Do you have troubles getting started?

Do you *not* like sports?

Do you not have any money to pay for dancing classes with? :)

Have you still found some way to exercise that works for you?

Then it's you I'm looking for!


I suppose I could answer the question in the title with 1, You don't call it exercising.

I would probably get help from meds when it comes to initiating stuff, it might be the only way really, but I'm reluctant to try meds for certain reasons. I hope I might be able to do something in this regard without meds.

I used to live about a mile from work and walk to work and back every day. very good cardio and calorie burner...could you find a way to run errands or walk somewhere regularly?? Not "exercise" in that gym kind of way but it would work.

A friend of mine started an early walking program with a neighbour and they would go and "walk the dog" every morning but they did it together.

Join a hiking/outdoors club..usually they just say meet us here and pack a lunch and a sweater....

I honestly have no excuse for not exercising even though I keep putting it off.. I guess that's going to be one of my resolutions for 2007. I know...I know...I should start before then.

don't think ...
... just do ... :-) ...

... the pain of starting *is* the sole issue for most.
... the joy of hitting the ***zone*** though ... once you get it ... will keep you coming back for more.

tips - start by walking a route - maybe measure time for that route - and try and improve your time.
... no sweating - no clothes ( ... :-) ... ) necessary - no expense ...

+ mp3 player {to help at the start}

... early early early am or late late late ...
... that way - the world out there ... is *yours* ...

I don't pay anything for exercise.
.. I don't have any special shoes, clothes of any sort [which I use these days] (for exercise) ...
... they do need the occasional wash though.

i have just got passed the three month barrier for the first time in my life... first started trying to get fit when i was 14, first succeded when i was 25, now at 30 is the first time i have stuck to an exercise program for more than 3 months... and it feels wonderful!!!
and i do believe what i seem to be reading in different places that 3 months is the point at which an new activity becomes more of a habbit.. I think it's true, i don't think about if i am going to the gym or not in the morning now.. i just go.
What helped me get into the routine, is not having to go to a job... not going out much in the evenings, and not having a partner..
so my advice if you want to get fit..
quit your job
divorce partner
become a hermit.
its worked for me!!

don't think ...
... just do ... :-) ...:)

It is when I get an impulse to get out that it works. They only come so often though. Maybe I could fool them into coming more often...?

I honestly have no excuse for not exercising even though I keep putting it off.. I guess that's going to be one of my resolutions for 2007. I know...I know...I should start before then.I know, Tara.

Exercising per se is not my main reason to want to get out, though I know it's supposedly good.

I kind of shunn the word, (why? maybe it sounds like something "perfect" people do) so maybe I ought to call it "moving" or "getting physical" instead....Yeah, sounds like more fun. ;)

Although even if my motives are first and foremost not to exercise I hope to gain the side effects I've heard you can get from exercising.

Doesn't make it easier to get started though...

I used to live about a mile from work and walk to work and back every day. very good cardio and calorie burner...could you find a way to run errands or walk somewhere regularly?? Not "exercise" in that gym kind of way but it would work.

A friend of mine started an early walking program with a neighbour and they would go and "walk the dog" every morning but they did it together.

Join a hiking/outdoors club..usually they just say meet us here and pack a lunch and a sweater....You know, I love walking. Walking the dog (not living with me) is something I would really want to do more, mainly for other reasons than getting exercise.

That I could not get myself to go out with him more (although I wanted and I tried) was one of my main reasons to pursue getting diagnosed.

When I was in town last time, had some errand to do , but I also took the oppurtunity to go for a walk (as I usually do when I'm there) really enjoying it and thinking to myself "Why don't I get out more?".

So once I'm outside I'm good. It's the preparations that "kills" it. Like not wanting to go outside cause I haven't showered (meaning feeling hot and uncomfortable), but being to tired to shower.

i have just got passed the three month barrier for the first time in my life... first started trying to get fit when i was 14, first succeded when i was 25, now at 30 is the first time i have stuck to an exercise program for more than 3 months... and it feels wonderful!!!
and i do believe what i seem to be reading in different places that 3 months is the point at which an new activity becomes more of a habbit.. I think it's true, i don't think about if i am going to the gym or not in the morning now.. i just go.
What helped me get into the routine, is not having to go to a job... not going out much in the evenings, and not having a partner..
so my advice if you want to get fit..
quit your job
divorce partner
become a hermit.
its worked for me!!Well I'm an online student and don't have a job to go to so that's fixed.

The other ones...Now I'm going to make an impulsive decision :eek: and say no without thinking them through from all possible sides and aspects.

So it might never work for me! :D

On a more serious note though:

How did you stick through with it during 3 months? I think that's a great accomplishment. :)

Thanks for your replies everyone! :)

I've gotten a few ideas:


Do things that do not include going outside. What comes first to mind is putting on music and dancing, but I might not want anyone to see me cause I'll feel too selfconscious so it'll probably be when my boyfriend isn't home (if I remember).


Try to find out how I can make it easier for the impulse to go outside to come and visit me.


Organize a way for me to get out. Could be asking my father if he wants me to look after the dog for a day every now and then, or if he wants to come over and we'll go out together.


Try to find something that I could try to make a habit of. The most natural would be to take the buss(es) to my parents every day and walk the dog. Or maybe that's rather what I'd want the most. But how do I do that? I have tried and failed so many times. My self confidence is very low.


Try to recognise when is the best time for me during the day (and night) to try to do these things.

or if he wants to come over and we'll go out together.But he'll probably have a lot to do...

I should bake a cake and invite him! :)

From what I understand from my reading and experience, it's less important what you do than actually making the time to do it. I gather that it takes about 12 weeks for most people to establish a habit and that's about what it took me to get into the groove.

I walked for a couple of weeks before I began any running at all. Post #402 on this page (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=108736#post108736) here is where I make my stand and a beginning that I tended to with care. It suggested that if at any point if I felt like I was tired at the end of the week or needed a break I was to simply repeat the week. I took that to heart with my sights on the long haul and dragged it out to 14 weeks or so.

I used this forum for support. I swiped an image of a calendar from yahoo and then used it to post my progress (http://www.addforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=670) to a thread others were using (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198&page=2&pp=15). (post #26 where it began for me) It seemed really juvenile to post the calendar check marks at the time, but it worked so my face is saved. :D It worked well to have some public accountable record of my commitment to the process and it helped tremendously to have others that had trod that path ahead of me as cheer leaders.

Eventually the habit of this workout got to be as close to self sustaining as it can be with me. I take great pains to avoid doing too much too early. I've been rewarded so far with two years of injury free progress with a little back sliding and a whole lot of positive benefits.

I wasn't interested in dumping a pile of cash into equipment or gym memberships either. I have done that too many times before, only to lose interest later. I hate that feeling of suction on my wallet! So I began by walking. From the very beginning, I took about four months of regular attendance to progress from walking twenty minutes to running for thirty minutes, three or four times a week.

Being outside in a rain or shine attitude was a great motivator. I got back in touch with a sense of play. When I was a kid it didn't matter what the weather was, play was play and outside was a good thing. It appears that the same is true now for me as an adult. I've come to appreciate the environment much more through this habit. I trained for "hills" on a tread mill for a while last winter and it was brutal! Not my cup of tea at all.

Sometimes even a reasonably fit person can get into an aerobic effort with a brisk walk. Your arms will contribute significantly to the effort if you feel the need to apply more work. I heard somewhere that the arm movement can contribute as much as 30% of the work load, but you really don't need to work "hard", you only need to work often. :D Thirty to forty minutes, three times a week is enough to show big gains. Forty minutes four times a week will send you beyond your expectations in six weeks. If the weather is cool, I can often work that hard for that duration and not even sweat very much now. It's really not the intensity that's important at all, it's the frequency and duration that will provide you with the pay off. By not working hard the "feel good" pay off is immediate, or should be if you are working at the correct intensity.

The brain is first to adapt. The muscles will adapt in 6-8 weeks and the semi hard tissues, like ligaments and tendons in 3-6 months or more. The bones are slowest and may take years to accommodate the changes in life style, so be patient, enjoy the euphoria of living large in the great out doors. The wind chill is pushing -30C today and yes, I'll be out there and enjoying it. heh The sunshine is blinding on the fresh snow.

In the beginning I wasn't "exercising" at all. I would wrestle with the kids, play hard with the dog or just find some outside chore to do that would require some effort. I ended up cutting up and splitting five cords of wood (http://static.flickr.com/118/309737160_4fbb89af5f_o.jpg) that fall. heh It was a gas and something I never thought possible previously. My self esteem was boosted and my whole demeanor was raised to new heights. It was only after my kids and wife got involved and stacked all that split wood that I had my plans cut short on using the wood for exercise. I had to find something to get me through the winter months and that's how I came to remember that I had once been a runner. A frequently injured one, but a runner none the less.
Your mileage may vary.
Mr. Wordy.

Over the summer I started walking on a regular basis. Eventually I was outside walking 30 minutes a day about 4 days a week. I actually started to enjoy it. but I slacked off when school started and when I lost my portable CD player. The music helped keep my brain entertained so that I didn't get bored with the mundane act of excercise. I really wantt og et back intot he habit againe specially since I"ve started to gain weight again.

I wake up in the morning . . . . .


That's it for me but then again I am hyper active ADD but guess what fidgeting burns calories. . . . yep it does.


So if you want a bit of a start all it takes is a little wiggle

Think I am kidding? (think I had this conversation in scientific area)

Fit Notes (http://www.fitnotes.net/cat_fitness_links.html)

Among the team’s findings:
-To control what research subjects eat while modifying their weight, you have to cook their every meal for months at a time as well as “have them pledge not to cheat.” This amounted to 20,000 meals.

-Fidgeting burns about 350 more calories a day than not fidgeting, “enough to produce a weight loss of 30 to 40 pounds in one year without trips to the gym.”

-Lean couch potatoes “innately” fidget more, always getting up to pace around. In contrast, the tendency to sit still also “seems to be biological…. It is the predisposition to be inactive that leads to obesity, and not the other way around.”
***End Quote

Naturally because I am hyper bouncy ADD every job I have must be wiggly friendly. If I can't move about, walk or lift heavy stuff I aint interested, because sitting down and shutting up aint my thing any way. So the idea of exercising for free is a totally forgien concept to me . . . I get paid for it!

My two cents worth any way.

OKay time to wiggle on ward. . . . hope this helps.