I can imagine people having fun getting lost in the flow of playing a competitive sport. I’ve also heard some people experience a post-workout high. But does anyone actually feel pleasure in the moment while lifting weights, jogging, cycling, etc?

If so… what does it feel like? Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?

  • I don’t enjoy motivating myself to go workout. Everything up until the point of the actual workout isn’t enjoyable. But the workout and post-workout I do enjoy. There is a high associated with it. And that feeling of accomplishment, and visible progress is extremely enjoyable.

    The only advice I can give is to give it adequate time. It’s easy to get discouraged. Just keep this in mind: You spent a lot of time doing damage to your body, you’re going to need to put in some effort to reverse that damage. Give it some time before getting discouraged.

  • I make workout my me time: my music, my time, my body.

    Viewing working out as something that is good for me instead of a chore also does help. Concentrating on my body, really feeling the muscles contact is kind of a meditation to me.

  • I love lifting weight. I squat three to four times a week and I love going heavy. I also love bench and deadlifts also. Seeing my body get stronger is also rewarding, and just being physically capable is a great bonus. Helps counter act my sitting!

  •  Uno   ( @Uno@monyet.cc ) 
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    21 year ago

    Cardio is awesome, the runners high is real, but you have to be well conditioned so it’s tough for beginners.

    Sometimes, I also like to do workouts because it makes me feel productive while not being as mentally taxing as my ‘job’ of being a full time college student :/

  • It’s a few things. It’s the positive feedback loop of seeing and feeling yourself get bigger and stronger. It’s the rush of good chemicals/hormones/whatever the body releases. It’s the feeling/thought that there is nothing you could be doing that could be more beneficial for your health, and knowing the knock-on effects that has for you long term. Its the pump.

  • I’m not a massive fan of cario at the gym the staying in one place and doing all that work, but cario outside like a good hike, bike ride love it especially when there isa goal to see something.

    I prefer and love lifting weights something about the feeling of picking up 100kgs and putting it down again feels so good, especially when i have a good playlist.

    I have found it get more socal as well and scratches that itch in my hermit brain as you talk to other people who are also there and get to motivate and enjoy when they hit pbs.

  •  Addfwyn   ( @Addfwyn@lemmy.ml ) 
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    21 year ago

    I feel like if you feel like you need to cultivate a mindset for a particular activity, you are probably better off finding another activity. Unless you have extremely specific goals that really demand a particular exercise, it is better to simply be moderately active doing something you enjoy doing.

    I’ve tried running/jogging, I am actually not bad at it. I freaking hate actually doing it though, I would rather be doing almost anything else. Which makes it a terrible exercise for me to do, because I will find any excuse to not do it. Same for lifting weights. I enjoy swimming but dislike public pools, in my current country nobody has private pools, even the rich.

    For me I have always enjoyed martial arts, particularly sparring. I can’t necessarily find people to do that with regularly where I live now, but I can still practice forms and the like by myself. I get a not insignificant workout from regular Beat Saber sessions too, honestly.

  • I’ve tried for years to go to the gym regularly. I despise going to the gym. Putting on workout clothes, mindlessly trudging on a treadmill or whatnot before slogging through a bunch of machines then shower and going home. I loathe the idea of sacrificing 1+ hour of my precious free time just to feel miserable and accomplishing fuck all… Everyone claiming “just stick with it and you’ll start to enjoy it” lies. There’s no other way to say this. Lies. If you love it, good for you, but it definitely isn’t a universal thing.

    Walks around town I do kinda enjoy but not enough to make me want to do it. But point me someplace new or nice to hike and I’m off to the races. I love being out in nature, taking in the sights and I don’t care whatsoever if I need to work for it.

    The last few weeks I’ve also started to go swimming with my girlfriend. I’ve not been a fan of swimming as a child and basically never did it anymore since then. So I’m pathetic at it but to my huge surprise I do quite like it.

    So my recommendation to you is: try loads of different things. Chances are you’ll like doing certain things way more than others. Ideally you’ll find something you love. Or at least you should be able to find something you don’t hate.

  •  upt   ( @upt@lemmy.ml ) 
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    11 year ago

    I hate cardio, so that’s what I do. Weird thing, but I figured if I hate something it’s the thing I need to work on. Besides, it seems like cardio is the thing that helps you lose weight the fastest.

  •  SeaJ   ( @SeaJ@lemm.ee ) 
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    11 year ago

    I have recently started to enjoy taking bike rides. I used to do it before with friends and didn’t mind it but it was not super enjoyable. It likely had to do work the fact that they would always do 40 mile bike rides that had a decent amount of hills. None of us have time for bike rides that long anymore. But a nice 10 mile bike ride is a nice but of time to just clear my head and enjoy looking one way and seeing the Cascades and looking the other way and seeing the Sound and the Olympics.

    I have heard of runner’s high and read a good explanation for it that I don’t remember. Regardless, I don’t get runner’s high and honestly hate running. Even with a podcast in, I can’t get myself to like it. It might be a bit better if I did it more often but that is a big hump to get past.

  •  DarnHyena   ( @DarnHyena@l.cackl.io ) 
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    1 year ago

    I’ve always found myself having trouble getting to work out if I didn’t have some sort of tangible goal to achieve in the process. Like with walking, I need a destination to reach, like maybe going to pick up lunch or groceries. Same for other forms of body work outs, I’ve found vr games can be handy for giving me something to get lost in while still working out, like this one squatting game called hotsquats, or some of those rhythm games

    Just doing a treadmill while staring at a tv doesn’t keep my brain as engaged.