7 Fitness Tips For Women Who Hate Exercise
Some people seem to consider exercise a genuinely enjoyable way to spend their time. “It’s a lifestyle,” they say with a smug smile as those of us who can barely bribe ourselves to get on a treadmill for half an hour every week can’t help but grimace. Exercise is something everyone would be happy to love, but it can often be difficult to find it within ourselves to appreciate anything about cardio except the health and fitness benefits it brings you. If you’re someone who despises all exercise with a passion but wants to remain fit, keep reading to learn seven fitness tips for women who hate exercise.
1. Switch It Up
For women who despise exercise and lack the immense willpower it requires for them to force themselves into the gym on a regular basis, switching up your routine can transform the way you feel about exercise.
Strive to try at least one new exercise routine every week. Whether that means running a different route, trying a new kickboxing video, or simply using an unfamiliar machine at the gym, looking forward to an exercise routine that you’re not already sick of can help alleviate some of the dread you feel toward exercising.
2. Trick Yourself Into Cardio
Cardio is one of the most important parts of any healthy exercise routine. However, it can also be one of the most time-consuming and difficult forms of exercise to make yourself complete on a regular basis. One of the best ways to fit cardio into your daily schedule is to “trick yourself” into engaging in cardio activities that masquerade as fun ways to spend your time.
Make it a point to seek out activities in your local area that include cardio. The trick to this, however, is to only choose activities that sound legitimately fun to you. Some ideas include: horseback riding, ice skating, rock climbing, and short fun runs.
3. Try an Exercise Class
Enrolling in an exercise class is a great way to force yourself to start exercising and keep exercising for a significant period of time. You’ll be a lot less likely to walk out in the middle of an organized exercise class than to leave the gym early or drop to the floor in the middle of your home workout video.
Check your local gyms to see what kind of classes they offer. Try out classes that sound interesting to you, such as yoga, zumba, or kickboxing. Also, make an effort to get to an exercise class in the morning, before you’ve worked all day and lack the willpower and stamina to drag yourself to the gym for a class.
4. Get a Fitness App
Fitness apps might seem gimmicky, but they are actually a really fun and helpful way to keep track of your exercise plans and achievements and motivate you to exercise more regularly.
Apps such as Myfitnesspal, Fitbit, and other similar apps allow you to log your exercise and even estimate how many calories you burned during your exercise routine. Knowing that you get to log your achievements every time you exercise can help motivate you to fit a cardio routine into your daily schedule.
5. Set Realistic Goals
Setting goals can be a great way to motivate yourself to exercise. However, if you are truly someone who hates exercise, setting a goal of doing an intense cardio workout for sixty minutes six days per week is not a realistic goal. Setting goals like this that are out of your plausible reach can make you feel worse about yourself and give up exercise altogether when you can’t meet them.
Instead, set goals that you know you can achieve and perhaps even surpass. Tell yourself that you’re going to exercise moderately for twenty-five minutes per day on three days per week. Make a real effort to meet this goal and, once you’ve gotten comfortable with that routine, gradually increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of your workouts to a new level.
6. Make Small Lifestyle Changes
Small lifestyle changes that you can incorporate easily into your daily life can be a very simple way to add exercise into your schedule without having to officially exercise.
If you work on the third floor of an office building, take the stairs every morning instead of the elevator. When you stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things, grab a basket to carry instead of a cart. Use the walkways instead of the moving sidewalks when you go to the airport. Walk to the drugstore that’s only half a mile away the next time you need to pick up nail polish remover. These simple shifts can make a big difference in your health and might even motivate you to push yourself with more intense exercise.
7. Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself when you meet your fitness goals can help motivate you to exercise more and make you feel like you’re accomplishing something.
Try not to reward yourself with food or less exercise. Instead, buy yourself a pedicure or splurge on fresh art supplies or a new hardback book you’ve been eyeing. These small rewards can help you feel more excited to exercise.
If you hate exercising, staying fit and healthy can be hard. Use these fitness tips for women who hate exercise to motivate yourself to add more exercise into your daily schedule without dread or frustration.
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