Why do some people hate to exercise? Probably because they think it’s not fun and not easy.
If it were fun and easy, more than 15 per cent of us would be working out regularly.
Even Edmonton YMCA trainer Carla Serna struggles some days.
"I’m no different than anybody else," she says with a laugh. "I am normal, unfortunately."
Most people take the path of least resistance, the easy or lazy route, Serna says. They come home from work and sit on the couch because it’s easy to do.
But there’s a price to pay for being a couch potato. You gain weight, your muscles become de-conditioned, and you increase your risk for heart issues and joint problems.
Ideally, finding an activity that is fun and that you like to do, is the best course of action because you are more likely to keep doing it, Serna says.
She suggests finding an activity you might like by thinking about things you like to do. For example, if you enjoy bike riding, ride a bike.
If you can’t think of any activity, think back to your childhood and what you used to like to do.
Or get creative with your workout.
"The other day with my workout with Juli (Juli Isaac, The Journal & YMCA Health Club Challenge finalist), I took her into the squash court," Serna says. "It’s huge for cardio, it’s out of the ordinary, but, oh my gosh, we were having fun, we were laughing and fooling around, but she was still getting a workout."
Challenge finalist Sue Salsbury says to "try lots and lots of things and pick the activity that fits, and something will fit." That’s how she wound up taking aquafit classes.
"I love the water, and even though aquafit is exercising, I just found it was something I could stick to," Salsbury explains. "I enjoyed that I could put in as much intensity as I wanted to or relax a bit if I didn’t want to work that hard."
And working out in water is easy on the joints.
Isaac used to avoid the gym because she thought it was a place only for fit people. She now knows that’s not the case and is totally comfortable working out, but with a seven-month-old son, it’s not always going to be possible for her to get to the gym.
"I’m already trying to envision how I will keep up with all this (exercise) after the Challenge because I won’t always have people to watch Sam all the time," Isaac says. "He’s got to become a part of my routine, so going for a walk and getting out together is going to have to be a part of going forward with this."
She and husband Stuart already do a lot of walking as a family, taking advantage of the scenic river valley near their home.
And Isaac tries to get out weekly with a moms and tots walking group.
"Our main reason for getting together is to get out of the house, and we agreed to do something active, not just meet for coffee all the time," she explains.
She enjoys fitness classes, which make her work harder than if she was working out alone, and they’re more fun than "slogging away on a treadmill."
“But working out is not always going to be fun. There won’t always be a class that will work for me timewise, and I’ll have to do (exercise), whether it’s fun or not," Isaac says, because she wants to keep up with Sam.
Isaac is often asked where she finds time to exercise when she has a baby. She says she makes time because exercise has become important to her. "I’m making it a priority to be active."
It’s really not hard to find time to exercise when you see it as something that has to be done, she says.
"Since Sam was born, I can’t believe I squandered all the time I had before he was born," Isaac says with a laugh.
Lack of time was finalist Gerry Haracsi’s excuse "forever" for not being able to exercise. But like Isaac, he also wants to be fit enough to keep up with a new baby that wife Sandra is expecting in April.
"Now I find the time to exercise six days a week, whether it’s 20 minutes riding a stationary bike or an hour and a half of resistance training in the gym."
He used to sit at home and watch hockey games or spend $50 on beer and chicken wings watching games with friends at a bar.
"Now I go to the gym and watch the Oilers play hockey because every piece of (cardio) equipment in the gym has a TV on it," Haracsi says.
He enjoys walking or going out for a run. He loves boot camp classes at the Y, and recently tried a yoga class for his flexibility. He’s trying to get into the habit of going to yoga once or twice a week.
If after trying many activities you still haven’t found one you like, you may have to just get off the couch and do something, anything, that might spark enjoyment, says Serna, who trains Isaac.
In other words, reason your way to becoming active. It’s all in the mind anyways, Serna says.
"If you are mentally not into exercising and say, ’I hate this, I hate this,’ your body is not going to respond and you’re not going to lose weight" or tone up, she explains.
"You’ve got to say, ’I enjoy this, I need this, my body needs it, and want it.’ That’s how you’re going to achieve your goals."
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