they see me doing that? Nope, not a bit. None of their business, as far as I’m concerned. Is that exercise? Probably, but I’m not looking at it that way. I’m looking at it as a way to get out of the house and get some fresh air and sunshine, and maybe get a bit more movement in my life. Something that might be do-able with fibromyalgia and arthritis on top of being DEATHFATZ……..LOL
…..I’m sorry, I’m just stuck on a couple of words there. Walking cats?
(I hate exercise too.)
I hate walking for exercise. Hate it, hate it, hate it. “Oh, just take a 30 minute walk every day, you’ll feel so much better!” No, I won’t. Because I hate every minute of it. It’s boring and it feels like a waste of my time.
There. I said it. I do feel better!
You walk the cats? That’s exercise. (Do you take them out on a leash?)
I dislike hamster-wheel exercise-for-the-sake-of-exercising. And I’m not fond of getting all sweaty, either. Unfortunately, if all I do is sit or lie around, I get sore. And I recently abdicated driving on the grounds that I have too many brain farts to avoid being a road hazard, which means having to do more errands on foot. So one way or the other, I have to move around some. (I just bought myself a waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, and waterproof boots so I can go out in whatever kind of weather.)
But it probably won’t ever look like “exercise” to the gym-rat el33t, though I’m about the only one who ever leaves the Trader Joe’s around here with a granny cart.
I hate it too, well at least most of the time. I am taking a new fitness class which involves cross training and I do like it. I like the teacher, the class is small and it is kind of sort of fun. I don’t love it but I like it enough to continue and I like the results.
I think my hatred of exercise goes back to my days in middle school gym class. I truly hated gym for the rest of my years in HS. So glad that’s over. Did I mention I hated PE?
I also hate exercise! It’s the polar opposite of fun. The only benefit I’ve ever gotten from exercise (and there was a time I went to the actual gym regularly) is that when I did a lot of DDR I got better at DDR, albeit at a rather glacial pace, and oh look, you stop for a few months and a big chunk of that ability is gone, you have to earn it again with humiliation. And, by commuting on foot while carrying heavy things I got better at commuting on foot while carrying heavy things. Yay I guess.
I also hate cooking, inasmuch as it takes a lot of time and effort at a time when I am really hungry and therefore probably irritable, and sometimes it comes out crappy anyway, and it creates dirty dishes, and I really, really loathe washing dishes (largely because the plumbing is made of stupid and never drains properly).
Great post! I don’t hate exercise, but I don’t love it either. AND…I exercise pretty regularly, for a couple hours a week. Why? Because it does make me feel better, inside and out. I sometimes feel like I’m not doing HAES “right,” because I don’t stick to forms of movement I find genuinely pleasurable.
On the other hand, not everything that is beneficial is going to be fun all the time. I used to play the piano, and while I hated practicing scales, I made myself do it, because it made my playing so much better.
For me, exercise is similar. It’s something I do because it will benefit me in the long term, even if it isn’t much fun. And you know what? That works just fine for me.
I don’t hate exercise if it’s the type I like. However, I loathed gym class and generally dislike teams sports of any kind.
I agree with Vesta44 – getting outside in the fresh air is very restorative. I like to get out into the NW parks and hike. However, if I was to think of it like “x-miles = x-calories” I’d probably come to hate it. Nothing like trying to be something you’re not to suck all joy out of it.
Mindset makes all the difference. I am pro-anything that makes you feel alive and in touch with yourself and anti-do it because others say it’s good for you. What do they know?
Only you know your health, your mental state, your body; and only you can decide what will be beneficial for you.
Also, walk the cats? And, chair dancing! I like it!
So interesting – someone just told me today that only 40% of people are of the type to experience the “endorphin effect” of exercise that is so often touted. The other 60% just don’t. Is this common knowledge? I certainly didn’t know it. I don’t know that I’ve experienced the endorphin effect myself, but swimming certainly calms me and lets me think straighter. Running, or lifting weights, on the other hand, don’t do a thing for me, and seem tedious beyond compare. And yoga drove me – literally – to tears. I suspect I’m in the 60%.
I’ll join that club; I hate excersize, ESPECIALLY riding a bike anywhere. My city isn’t bike friendly and has a lot of hills, so the LAST thing I want to do is get on my bike and haul my ass anywhere. So I don’t. Looove my public transit system, yes I do.
“I dislike hamster-wheel exercise-for-the-sake-of-exercising.”
This. THIS. I enjoy accompanying my sister and her dog on their evening walk, if I happen to be physically able to do so at the time. Because this isn’t a mind-numbing treadmill exercise, it’s fresh air and time with my sister and laughing at puppy antics. But treadmill? Fuhgeddaboutit.
I used to enjoy bicycling as a kid, even though I crashed more than half the time. (My sense of balance has always been screwed up.) The speed, the sense of freedom, seeing how fast I could go downhill without losing control… it was worth the risk of roadburn and the drudgery of going back up the hill. Unfortunately, an epileptic with uncontrolled daily seizures is a real road hazard on a bike. 😦 Stationary bike? That’s like taking a cupcake out of its paper lining, discarding the cupcake, and eating the paper. All the bad with none of the good.
I guess that what I’m trying to say here is that I hate exercise for the sole purpose of exercise. I’d rather do something fun that happens to come with exercise attached.
At this point, I don’t think I can do any exercise that doesn’t meet some other need simultaneously.
Like, I can’t go for a walk because it’s “good for me” but I can go for a walk because I’ve been couped up inside all day and there’s a “sun break” (what we in Washington State call it when the rain stops for a few minutes and the sun breaks through the clouds) and I can get a few minutes of precious sunshine, or see the fall leaves reflected in this storm water collection pond at the nearby college (I once saw a salamander there, which was so cool).
I couldn’t possibly use a treadmill or an eliptical machine for an hour or more, but I can dance hard for over an hour, preceeded by a serious warm-up and followed by a cool-down. I normally hate housework but today it was so cathartic to have the house to myself and quickly work really hard to have it look the way I wanted it to, and to have the kitchen floor clean so walking on it without shoes or socks or slippers wasn’t gross.
I don’t know if I’ve linked to this before, but for some reason, I think this is related — Manfred Max-Neef’s model of Fundamental Human Needs. Exercise isn’t on there, but the needs for subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom.
Modes of movement that engage my needs for understanding, affection, leisure, creation and identity are what I seek out.
Tonight, I decided sort of last-minute to go do free dance and when I got there, I looked around and saw I was the only fat person there. So, a year ago, when I went and saw this, it bothered me a little. Tonight, I thought, yay, I get to be the fat person tonight! Biiiiiiiiiig difference.
Also, you said “bat fattie.” Heeheehee. (I will hang upside down and eat my candy!)
PS I also take my cat out on a leash occasionally. He likes it because he isn’t allowed to go outside otherwise (too urban, lots of cars).
Exercise is something I hate until I’ve done it for a while. If I do an exercise that pushes me, either aerobic or strength oriented, I love the way I feel afterward and really look forward to doing it the next day. If I miss a day or two, I suddenly don’t find myself looking forward to it. If I miss a week, or a few days several times near each other, the interest disappears completely, and it starts to be something I hate again. Drives me nuts. I know how good it would start to feel if I just forced myself for a week, but that doesn’t make me hate it any less right now.
The human brain is so weird. So, by the way, is walking cats. 🙂
I had the same reaction…walk the CATS? I have had a lot of cats in my life & they always seemed to get plenty of movement running & jumping around the house…& pouncing on my feet.
I have been active all my life & have had at least four separate three to four periods where I was compulsive, exercising three to four hours per day. There was always the sense of not being good enough, of needing to mold my body, or PROVE that I was as good as a thin person or as an able-bodied person. It was also always a kind of exercise diet for me, trying to lose weight or at least not gain, attempting to burn off every calorie I ate.
I still exercise & plan to do so as long as I am able to move, but I am working hard not to push myself too hard…I am 60, I have cerebral palsy & arthritis, & science cannot find a benefit to anything more than 30 minutes of walking daily, so if I push myself to do more, it is not about health. I walk between 35 & 90 minutes daily, sometimes one walk, sometimes two, & often the first ten minutes or so is hard, but it gets easier as I go along. It rained here for a solid 24 hours, but this morning it was clear & sunny, clean & fresh, around 50 degrees, & I was able to enjoy being outside & so enjoy my walk quite a bit. However, I also do not ascribe to the school of ‘good fatty, bad fatty’, & I have known & been related to too many people who ate what they damn well pleased & never moved a muscle they didn’t have to to believe that there is any “rule” about eating or exercising which will definitely lead to better health or longer life. Own your own body & live as you please; you don’t owe it to anyone to do otherwise.
Ugh. I hate exercise too. This has roots in the Marine Corps, and me literally being FORCED ( what they call an “order”) to run. I hated running, I wasn’t good at it, I got injured doing it…and now I can’t run anymore, whether it is my choice or not.
I find the term “work out” interesting. It sounds like something you HAVE to do, or are being forced to do. I don’t like that. Even as a personal trainer, I hated the term.
I know what you’re saying, WellRoundedType2. I also live in WA state (Vancouver), and it can get ugly out here in the winter months. There has been many a rainy day where I said “Screw it, I have to get out of the house before I go nuts!” I’ll do just about anything to keep from going stir-crazy. Since I am prone to depression (and have to deal with the depressive WA weather besides!), I have started forcing myself to go for a walk to think my life over, or figure out problems that I can’t get out of my head. Sometimes, I use a walk as a ritual (mainly to the god Odr, who is the Norse god of travel).
I walk my dog at least 2 times a day (20-30 min walks, depending on route), sometimes even three times a day. This is usually only out of necessity, so that my pup can go potty…exercising just for the sake of “health” and not accomplishing anything while doing it is really a foreign concept to me.
I have actually thrown in the towel on a back exercise program that my Physical Therapist gave me, and decided to implement a more… dynamic one. I know that stretching is necessary, but must it be the whole program? Can anyone say booooooring?!
I’m with y’all on hating exercise for the sake of exercise. I can’t stand to ride a stationery bike (yeah, music helps, but it takes a lobotomy to make it really tolerable) but I looove riding my bike on a sunny day. Also love walking my dogs, except when it’s raining, but can’t imagine walking cats. 🙂
I used to run, when I was younger and more concerned with ‘fitness’, but I was constantly getting shin splints and stress fractures. But I never really enjoyed it; it just felt so good when I finished. My dad said, “Sounds like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer – feels so good when you stop.”
Dad was right.
Owning one’s feelings doesn’t mean that one has to be owned by them.
I feel a bit like Austin Powers (yeah, baby) to everything you’ve said.
There are two reasons to move, as a mode of travel to get from A to B, or for it’s own sake, for the pleasure, desire or love of it.
‘Exercise’-as defined currently, barely touches directly on either, therefore, it lends itself to being hateable.
To me the instinct to move, is something entirely different, it is inborn and although it’s affected by everything from our emotional states to our view of our own body’s capacities, it can always be allowed to revive.
I adore my instinct, ‘exercise’ is an irrelevancy.
So, I saw this quote (not sure who it’s from, other than the studio owner/instructor) “Movement is Miracle Grow for the Brain.”
Movement — not exercise. Not running or using a piece of gym equipment. Yes, those are forms of movement.
This made me think about how we define movement, who is allowed to move and in what ways (as Vesta describes — I think chair dancing — as is dancing while driving — an awesome thing to do).
If those who send messages about the benefits of exercise got away from the idea of exercise or even physical activity to a broader idea of movement (and remember that an essential component of balance would then be rest or stillness, not constant movement) — there might be more people who would participate, or who are already participating.
I like to move it, move it.
Oh, and on the chalkboard, she was referring to the feedback loop between muscles and neurons. She wasn’t talking about endorphins. This level of movement didn’t appear to have to do with elevated heart rate.
I like exercise, but I utterly agree with you that a freeing way to confront life is to accept those feelings you’re hoping not to have to own up to. Once you’ve accepted them, you can actually live with yourself the way you are, set real boundaries for yourself where you need to, and make your life work for you.
I really needed to see this today. I’ve been dodging my workouts for almost two weeks. I just admitted to myself that I am a fattie that hates exercise. That is so freeing to admit.
I’m going to go workout now.
Thanks,
I think my hatred of exercise goes back to my days in middle school gym class. I truly hated gym for the rest of my years in HS. So glad that’s over. Did I mention I hated PE?
Sounds about right. I still cannot play volleyball due to PE trauma. The mere thought of it makes me want to hide in a corner with my arms over my head. Couple that with a mother who was always on a diet and only ever exercised for weight loss, and it’s not a surprise that up until recently I did hate exercise. I still hate a lot of it: don’t like weight machine/free weight training and cannot stand treadmills. I’d be happy never taking another yoga class. I will never be a runner. But I took a spin class to keep a friend company and found myself really liking that, and then took a resistance/core training class at the same gym and really enjoy that too. The movement is fun (for me) and feels good, and the music is generally kick-ass. I think it helps a LOT that the classes are very open with supportive, encouraging instructors and never any mention of dieting/weight loss. There are people of all sizes and ages in the classes and the students tend either to be friendly or to mind their own business.
LOL Meowser….
Nananananananana Bat Fat!!
Bat Fat!
Bat Fat!
Bat Faaaaaatttttttttttt!
Yup… I walk cats. I either walk them or they torment me by scratching at the door and whining and mewing and laying on their backs and putting their paws under the doors in a desperate attempt to open the door.
If I’m walking a cat in the yard, I don’t use a leash. Mostly they just eat grass and meander around and sniff stuff. Ocassionally they will try to hunt a squirrel. We don’t let them out of our sight or too far away.
If we take them to the part, they have to be on leashes and harnesses.
We also have a cat that loves car rides. We try to take her on car errands at least once a day. She likes to mew at other cars through the back window… she also likes rubbing her face on the stick shift. Adorable.
I think PT traumatized me as well. I had this rageaholic PE teacher from 5th – 8th grade, when I was already a prime bully target without having a bully teacher making us run mile after mile even when we had injuries. This teacher was also a bully who liked to pick on me. Fun.
I used to have panic attacks whenever I jogged from all the horrible PE memories. Sometimes I still have them if I jog… but after a lot of hard mental/emotional work, mostly I can jog without the old baggage coming up.
Teachers can cause so much damage to their students…. meh.
I particularly hate sweating.
I hated exercise until I discovered powerlifting. Now it’s pretty much the only exercise I do. And the people who used to encourage me to exercise are freaking out because lifting as much weight as I am is making me bulk up & get heavier (oh noes!!).
So I guess, if people *want* to move but don’t like exercise, it might be worth checking out the non-traditional sports. There’s more out there beyond the gym, or yoga, or tennis, or runnning, or the bike, or belly dancing…
Then again, there’s nothing wrong with hating exercise 🙂
checking out the non-traditional sports
and not-traditionally-women’s sports 😉
Exercise…eh, I’m not a huge fan. I’m very rarely able to get past the point of it being something I *have* to do as opposed to it being something I want to do. I do love taking long walks when it’s nice out, but I’m less thinking about calorie burning and how many miles I need to lose x amount of weight, but more about being outside on a great day, listening to my music, and taking everything in around me – especially if I am walking in the city as opposed to on a trail or track, though even those aren’t bad on occasion. Treadmills don’t really do it for me in the winter, and I really have no desire to do a class and be the out of shape idiot chugging along in the back of the room. I suppose it’s fine if I get to do it on my own terms, but working out on someone else’s is just frustrating and painful.
Is there anyone here NOT from the PNW? A Portlander here.
I don’t exercise much these days, though I used to jog a bit on the treadmill, lots of stretching and some weight training. It was addicting for me and I have to admit that it was when I felt the most physically limber and the most mentally clear. If I don’t go for brisk walks or run up and down stairs for a while, my joints get sticky and I get all kinds of body malaise. I just feel sluggish in the head and limbs, like I’ve been napping too long.
For anyone with depression issues, physical activity (not necessarily “exercise”) has been shown to be as effective than medication. But that has nothing to do with weight! Having strength, flexibility, etc. those shouldn’t be linked to weight. They should be seen as regular maintenance things that you do no matter what your size. Like self-breast exams and flossing. I mean, you shouldn’t be required to do them, but if you don’t, it’s your own business.
Arizona here. My dad’s from Seattle though 😛
Dodgeball. I hated dodgeball too. I was always afraid I would get hit by the ball.
Me too, but I’d deliberately get hit by the ball right off so I could sit on the sidelines and visit with my friends.
Hehehehe… why didn’t I ever think of that? I hated dodge ball…. loved basketball though. 😉
I hate exercise too. I see lots of comments about hating exercise, yet enjoying “movement”. Let me tell you, I fucking hate movement too. I hate anything that makes me sweat. I hate dancing. I hate walking the dog. I hate skating. I like swimming, if one defines swimming as floating in the water and occasionally paddling around. I hate sports, more often than not. I can bowl a game or two, maybe shoot a game of pool, but that’s about it. Really, anything that makes me sweat is out.
I know, bad fattie. Oh well.
I fucking hate movement too
Really? You hate the blood moving around you, your heat beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling?
We are always moving until the day we die, and even then when the worms make us food, we can still look pretty sprightly. (erghh)
Movement is not a euphemism for exercise, it’s to the body what thinking is to the mind.
Anyway; you like swimming so you fail being bad.
Yeah, that should be ‘heart’ beating. Heat beating’s something else…..
That was kind of a sarcastic bad. I don’t feel bad for not liking exercise/movement.
As for the movement thing, I think we both know what spirit the word “movement” is being used. No one is talking about everyday, routine.
Exercise is like cooking for me. I love the doing part I hate the cleaning up part. I love to swim, I kind of like doing this particular circuit training that we have at our gym. I don’t even mind the bicycles. But I hate the time it takes for me to get dressed before and after. If I go at lunch, I need to get cleaned up and there really isn’t time for a shower. If I go after work, then that cuts into my “me time” and with taking a class this quarter there just doesn’t feel like there is enough “me time”. I’ve spent a boatload of money on a gym membership and locker rental and stuff for my locker (to clean up after swimming), its depressing I haven’t gone yet. I keep finding excuses.
I have to walk 10-15 minutes (depending on how fast I’m walking) to get to and from work. I’ve been doing this 5 days a week since September 1. Today was so depressing because I felt like I haven’t gotten use to it. I know its better, I use to get stitches in my side.
Part of my problem right now is that my depression is acting up and I need to get my butt into the psychiatrist and get a med adjustment. I’m also going to do some different sleep studies to see why I wake up during the night and no I don’t think it’s sleep apnea, I think it’s my brain is screwy and wakes me up at crazy intervals. Personally, I think I have the brain of a cat, nap, awake, nap, etc. But I’d sell my soul of a good night’s sleep. I’ve been told that will do wonders for my energy levels.
I told myself after my friend’s wedding, I’d go ice skating. I’ve always wanted to go skating, but have been afraid of hurting myself. Well I’ve got good insurance and plenty of sick leave so if I break enough, I’m okay! The wedding was on the 17th so sometime next month, I’m going to hit the rink! Wish me luck! 🙂
hsofia: I’m from London, UK.
[…] 2009 by living400lbs One of the frequent refrains in the discussion of Angry Gray Rainbow’s “I Hate Exercise” post was the dislike of exercise bikes, treadmills, and other “hamster-wheel […]
Queen Aeron-
I totally feel the same way. And about cooking too. It’s dragging myself to the gym, changing, and finding the right equipment that I hate. Once I’m exercising (jogging, lifting weights, or dance for me) I really enjoy it. But then it’s over and I have to shower and change clothes AGAIN (gah, really?) and lug myself up the hill and up some stairs and down the block, over to my office.
Blech.
Oh, and I also live in the Pacific Northwest.
I only like swimming but I define that as slow movement through the water which I choose to do about half an hour. Dancing, prancing, leaping, and even some actual swimming although I don’t like to put my face in the water. Almost every day. I am nearly 400 lbs. and use a rollater (the wheeled walker with a seat and a basket). I have lymphedema on both legs and arthritis so have lots of pain but the so called swimming makes me feel good in ways medication for pain does not. The fat lady in a swim suit is a real issue: I do not like toddlers and even older kids exclaiming, “look mommie — she’s SO FAT!” but I don’t ignore it anymore. I talk right back to them. Sometimes it is “positive” like “yes, my tummy looks like a giant pumpkin doesn’t it?” and sometimes they probably think I am insane as I rant back in reaction to their rude comments. But since I have been listening to such for about 50 years now, I’ve just had it. Ignoring it anymore just makes me feel crappy. I have been ignoring people’s comments about my fatness all my life. God bless FA! It has been life changing for me–finally! But I do belong to a health club where I swim in Seattle that is full of all types of folks of all ages, sizes, races; not just the uber aggressive gym rat types swimming their laps so I actually must say although even walking let alone any other kind of exercise is entirely hated by moi, my body is very hooked on me enjoying what I call swimming. And oh yeah: did I mention the soak in the hot tub afterward? Life is good!
Everyone hates exercise. I think the main reason is from word association. Most people think FAT=UGLY, when really, fat is energy stored in the body for later, and has nothing at all to do with beauty.
Likewise, people think EXERCISE=TOIL. Which is not the case. Exercise is burning calories. Sure, lifting weights and running are exercise, but so are hiking, swimming, chasing after your dog or kids or grand-kids, dancing, playing Ultimate Frisbee, flying kites, exploring in the woods, climbing trees or cliffs, playing paintball, hide-and-go-seek-tag, canoeing, tumbling, building giant sandcastles, and my personal favorite; sex. Best. Exercise. On. The. Planet.
Everyone hates exercise.
No, Evan, actually not “everyone” hates exercise. I don’t. I love it. I like the outdoor kind, I like the sex kind, I even like the dreaded boring hamster wheel kind. Believe it of not, I even like toil. I like digging holes in my garden and lugging stones for wall building. Of course, I don’t don’t think fat is ugly either, so maybe I’m just a figment of my own imagination.
LOL Cassi… you’re no figment. I’m glad to see someone on the other side of the exercise opinion speaking up.
I think Evan meant that *many* people hate exercise… not literally “all.”
Thanks. I had intended to stay out of the thread because it seemed like people were having fun admitting to hating exercise in an environment where it felt safe and accepted without some ya-ya jumping in going, “oooh, exercise is great!” People hear enough of that most everywhere else they turn.
Interestingly, ever since this thread started I’ve started trying to figure out why I like exercise. What is it about sweating my ass off that I find appealing? I’m not thin or even average. I’m fat. I’m uncoordinated. I don’t play sports (as in basketball, tennis, etc) because I have no hand-eye coordination. I’m not competitive; in that I A) don’t care and B) am not talented enough at anything to win even if I did care. I have no need or use for the level of fitness I have achieved (I’m a computer geek, not a fire fighter or even a waitress. My daily life rarely requires that I do more than type and occasionally drink coffee).
So what the heck is it that would keep me on a stair climber for an hour each day?
I have no clue. And that’s why I think it’s great that you admit you don’t like it. Just like the thin allies of the FA movement who say they believe that fat is genetic because they KNOW that they couldn’t gain 100 pounds if their life depended on it, I know that there must be people who simply find nothing appealing about exercise, because I find everything appealing about it… for no logical reason whatsoever. It’s not something I could talk myself out of even if bulletproof research came out tomorrow that it was going to send me to an early grave. We are who we are and while we can work within that framework, trying to be other just makes us miserable.
Have you used the air climber? Do you believe it might be something somebody like me could use?