How to get over your aversion to exercise and make it a habit

Have you been trying to make friends with exercise for years but somehow you’d still prefer to tackle the ironing pile than break a sweat? No, you’re not alone and yes, you can learn to love it.

‍By Sabrina Rogers-Anderson

Does your jaw drop whenever you see the recommended amount of weekly physical activity for Australian adults? Surely 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity like brisk walking or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous exercise such as jogging is a typo?! 

Some people (annoyingly) seem to love getting drenched in their own sweat and feeling like their heart is going to leap out of their chest. Others, not so much. Watching TV, catching up for coffee with a mate or even doing housework seem like much more interesting activities!

If you’ve been trying to make exercise a habit without success for years, you may simply need to make a few adjustments to finally make it stick.

Instead of jumping on the latest fitness bandwagon and giving up a few weeks later because you’re hating every minute of it, try to take a slow and considered approach to your fitness journey.

Here are some great tips to help you become a dumbbell-hugging, green smoothie-gulping fitness junkie (or at the very least someone who doesn’t get puffed walking to the letterbox).

1. Try different workouts

Hate jogging? Good news – you don’t have to do it!

“Keep trying different workouts until you find something you enjoy because you’ll be more likely to stick to it,” says Chris Wilson, founder of Chris Wilson Fitness Studio in Perth. “It doesn’t have to be the gym – it can be hiking, tai chi or walking.”

With strength training having an incredible host of benefits as we age – it improves bone, joint, brain, heart, metabolic and mental health – Chris suggests incorporating 1 or 2 days of resistance training into your weekly routine.

“Whether you invest in some dumbbells at home or you go to a class that’s strength-specific, you’ll reap the benefits,” he says. “Once you hit 50, it’s more important than ever to look after your muscle mass and bone density.”

Think you’ve tried everything? How about:

• Pickleball
• Tai Chi
• Nordic walking
• Aqua cycling
• Bocce
• Ultimate frisbee
• Qigong
• Dodgeball
• Archery
• Orienteering

2. Enlist a training buddy

Finding a friend to train with can help keep you accountable. When your alarm goes off for your morning walk, you’ll be less likely to hit snooze if you know your mate will be waiting for you on the street corner. 

“We have groups of women who come to us and book in with 1 personal trainer, so there may be 2, 3 or 5 women for one PT,” says Chris.

“They often commit to a 10-week block of sessions and pay for it upfront, which makes them more likely to stick to it because they don’t want to let their friends down or waste their money. They form their own little supportive community and hold each other accountable.”

3. Start slow

Have you ever started a training program on Monday and quit by Thursday because you were too sore to roll out of bed? You probably went too hard too fast.

“Start with a 10-minute session and slowly build up to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, all the way up to an ideal range of 45 minutes,” says Chris. “You can adjust depending on how your body feels and either go a little bit longer or a little bit lighter. Enjoyment comes once you're not super sore after every workout.”

4. Make it part of your daily routine

“Creating new habits and routines is all about picking a time to exercise that suits you and sticking to it until it becomes second nature,” says Chris.

“I try to work out with people whether they’re a morning person or an evening person and help them create a routine that works to their strengths. Having a training buddy who commits to those same times or an app that keeps you accountable if you’re not hitting your targets can also help strengthen the habit.”

5. Set intrinsic fitness goals 

Extrinsic goals focus on obtaining approval from others or rewards such as social status or financial gain. Intrinsic goals come from within and focus on self-improvement. A large body of research shows that intrinsic motivation leads to better performance, learning and psychological wellbeing.

“Instead of focusing on losing weight or changing your body shape, set intrinsic-style goals like ‘I want to feel more energised’, ‘I want to sleep better’ or ‘I want to feel less stressed’,” says Chris. “We've had a lot more people come to us recently seeking mental health benefits from exercise and wanting to keep their brains healthy, active and young.”

6. Harness the power of friendly competition

Wait, didn’t we just say that internal goals that don’t have to do with impressing others or obtaining rewards are superior?! While that is true, a little friendly competition can also push you to achieve your goals.

“Training regularly with the same person or group can give you that extra push because you want to do as well or a bit better than them,” says Chris.

Many gyms and fitness studios run regular challenges that allow you to set goals and vie for prizes against other members. If you’re the competitive type, a challenge could be just what you need to develop a regular fitness habit.

7. Reward yourself

If you automatically think of rewards as food-based, it’s time to change that narrative. Set a fitness goal – such as completing a fun run or doing 50 squats a day for a month – and think of a healthy and motivating way to reward yourself at the end.

“It might be a movie date with friends or a new pair of workout shorts,” says Chris. Other non-food related rewards include:

• Watch a favourite TV show
• Pick out a new plant at the nursery
• Transfer some money to a savings account
• Get a new shirt or other clothing item
• Take time to call an old friend
• Listen to a podcast you love
• Go to the movies
• Buy yourself some flowers
• Treat yourself to a new cookbook

8. Notice the benefits in your everyday life

“Many of my clients who are over 50 start to notice that their day-to-day activities become easier,” says Chris. “They might be able to pick up their grandkids, lift heavy boxes or do housework without pain, which motivates them to stick to it.”

9. Try exercise ‘snacking’

Exercise ‘snacks’ are short periods of intentional movement that break up sedentary time, anywhere from just 20 seconds up to 2 minutes of activity. 

While these snacks are meant to be in addition to a regular exercise program, they might just be the ticket to making movement a daily habit. For example, if you took a 2 minute exercise snack every hour, you’d accumulate around 20 minutes of extra movement each day.

Some examples of exercise snacks you might like to try:

• Performing bodyweight exercises like pushups, squats, lunges or planks
• Doing bicep curls or triceps exercises with a set of dumbbells
• Walking briskly around the house
• Jogging on the spot
• Dancing to an upbeat piece of music
• Running up and down stairs
• Jumping with a rope
• Shadow-boxing
• Doing some stretches

Make friends with movement

Instead of seeing exercise as the most-loathed task on your to-do list, aim to add small chunks of movement to your day. Slowly build up until it doesn't feel so challenging anymore and has become part of your daily routine. Green smoothie optional.

‍Feature image: iStock/andreswd

‍Read this next:

• Why Nordic walking is a workout worth weighing up
• Stay steady: 5 crucial elements of balance and how to test yours
• Start a micro-habit to nudge your way to better health

The information on this page is general information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. Any information you find on this page or on external sites which are linked to on this page should be verified with your professional health care provider.