But exercise is unpleasant!

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In an effort to actually work out, I put some exercises together in a loose plan -
Arms / shoulders - barbell and dumbbell curls (regular and hammer) possibly bench press, tricep dips/press, military press, lateral raise, rows, pullups.
Abs / core - "air bicycle," leg raise/hanging leg raise/roman seat, plank, russian twists (accidentally typoed "russian twits" there for a second) hanging crunches.
Legs - Calf raise, BMX.
Weight loss - walking. A lot.
Think I've actually done any of that? No. I got the weights out and did up the plan. That's it.
Why? Because exercise is just unpleasant. I wish I was one of those unicorns who apparently get addicted to the gym and the chemicals and whatever, but I'm not. I hate to think I'm a sedentary type of person - but I am.
It's horrid. I get overwhelmed by just the heat of my own body working easily, and am very self-conscious so no one can be watching me at all, or anywhere near me where they could walk in on me doing any of the above.
How do people get past the intend-to-exercise-and-get-fit stage to the actually exercising and getting fit stage?
I don't even know anything about how long you can expect to wait with consistent effort to see any results.
It's frustrating. I'd like to do it, I want to get fit and start looking nice, but it's just awful.
Anyone else trying to bully themselves into working out? What can motivate you? How do you turn exercise from a chore that you avoid at all costs into something you actually want to do and can keep up consistently?
Ugh. And I used to be SO damn fit once.

Working out at the gym can be unpleasant. If you don’t like the gym, you can walk, bike, swim, or play sports. Getting enough steps on a pedometer burns just as many calories as working out, if you don’t like to work out.

The thing that's worked for me is to start out small. Early in the day.
I know that I can't do a real workout right now, physically or mentally. But I can do a little bit. So, maybe 20 push ups, a few waist turns, a little bit of the gongfu workout, the first section of Tai chi chuan. Something like that. Enough to engage my body and feel it, enough to start to establish the routine. If I do 40 push ups right now, I'll feel it for days. If I keep up with it, within a month or so I'll get to a point that it feels good and I can actually start to push myself.
As far as seeing results? Right now if I do any amount of exercise I can see results immediately. They don't last more than a few minutes, but I can see them. Which always encourages me. Eventually I start to feel better, look better, and it gets easier to push myself. A few months, maybe, depending on what exercise you do, how you do it, and your current level of fitness. Should be able to start seeing results that last.
I'm also really self conscious about it. It's really difficult for me to work out if there are people around even when I'm fit. Other than a pull-up bar I don't need any equipment, though. So it may be easier to find a spot to do a set of something. When I am fit, I can deal with it at the gym where I do martial arts. I'm then kind of the example of what you should be doing in Tai chi and gongfu. So it's a little easier to be seen, but still really intense.

What works for me is to make exercise neither a chore nor a hobby/interest, but just an integral part of other routine activities that I would have to do anyway. For example, walking to the shops and carrying my groceries home rather than getting the bus, or moving my stash of snacks and drinks away from the PC and into the kitchen so that I'm forced to at least climb a few flights of stairs every day. They're not going to make me any kind of athlete, but as elbowgrease said, the small things can make a big difference - the fact that I did something rather than nothing, however small, helps to improve my psychological health, which in turn makes me more motivated to put in a little more effort next time.

I exercise by doing activities I enjoy like bushwalking, cycling and paddleboarding.
Then it doesn't even feel like you're exercising.

I'd love to learn the proper tea ceremony.

You might examine diet and environment, as far as overheating goes. I like it relatively cold when I work out, then it seems like it evens out once I hear up.
I'm pretty picky about what I wear when I train, too. The right fabric, the right size, so it breathes and moves with me. I love pouring out sweat, though.
Sometimes seasons changing can throw off a person's energy. Mindset, motivation, metabolism, mood. It's harder for me to get motivated at 5am if I know the sun won't break through for another five hours. If it does at all.
I wish you luck with it.
My current problem isn't motivation so much as a complete lack of personal space. I'm really missing it right now.

Ya know, at one time I was exactly like you. Still kinda am...

In May of 2016 I went to the Dr after having a multitude of troubling symptoms. I dont have insurance, so I had whatever tests I could afford that were unsurprisingly inconclusive. I was 38 feeling like I was going on 70. No energy, constant crankiness, sh***y focus, and no drive for life whatsoever. So I decided the time had come to do what I always dreaded most... start working out.

Now Ill say I always had some enjoyment in physical activity. As a kid, I always played sports, particularly football, with my friends. As a teenager and in my 20s, I walked everywhere as I didnt have a car. In my 30s I started hiking and really enjoyed it. But when it came to gyms and weights, i hated the very idea. In fact, I even made fun of people for going to the gym, and kinda looked down on it as some pursuit of vanity. But I knew I was getting older and the choices I make in the next few years will determine the quality of the rest of my days on earth, so it was time to make an unpleasant choice.

Fast forward a year and a half... Im now 80lbs lighter, stronger than Ive ever been in my entire life, and while I still have the symptoms, I have the capacity to do just about anything I want to and have more than sufficient endurance and energy. Its doable. 100%. Im nothing special. Im extremely lazy,suffer from very short attention span, am extremely self conscious, and have very little confidence anything I do will ever work out well. You can do it if you really want to.

Since everyone is different, what motivates me may not motivate you. What worked for me may not for you. But Im gonna ramble out a few disjointed points and perhaps you can get something from it.

First thibg I noticed was your overheating thing. I always hated the feeling of sweating. So much that it gives me anxiety sometimes. Now, if Im sweating while doing something (working, hiking, playing sports etc) I dont notice it until Im drenched. I also know once I get to the point where Im pouring sweat, the anxiety passes. Its the getting to that point. I call it breaking through my 's**t crust'. All efforts make me want to literally cry until Ive broken through that part.

What i suggest if this is anything like you, is to always start your workouts with a solid, sweat inducing cardio session. For me, anout 45 min on a treadmill walking at a decent incline (running hurts my joints), or about 30 min on the stairmaster. Sometimes a little more. I find that its easier to zone out and dp some repetitive cardio to get me to a point where Im ready to pick up some weights.

As far as weights, understand that, at first, your goal is to simply establish the routine. The excersises and size of the weight is almost irrelevant at first. Most important is to set up a routine and do the entire thing. If towards the end you feel like you cant do anymore, lower the weight. Even if you do the motions with nothing in your hands, do it anyway. Its more about eatablishing the mental pattern at this point. Most people struggle at first, I believe, because they try lifing way too much weight and get discouraged. My first session, I benched with 15lb dumbells. Im sure there are plenty of middle school girls who could do better... but so what? This is no place for pride. If you follow through it will work. Its a gurantee. Theres no interpetation. But you have to stick to a routine... but finding one you can complete when scheduled is more important than any expectation of what you think you 'should' be able to do.

I advise for weights, starting with standard splits. By this I mean do arms one day, chest another, back another etc. If you are very overweight, avoid core until you lose a few lbs. Many ab excersises are bad for your back, shoulders and gave me a hell of a tailbone issue. Better to try the other stuff first, then add in some legs, then some core. Your legs will get work during your cardio for now. Concentrate on upperbody. For reference, i had no upper body strength at all. None. I literally could not do one pushup. Not one. Even if it were to save my life.

As with anything in an Aspie mind, it amounts to finding the right mental buttons to push within yourself. To find the right mind game. Finding ways that the rigidity, stubborness and thoroughness that often comes with that mind can be a tremendous asset to fitness if harnessed correctly. There is a torrent of power inside of you that must just be focused correctly.

I will say that today, I love the gym. Its honestly become one of my favorite subjects. I still feel quite sick at times, whih makes staying on track difficult, but the rewards it yields are well w9rth it. At first I know its very hard to care about that. Forward thinking and working hard today to help tomorrow is not something I at all do easily. Ive always been a live for today person. But being in bettwr shape makes your mental clarity far better, your moods much more stable, and your confidence as high as it can reasonably get. And the best part is, if you stick with it, wven though it seems like this far away concept, its a guarantee. If you have a proper diet and regular workout program, you will get fit. Its inevitable.

I apologize if this is rambling, I often have a hard time expressing myself when I have so much to say. Organizing my thoughts is not a strong point. But I do want you to know that people very similar to yourself have found ways to not only do it, but eventually grow to love it. Its totally possible.

Id be happy to elaborate on any aspect of my experience, clarify anything I said, or offer more specific workout recommendations. It makes me happy to support those in this world who struggle like I do. I know how hard it can be to get anything going when you feel that thinga are not compatible with who you are. BS. If I can mae these changes literally anyone can, provided one is of sound enough body to do so.

Keep it simple. Start with baby steps. At the beginning, if you're just now coming off the couch, regularity is more important than intensity. If you resolve to work out 4-5 times a week, even if each workout is a 30 minute walk outdoors or a 30 minute yoga video on YouTube, the intensity can easily be built up bit by bit. I used to hate exercise and spent most of my life 30 kg overweight, now I'm devastated that I've been unable to run for the last 2 months due to injury, go figure.

I wouldn't say I'm super fit or anything. But exercise really helps with things like feeling tired due to desk work or feeling unproductive. Totally worth 15 minutes and a shower here and there.

You're all wonderful people in this topic

Excellent post, beakybird. I have just started going to the gym with my flatmate. Both of us are overweight, me due to medication.

It's difficult to go at this time of year as it's so hot all the time. But it's cool in the gym itself. I don't care so much about the weight, I just dislike being so flabby. I'd love to be toned.

Exercise isn't as unpleasant to me as it is boring. Perhaps because I am not overweight - I am underweight and I need to grow some muscles.
In the summer I did work out on an outside gym thats right under my apartament window - all I have to do is look if anybody is there, then go downstairs. I was choosing the times when there were some people there I could talk with, or else I was taking a music player with me. But I still couldn't work out more than a half of hour, switching tools every a few mins due to boredom (and muscle pain on some). I was also walking a lot in the city though - which I believe helped me more than the whole exercise because it wasn't as boring so I spent a lot of time on it.
Now it's winter so its too cold to use the outside gym and I can't really walk that much, especially with the air pollution. But I have a joga ball in the house that I use as chair sometimes (it is some exercise because you need to hold balance - and you can sit on it for hours, while using your computer or watching TV so no time wasted). I also considered buying an indoor bicycle to use while watching TV - but my room is pretty small and the device is big and heavy so i dropped the idea for now.

I didn't grow much muscles since I started that pattern (although my overall condition got better and I can deal with bringing a 6 pack of 1,5l water home on a kilometer walk by myself now, I couldn't even bring it from car to front door back then) but my body did change - I don't have fatty tights anymore and I am able to wear skinny jeans that were always too tight for me.

What motivates me to work out, I will just get another eating disorder if I don't and I will put on weight again and then have an eating disorder and fear food again. Work outs keep my metabolism going and it allows me to eat without any anxiety or counting calories and it keeps me thinner.

You can watch TV as you do work outs or listen to music. You can do activities like Zumba or yoga or kick boxing.