This Corona pandemic made things a lot more complicated, for me at least, Iām kind of a lazy bloke who loves being at home and working remote means that there are days when I hardly leave the house - I just go to pick up groceries or order some take-out food.
Iāve been getting chubby a bit, itās kind of hard finding the motivation and time to do some kind of exercising. When I worked from the office I would walk back home (on average about 5 kilometres daily) and listen to testing podcasts while walking, it was quite enjoyable.
Apart from Corona, I became a parent and itās been pretty tough finding the time to exercise, also finding the need energy to preform any action that is not mandatory is also challenging!
The wife and I bought an elliptic training machine but now we mostly use it to hang clothes on itā¦
Lately Iāve been taking the kid in his stroller for walks in the neighbourhood, but Iād like to up my game a bit in terms of doing more meaningful workouts. Any parents here facing similar troubles? If you got advice on how to find the motivation, Iām all ears!
I have the luxury of staying skinny no matter what I eat. Since the lockdown Iāve enjoyed not going to social events and all the āmandatoryā events, Iām such an indoor person. Although I do hear my kneeās crack more often now when I get up. Saunaās do help though & hot baths.
So for motivation wise, the people from our street organize a ācross-fitā work-out, free to join by everyone. Not sure if you have a small community where you live but it might work, mostly due to the fact multiple people are involved and not just yourself. When others are involved you are becoming more obliged to be a bit more competitive. You could organize something similar, could be a walk or a jog, or shooting with bows & arrows in your garden
Speaking of competitive, a friend of mine has an app which registers everything-sporty that he does. His sporty-friends-group enters all their data and they make a game out of it ā gamification!
To be honest, you gotta find that one thing you absolutely really love to do and everything will flow automatically. Youāll have no issues starting or getting motivated, the only issue is finding out what it is
Running is my favorite hobby and my way to stay active and fit (plus itās a real help on the mental health side of things as well). Similar to you, I enjoy being outdoors, listening to music/podcasts, and this suits me the best. And honestly, as dumb as it might sound, if I leave my house to runā¦I have to get back, right? So itās a built in way for me to commit once Iām āout thereā and keep pushing on my way back. I used to find it so hard to get in a mental space to work out (at home) and I enjoy taking in the scenery, so pairing all of that togetherā¦running is my jam.
Saying that, I know it can be relatively time consuming but Iāve been able tailor my running schedule around my duties as a husband and a father. Usually during the week (and since I work from home), I try to get a 2 mile run in on my lunch a few days a week. This way, I donāt have to worry about coordinating with my wife on who will be home with the kids for most of my runs. Iām able to get some longer runs in on the weekend while sheās home with the kids and then Iām able to devote the rest of that weekend to hanging out as a family.
I bought a family bike rack for the car: Thule HangOn 4 | Thule | UK. This model holds 4 bikes and is fixed in less than 1 minute to the tow bar. I can drive to a local forest and get outdoors. Itās an inclusive hobby so I can also go with my wife and daughter if they are up for a bit of outdoor exercise.
I had a love hate relationship with sports all my life.
I was into running but never liked it so I quit. Then I started again. Etc.
I also did tennis for a couple years, it was quite nice.
But. It wasnāt until I discovered powerlifting that I truly came to love exercising. Because this time I truly enjoy it. So now motivation isnāt a thing anymore itās just a habit. Even when I donāt feel motivation to do a training I still do it because itās so ingrained in my system. I train 8 hours a week.
But I believe that at the base of this is the enjoyment of the sport.
So I guess the advice is: try to figure out what it is in sports that you might like.
I like strength/explosive sports more than cardio.
I like short bursts of energy more than longer time bursts of energy
I like immediate feedback loops. When I squat a set of 5 reps, thatās a nice short burst of effort that I can get feedback on and adjust my next set if needed.
I like my training to be systematic. I need a goal and I enjoy working towards that goal using a proven system. I see a lot of people in the gym wasting time by doing random shit. It wonāt make them stronger, would make me feel terrible.
Whatās the answer for you? Try some stuff out. Start with easy things that donāt require a lot of gear.
PS: added benefits of strength sports. More muscle requires more energy so you can eat more. I can eat 2500 kcal and not gain weight. Itās niiiice.
Thanks everyone, the eating more part sounds very appealing! I got some dumbbells lying around so I might hit that. Iām trying out some gamified todo app so Iāll my tasks for exercising: https://habitica.com
