You know exercise is good for you, and you want to start exercising, but getting started feels overwhelming. It can feel like an uphill battle. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many people struggle, and the reasons vary.
Yet countless others have broken through their barriers and are now exercising regularly and having fun. So, how do they do it? Unfortunately, the answer is different for everyone. However, there are common reasons why starting to exercise is challenging, some of which are hardwired in your brain. Let’s look at some of these reasons more closely and how you can overcome them.
Low Energy And Low Motivation
You may have a busy life and feel you don’t have time to exercise, so starting may seem difficult. On top of the daily stresses of your routine and lack of sleep, exercise is the last thing on your mind, and the couch is way more appealing than the treadmill.
There is a reason why you gravitate to avoiding activity. Your brain is hardwired to nudge us towards doing as little as possible. That’s because, before modern society, it could be days between meals. So, your brain is trying to protect you by conserving energy. However, it didn’t get the memo that food is plentiful and you won’t go days without eating. As a result, it’s easy to consume more calories than you burn.
One of the benefits of exercise is that it helps increase your energy. In fact, light activities, like yoga or walking for five minutes, can help. So, start exercising for a few minutes and see how you feel. You may find it’s easier to do more after you get started. If not, it’s okay to stop knowing you did some exercise for the day.
You can also improve your mood and energy by prioritizing sleep. This can be challenging since it may feel like you don’t have time to unwind until the evening. Unfortunately, this can overlap with the time when you should be sleeping. However, regularly exercising can help regulate your sleeping patterns and improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.
Changing Your Habits And Daily Routine
Your brain loves routines and little rituals that you do throughout the day. If exercise isn’t a part of your day yet, it will resist the change. This makes starting an exercise routine challenging. Changing your behavior and sticking to a new habit takes time and effort.
That’s why starting small can help reprogram those hard-to-break habits. Just 5 to 10 minutes of exercise can help you incorporate exercise into your day without drastically changing your daily routine. Planning can help if you make it easy, such as setting out your workout clothes the night before and putting them in a place where you see them. As a result, you make it easy for you to start exercising. It also serves as a reminder to exercise.
Habit stacking can help you start a new habit by pairing it with an existing one, making it easier to integrate into your routine. Since you already have established habits, adding a new behavior right before, during, or after them will increase your chances of adopting a new behavior. Instead of trying to create a new habit from scratch, you “stack” it onto something you already do. For example, after you brush your teeth, do five push-ups.
This can be an effective way to adopt new habits. Your brain is already doing the habit, so adding a small task makes it feel more natural. It helps reduce decision fatigue since you won’t have to think about when or how to do the new habit. This helps build consistency with minimal effort.
The Lack Of Immediate Reward
Your brain is wired for instant gratification. It gravitates towards activities that give you feel-good endorphins now. Unfortunately, the benefits of exercise, such as better health, weight loss, greater strength, and endurance, take time to show up. So, what does your brain tell you to do? Skip it because you’ll have some free time, and you won’t feel any discomfort.
But you can overcome this challenge and shift your mindset towards exercise as rewarding. Instead of looking at your health as a long-term goal, focus on the immediate perks of exercising, such as relieving stress, improving mood, and boosting your energy.
Celebrate the small wins, such as walking an extra five minutes, running another mile, or lifting heavier weights. You can even pair exercise with a reward like a relaxing bath. However, avoid pairing a reward with food when you exercise. That can make it harder for you to achieve any weight goals.
Psychological Barriers
Fear of failure, perfectionism, and intimidation can keep you from starting an exercise routine. If you have doubts, such as worrying about doing it right or feeling out of place at the gym, you may avoid exercise to avoid those feelings.
Don’t let that get in the way of improving your health and achieving your goals. Forget perfectionism, just start. Even if it’s just a short, low-intensity workout, it’s better than nothing. If you exercise most days of the week, your body will adapt, and you’ll start exercising longer, improving your technique and overall health.
Don’t set the bar too high when you’re starting out. Start small, like going for a five-minute walk, doing five push-ups, or doing an activity that only takes a few minutes. All of it counts, and you can build on it.
Physical Discomfort
Exercise can feel uncomfortable if you’re starting for the first time or restarting your fitness journey. It makes you feel out of breath, sore, or weak, which can be discouraging. It doesn’t help that you want fast results, and your goals feel far away.
You can overcome this thinking. It’s normal to struggle at first. However, your body will adapt in time, and your workouts will begin to feel easier. It’s vital to find activities you enjoy. That will help you look forward to exercise. If you don’t like to run, then don’t. Try different activities. When you enjoy what you’re doing, you’re more likely to do it, making it easier to adopt your new exercise habit.
Soreness for one to two days after exercise is normal, but pain is not. Always start slow and build up gradually. Listen to your body. If you need to take a day off to recover, do so. One day off will not erase all your hard work.
How To Make Exercising Easier
Understanding the challenges that can get in the way of exercising can be helpful, but it may not be enough to motivate you to exercise. Let’s look at some tips to make exercising regularly easier.
Exercise Should Be Fun
Exercise should never feel like a chore. It should be something you look forward to every day. Never force yourself to exercise, especially if you don’t like what you’re doing. Instead, try different activities and find something fun to do.
Don’t limit yourself to trying cycling, running, strength training, walking, or yoga. Experiment with other exercises like aerobics, dancing, hiking, swimming, or something else. Enjoying exercise will make it easier to be consistent, and when you’re consistent, it will become a habit shortly after.
Exercising Should Be Convenient
The easier you make it to exercise, the more likely you’ll do it. You’re less likely to exercise if it requires too many steps or you have to go somewhere. For example, exercising at home whenever you want is more convenient than driving to a gym, and hopefully, the gym is open. Make sure you keep your workout clothes and gear accessible so you can grab them quickly when you’re ready to exercise.
Not only should where you exercise be convenient, but also when. Whether you enjoy exercising in the morning, lunchtime, or evening will depend on your schedule and what feels right for you. Some people prefer to exercise in the morning, while others thrive in the evening. You may have to experiment and exercise at different times to find what works best for you. Finding your ideal time to workout will make it easier to start exercising regularly.
Exercising Can Be Easier When Done With Friends
You may prefer to exercise alone. However, when you start exercising, working out with others can make it more fun and keep you accountable. You can keep each other motivated to work out when you may not feel like it. Time may feel like it’s going by quicker because you’re enjoying the time with your friends.
If you’re new to the area or your friends are not interested in exercising, join a club or class where you’ll be surrounded by motivated people who want to exercise and have fun. That energy can be contagious and help you stick to your routine more easily.
Set Small Goals
It’s great to have big goals, but focusing on that goal may be discouraging if progress isn’t happening fast enough. Instead, break up your aspirational goals into smaller, more manageable goals. For example, if you’ve never run before, the goal of running a marathon in 3 months isn’t reasonable. Instead, it’s more reasonable to complete a 5K first. Next, set a new goal for a 10K. Once that’s achieved, plan to run a half marathon. Then, set a goal for a marathon. Each of those goals has its own plan and reasonable timetables. As a result, you have smaller achievable goals that build toward your big aspirational goal.
Music And Media
Dopamine is released whenever you experience something enjoyable or rewarding, such as eating your favorite food or accomplishing a goal. Listening to music you enjoy triggers the release of dopamine and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower stress and anxiety.
Lyrics, beats, and melodies can stir up powerful emotions. Music can energize and inspire you to get moving, even when you don’t feel like it. Music also releases endorphins, which can be a natural painkiller and reduce discomfort while exercising.
If music isn’t your thing, you could listen to audiobooks or podcasts. Alternatively, you could stream movies or your favorite shows. Why not save those evening streaming sessions for when you exercise? It may motivate you to exercise to see what happens next.
Listening or watching something can distract your brain by engaging your senses and competing for attention. As a result, your perceived effort (RPE) makes your more challenging workouts feel easier and more enjoyable.
Track Your Progress
If you don’t track yourself, you may gauge your progress based on your last result. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, you may become frustrated if your weight is the same or slightly different than before. You probably can’t remember what your weight was beyond that, so you judge your progress based on what the scale says.
Tracking your progress can help with this problem. It gives you a birdseye view of all your efforts. Not only will you see your progress, but you may also see early indicators of trouble, which allow you to adjust before it becomes a problem. As a result, you keep moving in the right direction. You may even reach your goals faster and learn what works and doesn’t work for you. It may seem like an additional step, but it’s worth it. In fact, using a fitness app, fitness tracker, or both can make tracking yourself easy and automatic.
Be Kind To Yourself
Any fitness journey will have its ups and downs. It won’t always be easy, but that’s normal. Try not to be critical of yourself. When times get tough, focus on your why and aim for consistency rather than perfection.
If you don’t feel like doing your regular workout, do a rest day workout instead. When you feel run down, injured, or ill, take time off to rest and recover. A day off or two of complete rest will not erase all your hard work, but an injury could force you to stop exercising until you recover. Always listen to your body instead of pushing yourself to exercise when your body needs to rest.
The Takeaway
The hardest part of exercising is starting. Once you build momentum, it gets easier. Focus on small, sustainable changes. Your body will adapt, and you will improve your flexibility, endurance, and strength. If you keep at it and stay consistent, fitness will feel like a natural part of your daily routine. So, what is one small step you can take to start exercising today?
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Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
