How To Workout When You Hate Working Out

 

If you hate working out, you’re doing something seriously wrong. It’s not supposed to be easy, of course, but it shouldn’t be something you hate. It should be something you can do with a smile on your face, that boosts your mood and helps you blow off some steam.

I always find that I can still sing and dance to the workout tunes during my fitness class, which shows me how much I do enjoy it. Thinking you’ll hate working out forever? I’m gonna try and change your mind. Don’t worry, you’ll be a workout fiend in no time at all!

1. Work out why you hate workouts

For me, it’s that first ten minutes when I’ve been sitting on my ass all day and suddenly, my entire body panics. I’m being made to skip, jog, hold my squat position. My body freaks out and my mind doesn’t much like it either. But, pushing through that gets me to the next step. The step where I can keep doing mountain climbers and keep my hands in the air while I do crunches. Sure it hurts, but it’s mind over matter.

So start with thinking about what you actually hate. Chances are if you hate working out you aren’t doing it right, and you’ve got into a bad mindset. Lemme smash that for you…

2. Don’t push yourself too hard

So you’ve decided to start working out. You aren’t gonna start with a full 30-minute run, are you? No wonder you hate it if you’ve been trying to do high-intensity workouts after long periods of nothing. Don’t do that! Go for an enjoyable walk every single day, then add 10 minutes of skipping and then build yourself up to something like a fitness class.

You won’t hate it if you do it with friends, or when you join a class. There’s nothing funnier than watching your friend try and fail to do one more push-up, and afterward, you’ll both feel amazing. Once you’ve realized that your hate of working out is just a hate of certain workouts, you can start actually having fun with it.

Here are a few suggestions to help you fall in love with working out again…

Go rollerblading 

OMG rollerblading is so much fun, you can do it for fun when the weather is good or join a rollerblading class and learn some pretty cool tricks while you go. It’ll strengthen your legs, help you tone up, and you won’t even feel like you’re working out.

Get your dance on 

Dancing is fun, right. Somehow it’s even more fun at 3am in ridiculous shoes. I always found I could run better drunk than I ever could sober, which was maybe not a good example of a workout but hey. While sober, dance. And dance hard. Get your music on and just go for it, lock your bedroom door and dance for thirty minutes. It’ll boost your mood and make working out fun again.

Head to your leisure center

I love swimming, I’m such a water baby. Remember that light feeling you get when you’re inside the pool, that stops you from actually feeling how hard you’re making your muscles work. Get in the fast lane and do some breast strokes, then reward yourself by getting in the jacuzzi and sauna afterward.

Join a class that’s actually fun to take part in

Classes these days are not what they were back in the day. I only had access to spinning classes when I first joined the gym. Nowadays you can do aerial yoga, hoop classes, pole fitness and so much more. I’ve got my eye on you – don’t just book in for a nap yoga class. Do something that seems fun and maybe includes a DJ. Bring your friends, it’s a bonding session you won’t forget.