I Hate Exercise!

Published on March 23, 2004 By JillTeacher In Health & Medicine

Help! I know, now that I've hit 40, and the weight has become harder and harder to lose, but how the heck do you exercise when you work full-time, care for two toddlers, and can't afford a health club membership? When I get home at night, I usually have mucho schoolwork to do (a teacher's day is very long, contrary to popular belief), and then I want to do something fun. Is there anything that makes you sweat, ache or get out of breath that is actually fun?

Comments

JillUser

on Mar 23, 2004

I can think of one thing but it shouldn't be done in the presence of your toddlers

I have a hard time getting exercise in also. Do you have any neighbors that you can take a brisk walk with? I have a neighbor that walks really fast her average walk is 3-4miles at a time. My hubby watches the kids and we head out for a walk whenever we can. It goes by fast because we talk the whole time.

Do you like to dance? I find that cranking some music and dancing around with the kids can actually get the blood pumping. Anything is better than nothing the way I see it.

Best Wishes!

dharmagrl

on Mar 23, 2004

Pilates and/or Bikram yoga. Hatha yoga's good too.

Everyone thinks that yoga and Pilates aren't 'real' workouts...until the day after they do a session when they're sore. Jill's suggestion of walking is good too.

JillTeacher

on Mar 24, 2004

Thanks for the hints!

I do love to dance. I need to ship my husband and the kids off somewhere so that I can bop around the house a bit. I am going to sign up for "clogging" lessons with a couple of friends. That will get me moving once a week, anyhow.

I've done some Pilates and a little yoga, but never really committed to it. I don't know enough about the different types of yoga to know which would be better for me. I think I'll look through our community education catalog for some classes. PIlates are killers - I should do more of them because my core muscles are very weak.

Okay, now if I can just go do some of these things.................................................

dharmagrl

on Mar 24, 2004

Hatha is more of your 'power' yoga....Bikram you do in a room heated to 90+ degrees.....it's very simple, not too taxing or strenuous, but boy do you sweat!
I'd recommend Hatha. You can do it at home, most of the videos/DVD's sold for in-home use are Hatha based...and a lot of them use Pilates too. Sometimes it's helpful to have a teacher, but again, most of the tapes etc sold will give you good instructions as to where you should be feeling each pose and how your body should be aligned. There are also some really good books available.

JillUser

on Mar 24, 2004

Clogging sounds fun! I took line dance classes when I was pregnant with my second kiddo. It was fun and a lot of exercise. It wasn't just country music either. We did everything from classic country to current top hits. Finding something you enjoy is the trick for sticking with it. I do agree with Dharma that there are a lot of great yoga and Pilates videos out there but, like you I am sure, my kids are still young enough that if I am home trying to do something, they are all over me.

dharmagrl

on Mar 24, 2004

Yes, I had that problem to start out with. I tried to practice when they were in bed, and if that absolutely wasn't possible I ended up incorporating them into some of the stuff I was doing ('cow' with a toddler balancing on my back like were were playing horsey!). I still have that problem, come to think of it...

I think I'd like clogging too..!

Suspeckted

on Mar 24, 2004

BIKE! There's no better way to work yourself into more exercise....easy on the joints...good for the heart and soul. And you can use it to actually get you somewhere....combine it with hanging out with the kids.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!