Life of the mind versus life of the body

October 3, 2007 9:39 AM

After seeing the massive concensus on this thread, I started to feel concerned about how out-of-the-loop I am regarding exercise. I'm pretty fit, and typically walk a few miles a day in the course of my work, but I have very little interest in any sort of exercise for the sake of health or enjoyment.

I've tried running and biking and swimming and using gym equipment, alone, with music, and with friends, but I get very bored very quickly -- I'm too dependent on mental stimulation. Group sports are only slightly better -- I just don't enjoy tennis, soccer, martial arts classes, and whatever else I've tried. And I find the culture of exercise sort of morally and aesthetically objectionable, with all its obsessive striving and preening. Gym-honed bodies are distinctly unattractive to me; I far prefer the look and feel of a little flab.

I have a friend who has changed in the last two years from a sedentary bonne vivante to a marathon-running bore, and who continues running daily, fully addicted, even after her doctor has told her she's permanently damaging her knees and hips by doing so. She says that in years of hedonism she's never experienced any physical pleasure nearly as wonderful as what she gets from running. I'm not convinced: in the past, when I've run quite strenuously and regularly, there's been no sensation I would consider pleasure.

But I envy her, despite my disinclination, and I feel pressure from my peers. Is there a way I can make regular urban exercise something I want to do?

posted by Eater to sports, hobbies, & recreation (23 comments total)

I bought a treadmill and set it up so it's facing a shelf with a TV, VCR, and DVD player. Running/walking bores me too, but video entertainment makes the time go by pretty quick.
posted by JanetLand at 9:44 AM on October 3, 2007

In my case the way I made exercise something I wanted to do was simply get old enough that the endorphin rush became something I craved daily. As a young man I found workouts both boring and boorish. After much prompting, I finally committed to my wife that I would try just twice a week for a month, thinking I would dread those days. It turned out that actually enjoyed feeling my blood pump again for the first time in years, and have become pretty addicted to it.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 9:50 AM on October 3, 2007

Why not bike to/from work? Or use a bicycle as primary transportation in general. I find that if there is a purpose in the exercise (transportation, shopping, visiting), I get the happy exercise high without feeling like an overweening westerner who has time to spend on just exercise.
posted by R343L at 9:58 AM on October 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

I hate exercising. Loathe it. But I love doing fun things - like jumping on a trampoline with the kids, taking a walk in the desert and horseback riding. So, maybe there are things like that that you like doing that you can turn into a discipline of sorts. I hate exercising for the sake of exercising, but throw in some fun stuff that naturally requires you to put forth some effort and viola! Exercise is then fun (or rather the activity is fun!).
posted by Sassyfras at 9:58 AM on October 3, 2007

My doctor said that I need "purpose driven exercise." Since she's a gynecologist, I was a bit hesitant to ask what the hell she was talking about. Turns out she meant, like, washing your car.

No, I needed to go hiking on the weekends, and stop putting shit food into my body. Bingo.
posted by letahl at 10:03 AM on October 3, 2007

I get bored way too easily with exercise for exercise's sake, so I try to find stuff I like to do where I get exercise as a by-product. If you could bike or walk to work instead of car, subway or bus; take a couple of flights of stairs instead of an elevator. I personally take walks up a hill by my office, play a couple of hours of table tennis, and in the winter sledding and hockey- these are all things I have fun with but don't feel like I'm 'exercising'.

But if you're walking a couple of miles a day during work, you're a lot better off than the average US citizen.
posted by MtDewd at 10:06 AM on October 3, 2007

My wife and I just joined a gym. For years now we haven't had "television"; the TV is entirely for gaming and movies, and we download/rent television seasons all at once.

But now that we belong to the gym, we plan on going there from 8-10pm, some of the least-busy hours, which will also enable us to get some machines facing televisions tuned to whatever station we want. Failing a good show, I've got a host of audiobooks and podcasts to listen to.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 10:22 AM on October 3, 2007

While not popular, here is my opinion:

1. Exercise is not doing fun things. Playing football or soccer is not exercise.

2. Exercise IS training... training your body to perform better in sports, or to be healthier, or to look better.

3. Tell your friend to for godsake reduce her mileage, buy shoes that cost more than $100 and were made for running and seriously increase her calcium and protein consumption (.8 grams per pound of body weight minimum is the USDA).

4. If you want to play, play. If you want to build and refine, then join a gym.
posted by ewkpates at 10:31 AM on October 3, 2007

I've had a lot of success with shovelgloving and the No S diet.
posted by maryh at 10:41 AM on October 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

I "power walk" (hate that term, but don't know what else to call walking really fast) several miles per day, and it's all because of podcasts. I can't possibly catch a fraction of the shows I like in real time, so my walk is an opportunity to get them all in. I can usually listen to a couple of them per day. It's great. Since you're in an urban environment, walking (for exercise) could be a good option for you.
posted by Flakypastry at 10:45 AM on October 3, 2007

Get a Wii.
posted by LordSludge at 10:45 AM on October 3, 2007

The way to make regular urban exercise something you want to do is to make it something you enjoy, or part of a regular routine you take for granted. Or have some even that makes it a necessity, such as a health crisis, but I doubt that's an answer you'd want to hear.

In all seriousness though, if you feel comfortable with your body shape, are in good health, and are otherwise happy, then why care? I have started a reasonable exercise regimen because I know it will be a necessity at some point in my life if I want to remain healthy and physically active into old age. Just be aware that there might be a reason to adopt a routine at a later date.
posted by mikeh at 11:09 AM on October 3, 2007

As much as I love exercising myself and feeling like I'm getting stronger, if you have no impetus and you're otherwise healthy there's no point. It's good to be active, to go hiking once in a while or biking or rollerblading, but if you hate moving your body and really can't stand the boredom, well, there isn't much to do, is there?

I'm incredibly distractable and desire mental stimulation--but I've found if I'm actually pushing myself I don't have time for mental stimulation because I'm just trying to finish my workout so the pain will end. It's pretty exhilarating.
posted by schroedinger at 11:22 AM on October 3, 2007

I find the culture of exercise sort of morally and aesthetically objectionable, with all its obsessive striving and preening

What about trying some dance? I only do swing dancing so I can't speak about the other subcultures, but swing has a great aesthetic, is a lot of fun, is social, relies on excellent music, AND is a terrific workout.
posted by Miko at 11:32 AM on October 3, 2007

I second dance. I'm exercising for the first time in years because I started taking a belly dancing class. It's strenuous, fun, and toning me up. Think about a dance class!
posted by agregoli at 11:44 AM on October 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm a regular runner and lifter and I tell people the secret is learning how to spend time in your own head. You have to practice generating your own mental stimulation internally rather than loking for external stimulation. Is there a work project you can solve while running? Is there a relationship problem you want to ponder? Is there some self-reflection you like to do? I never understood the "it's boring" part of exercise because all the time I'm doing something in my head. I think it can be learned. Perhaps the next time you try, go out with a set of things you want to think about. Maybe that will help. Because while games and sports and all are great (I play hoops once a week myself) there is no quicker and more efficient way to fit exercise into your life than to sttrap on some running shoes and go.
posted by lpsguy at 11:53 AM on October 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

I'm with you. I've never really enjoyed exercise; it's something I make myself do because I feel like I need to, and so I don't turn int Jabba the Hutt, but given a choice I'd much rather sit down and drink a cold beer in an air-conditioned room and read a good book than do anything physical. It's just unpleasant to me.

That said, I've found that if I change what I do for exercise about ever six months or so, I can keep myself doing OK. I've given up on finding the 'one thing' that I'll enjoy forever, it all gets obnoxious after a while, but it's a whole lot less obnoxious when it's novel.

So I'll go running for a while (listening to music or podcasts), then go to the gym (I bring books and read them on the elliptical machines, then finish with some weights), occasionally buy some personal-training time, go climbing at a rock gym, take martial arts classes, go geocaching/hiking, do deep-water aerobics, take fencing lessons ... I do something until I can't make myself go anymore, then change and do something else instead. And after a year or so, I'll come back to it.

I've accepted the fact that I am just not going to like exercise for the sake of exercise. I don't like feeling tired and I don't like feeling sweaty, and I don't get that "runner's high" that people talk about. I just feel beaten. But -- and this is the big but -- I can tolerate physical activity if it's in the context of learning or doing something new or fun. At least until it gets boring, and then I say goodbye and move on.

Obviously your options are going to depend on what's available where you are, but I had good luck looking through the Rec Department's classes and just signing up for stuff that seemed interesting in six-week spurts.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:08 PM on October 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

And I find the culture of exercise sort of morally and aesthetically objectionable, with all its obsessive striving and preening. Gym-honed bodies are distinctly unattractive to me; I far prefer the look and feel of a little flab.

I have a friend who has changed in the last two years from a sedentary bonne vivante to a marathon-running bore, and who continues running daily, fully addicted, even after her doctor has told her she's permanently damaging her knees and hips by doing so. She says that in years of hedonism she's never experienced any physical pleasure nearly as wonderful as what she gets from running. I'm not convinced: in the past, when I've run quite strenuously and regularly, there's been no sensation I would consider pleasure.

I'd say the issue here is that you've got a load of preconceptions about what exercise is and what the people who do it are like. I spend a lot of time around runners of all levels, and none of them preen, nor do they seem insincere when they say that they enjoy it.

I do think, as a few others have said, that what's compelling to me about exercise is reveling in sheer physicality, and trying to push against my current limits. I'm a person who's been accused of being too cerebral by more than one person, and I find the time that I spend running a combination of a break from my normal concerns and a struggle to refine the kind of focus that allows one to push hard physically despite a proximate desire to stop.

However, if you don't like it, and find nothing redeeming in it, why bother? I don't give a shit if your exercise or not, and it doesn't really sound like you do either.
posted by OmieWise at 12:18 PM on October 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have no idea why or how some people find exercise enjoyable. If 20K isn't enough to get a runner's high, then I'm never going to get one. Exercise for the sake of it, no matter how much I've tried, has not made any sense to me at all.

But exercise is worth doing.

So, if you are bound and determined to exercise, then the trick is going to be to find out what will motivate you.

It doesn't sound like the whole health/proactive life thing is going to work for you, but there are other possibilities.

For example, punishment. Every time you do something wrong (anything) you have to pay for it with some kind of workout. Kinda like a chore jar -- reach in, pull out a slip, and do whatever is on that slip. The trick here is that you'll never be perfect, you'll always be making mistakes, therefore you'll always be punished for something

If not that, then perhaps rewards -- you can't go to the movies until you've run X distance, etc.

Or perfectionism. Or being a completist. There are lots of different ways to motivate yourself to do something you don't like doing. Analyze your personality and find one that works for you.

...oh, and tune out the people who are going to say that your method of motivation is somehow unworthy. They're probably the ones that like exercise intrinsically, and can't imagine that not everyone feels that way. "Oh well, you just haven't just done enough!! Run a 10K and you'll agree with me!" Chipper bastard. Take your 10K and stuff it up your spray-tanned ass before I burn your house down.
posted by aramaic at 1:00 PM on October 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

Mr. Lucinda and I spent a boatload of money on our exercise bike. I use it mostly so that I don't feel guilty about spending so much money on a clothes rack.
posted by Lucinda at 1:38 PM on October 3, 2007

Since you live in NYC, could you just not walk more? You still need to go places, the weather isn't totally atrocious yet, and at the end, you could swing by a pupuseria or something. More than anything else, living in a city has kept me within a size/weight range I'm happy with...so perhaps you don't need to change much of anything at all.
posted by mdonley at 2:10 PM on October 3, 2007

Perhaps the motivation lies in doing something absolutely cool like parkour/freerunning.
posted by Sassyfras at 2:40 PM on October 3, 2007

I've been doing yoga lately and it's a good workout as well as enjoyable and relaxing. You might give that a try.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:35 PM on October 3, 2007