Cool read. Love the idea of pushing the ball downhill on forms of exercise, especially when starting out and forming healthy habits.
Personally, I’m a big fan of editing while riding the exercise bike, via printed pages and pen. I tend to do both editing and workouts in the evenings. I’m also big on bilateral exercises for creatives (walking, running, hiking) - helps the brain think more clearly.*
* disclaimer: this is based on science that’s one tier up from half ass internet research so take with a solitary grain of salt.
This is great Matt. Life long exercise about consistency. And 99% of people, unless your name is Goggins, will not be consistent unless they enjoy the exercise they engage with.
The idea of not forcing yourself to do an exercise you don't like is simple and direct advice, which I appreciate. But there's also more to it, imho. I've never really liked running (or exercise) -- I mentioned in the comments here a while ago that I'm not into fitness at all -- but I managed to circumvent that dislike by using motivational hacks that are probably in Michael Mathews' book namely having a bigger goal, gamification, and as you wrote in your review "embrace the suck"!
Around April of this year, I wasn't doing enough physically and I knew it wasn't good for my health. But I also knew that going to the gym or doing exercise in a vacuum wasn't going to work for me...Too boring and difficult to sustain beyond a week or two. So I set a goal to run a 5K in 3 months. Now I had an actual reason to hit the pavement. I created a Google sheet with cells for each run I had to do over the coming months so I could record the distance/times. Having that worked for me because the progress really motivated me. Inputting my times felt good, especially since I could scroll up and see how many minutes I'd shaved off from previous runs. Finally, over the years, I discovered that I really like that moment during a run (or whatever) when I'm flagging and can cheer myself on in my head. It's corny, but telling myself "Let's do it. You got this!" and things like that and then actually doing is a great accomplishment loop!
Over the 3 months that I trained, I began to appreciate my runs. Not every moment but enough to not resist going. I stopped putting in headphones and just listened to my brain and the sounds of the neighborhood. And at the end of my term, I ran the 5K and had a great time!
Now, my bigger goal is to get myself ready to return to BJJ, an activity I enjoy for its own sake. But how? Calisthenics! I've always found this boring, but I really like learning about new exercises, creating my own workout, and embracing the suck! I hate the burpees I'm doing but it balances out for me because I hit a PR by doing 25 straight this morning.
This is getting long...Basically, I think enjoying the activity itself is just one part of the puzzle when it comes to exercise motivation. I never thought I'd look forward to my workouts, but when I'm doing it I'm sweaty and happy! I suspect that if I can keep coming up with engaging bigger goals to use as carrots, I'll be happily exercising for a long time to come.
Cool read. Love the idea of pushing the ball downhill on forms of exercise, especially when starting out and forming healthy habits.
Personally, I’m a big fan of editing while riding the exercise bike, via printed pages and pen. I tend to do both editing and workouts in the evenings. I’m also big on bilateral exercises for creatives (walking, running, hiking) - helps the brain think more clearly.*
* disclaimer: this is based on science that’s one tier up from half ass internet research so take with a solitary grain of salt.
Not sure I have the balance to edit while on a stationary bike … impressive!
This is great Matt. Life long exercise about consistency. And 99% of people, unless your name is Goggins, will not be consistent unless they enjoy the exercise they engage with.
Thanks Jack. Exercise is enough as it is — let’s not make it unnecessarily harder.
The idea of not forcing yourself to do an exercise you don't like is simple and direct advice, which I appreciate. But there's also more to it, imho. I've never really liked running (or exercise) -- I mentioned in the comments here a while ago that I'm not into fitness at all -- but I managed to circumvent that dislike by using motivational hacks that are probably in Michael Mathews' book namely having a bigger goal, gamification, and as you wrote in your review "embrace the suck"!
Around April of this year, I wasn't doing enough physically and I knew it wasn't good for my health. But I also knew that going to the gym or doing exercise in a vacuum wasn't going to work for me...Too boring and difficult to sustain beyond a week or two. So I set a goal to run a 5K in 3 months. Now I had an actual reason to hit the pavement. I created a Google sheet with cells for each run I had to do over the coming months so I could record the distance/times. Having that worked for me because the progress really motivated me. Inputting my times felt good, especially since I could scroll up and see how many minutes I'd shaved off from previous runs. Finally, over the years, I discovered that I really like that moment during a run (or whatever) when I'm flagging and can cheer myself on in my head. It's corny, but telling myself "Let's do it. You got this!" and things like that and then actually doing is a great accomplishment loop!
Over the 3 months that I trained, I began to appreciate my runs. Not every moment but enough to not resist going. I stopped putting in headphones and just listened to my brain and the sounds of the neighborhood. And at the end of my term, I ran the 5K and had a great time!
Now, my bigger goal is to get myself ready to return to BJJ, an activity I enjoy for its own sake. But how? Calisthenics! I've always found this boring, but I really like learning about new exercises, creating my own workout, and embracing the suck! I hate the burpees I'm doing but it balances out for me because I hit a PR by doing 25 straight this morning.
This is getting long...Basically, I think enjoying the activity itself is just one part of the puzzle when it comes to exercise motivation. I never thought I'd look forward to my workouts, but when I'm doing it I'm sweaty and happy! I suspect that if I can keep coming up with engaging bigger goals to use as carrots, I'll be happily exercising for a long time to come.
For sure just one piece. Motivation is a complex — and often shifting! — puzzle.