Can anyone suggest exercises for someone who detests doing something that doesn't achieve much?

Question

I get so bored and discouraged doing exercise that doesn't show any result but sweaty clothes and aching muscles. I don't mind breaking a sweat if I can actually see a result, but find it very hard to get motivated otherwise.

I used to do jobs for my parents, like mowing the lawn, cleaning out the rain gutters, etc.

But now I live in a gardenless flat and the only tolerable form of exercise I can find is going for long brisk walks reading a book as I go. (I haven't bumped into anything for over twelve years.)

I have Asperger's Syndrome, one side effect is that I have poor co-ordination and motor skills and was only diagnosed later in my life. I was clumsy throughout school and no good at sports as a result of that I was teased for being useless and not trying when doing my best. The PE teacher had to drag me out of hiding because of how much I hated PE, all I wanted to do was do the schoolwork.

Answer 1

Phew, sounds like a nightmare during PE lessons, my sympathies. As a schoolteacher myself there are always some children you do need to coax into activity - just to keep them active and to help with physical coordination. Now Seeing as i teach 9 year olds and i don't go in for competitive games - throwing, catching, dance, gymastics (balance, springs and the like), running etc. I don't have much problems involving the children, if i was to make a guess it was particularly the competitive stuff that you didn't like. I taught a child who had Aspergers last year and as long as it wasn't competitive team games he liked it all right.....

Which was a roundabout way to getting to my point. If you don't want to do something pointless - maybe a sport like rock climbing might appeal to you. The child i taught came with me on a after school activity to a climbing gym and he caught the bug. He particularly liked the mental challenge of it and as he persevered his coordination improved. they're slow, deliberate movements after he got over some of his anxieties and reached to top of the wall he went from strength to strength. An indoor wall is a very safe environment to do this.

Now, maybe that's not for you - its not for many (i'm just a convert).... Perhaps if you want to do something really useful the green gym is for you. They are all over the UK definitely, and I'd imagine in the US. You get to exercise while helping the local environment. Good on all levels!

Reading some of the other posts here we're all going at it from differenet ways, a question i'd like to ask is whethere you want to lose weight or not. If Not, perhaps you just want to find some activity to do. There are many other benefits from exercise than keeping the weight down - its relaxing, releases endorphins and clears out the cobwebs. That's my logic for doing it - If its a weight issue then diet becomes a factor as well (and by diet i don't mean dieting but healthy sustainable eating)

Good luck anyhows....

Answer 2

The first thing you need to think about (and indeed tell us to be able to answer) is why you want to exercise. Do you want to lose weight, maintain a level of fitness or improve on your current form in a certain discipline. Im guessing from what you've said its one of the first two.

If you want to lose weight, finding something you enjoy doing is the most important thing. I was fat all my life until about a year ago I got fed up and decided enough was enough. I tried a few things and, like you, got bored and discouraged until I started running regularly and found I enjoyed it. I have since lost four stone and am still going until I reach my ideal weight.

Try swimming (best form of exercise, least impact and works the most muscles at once), taking up an unusual sport, go to different fitness classes or martial arts classes, just do loads of different stuff until you find something you like and stick with it. And another really important thing to remember is - do this for you, no one else, and dont care what other people think. I appreaciate you were teased but you can only be teased if you allow people to do it to you. Do what the hell you like and if you are clumsy or not very good at it, who cares?? You enjoy it and thats whats important. Screw what everyone else thinks. I used to get people laughing at my lardy butt pacing round the block but I didn't care because they weren't important, losing weight and being healthy was.

If you dont want to do anything that requires other people, buy some exercise equipment and use it at home. I personally use my exercise bike for an hour a day after work (cant run that often now as its injuring my knees). I stick a DVD on and pedal away. The DVD is a complete distraction.

Another thing you need to remember about losing weight is something I was told and helped me remain focussed: You didn't get fat in a day so dont expect to lose wait in a day.

I appreciate how annoying it is to work your *** off exercising every day, eating healthy food and wanting to binge every minute and still seeing no results but when you first start training, you wont lose any wait for a few weeks. You may even gain wait as you are building muscle. Stick with it.

A healthy rate at which to lose wait is 1 - 3 pound a week. That in relation to your overall body weight is nothing and it may take you a long time to get to your ideal weight (depending on how overweight you are) but it is a lot healthier than crash dieting and losing a lot of weight very quickly. As soon as you stop, you will put it all back on again.

You need a combination of a healthy diet (NOT going on a diet) and exercise. Usually just one of the two wont suffice.

Drink a lot of water. It fills you up and helps burn calories (ice cold water is even better).

Allow yourself one treat a week. Stops you feeling like you're punishing yourself.

Answer 3

Yes I think rock climbing is a great idea, and uses all the muscles. I also hate exercise for the same reasons as you, p.e. lessons but also I am quite lazy and like reading instead. But I do like yoga, you do as much or as little as you want, and at your own pace. Do it at home or join a class, maube get a dvd, that's what I do. You can tell it's helping very quickly because the more you do it, the more flexible you are each time, which shows the progress, it's great for the body and also great for relaxing the mind.

Answer 4

The best exercises I've found are mental ones. We've had similar pasts. Apparently you prefer mental over physical as well. Just keep doing what you're doing. If you are having trouble with your weight, then exercise your mind on the following...

Losing weight really is as simple as basic addition and subtraction. If the calories you eat add up to more than what you burn in a given time period, you will gain weight. Conversely, if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Depending on your size and activity level, the number of calories will vary quite a bit. The secret is finding your “break even” calorie intake level. For most people, the “ball park” figure will be around 1800 to 2000 calories per day. If you are larger than average, this number will be higher, lower if you are smaller than average. Metabolic rate can have an effect on these numbers as well. Exercise plays an important role also, as this can increase the number of calories you burn by quite a bit as well as increasing your metabolic rate.

If you want a generally healthy diet that’s easy to follow and avoids hunger, the one I recommend will do the job very well. You can fill up and still lose weight. Eat lots of fresh vegetables as they contain very few calories yet are full of good nutrition. The less you cook them, the more nutrition they retain. Stick with whole grains, as they tend to be better for you and don’t turn to sugar as readily as processed grains do. For example, whole grain bread is much better for you than plain white bread. Eat a variety of fruit on a daily basis. Avoid empty carbs, fats, and sugars…. Examples: junk food and soda. If you feel you need protein to build muscle, add some chicken or fish to your diet. Avoid beef and dairy products, the cons outweigh the pros.

If you can’t get your mind into the ‘eat to live; don’t live to eat’ mode, you should probably read this short article on the psychology behind overeating:
http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/weightloss.html

Healthy links:
Calorie calculator:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm
BMI calculator:
http://chetday.com/bodymassindex.htm
Protein, fats, and carbs info:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/changingshape5.htm
General health info:
http://www.burnthefat.com/
http://www.drmcdougall.com
http://www.chetday.com
http://www.phifoundation.org
Sugar info:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/sept/sugar.htm

Answer 5

I feel the sameway, yes walkings good, but sometimes if you bore easy it can feel like a chore to walk, especially if your not walking with a destination, or reason in mind! Honestly what i would do, is crank up the stereo or walkman or what ever, and boot it around the house, no one can see ya, just goto town, jump around, wiggle it to the music, it burns ALOT of calories. My personal fav is putting on "PUMP IT" and dancing to it, you burn 2 times more calories wiggling and dancing around like a weirdo then walking :) plus its more fun!!

Answer 6

try swimming or running with a goal! set yourself targets and then meet them ! if this still does not give you enough of a physical outcome try asking neighbors or friends if they have jobs you can do cleaning windows or get a paper round it has a purpose and you can earn some ash at the same time.

Answer 7

I have aspergers and i am amazed that i don't really do exersize yet i'm not fat or overweight and i eat the worst diet ever, lol. really leave exersize for nw unless u r consious about your weight and u r obese

Answer 8

I would put on my walkman and walk. Walking does help and there are results (if you stick to it!)
Good luck

Answer 9

Walk, walk, walk!