Hi, important question here. How does one learn to Like the Gym? Where does gym joy come from?
Hm okay.
First, it’s probably important to accept that you may never Love the gym – my boyfriend and I started going seriously at the same time and have done pretty much the same amount, and I love it and he bears it as a necessity.
Second, my case is slightly different because I was very sedentary for about seven years, but I was a nationally ranked athlete in high school and played rugby in college, so I’m reclaiming being in shape rather than trying to get there.
That aside, I think the two most important things are starting slow and being regular. The common problem I had with my failed attempts to get an exercise program going was that I always started with a lot, or something I didn’t realize was a lot: a seven mile bike ride, because I used to be able to do fifteen easily. And then the next day I’d be miserably sore, and the day after that too, and then I wouldn’t exercise because I was sore, so I was never building anything. But if you start with really just the basics, and do it on a set schedule, you can build and feel yourself getting stronger.
By that I mean both that you have to pick a schedule (2 or 3 times a week) and a set of exercises you do: I do a 20-minute warm-up and then four sets of an arm exercise, a leg exercise, and an ab exercise. Also stretching is very important; this one is fairly similar to the one I do, but really figure out what you need to stretch most. Having a buddy can be really helpful for making you go; I know even now that I do enjoy it, I need encouragement sometimes.
The joy for me really only started to appear two or three months in – after I got over the hump of not wanting to go and after I got enough stronger that it wasn’t just uncomfortable. Now there’s the pleasure of feeling, even if just for a couple of minutes, that my body is really doing something, working as intended, and also the knowledge that I’m getting stronger.
Also: lots of things can be exercise! if the gym is boring, and it definitely can be, there are amateur sports teams; there’s just long walks; there’s various martial arts; boating; etc; etc. Don’t force yourself to run because That’s Exercise.
