[Gemme]

Originally Posted by ahk

I __________ exercising. Well actually I dislike walking on a treadmill. I will climb stairs, I will spin on a bike, I will pretend I am cross country skiing, but I won't walk on a treadmill. I just don't like doing it.

It takes a lot of umph and talking me into going to the gym. We are starting to go back today. My wife and I fell off the wagon about 4 months ago when we found out our pup was sick and basically it caused us to be homebound all the damn time. So now, we are making our way back to the gym. I'm not thrilled about going. I get so bored.

Any suggestions to help the bored feeling to go away?

And, what do you do for pre-workout (drink/food) and post-workout (drink/food)?

And, how long do you spend working out? 30 min of cardio, 15 min of stretching, 15 min of weights??? examples.

Thank you for everyone posting and for starting the thread--- moo chews grassy ass.

I procrastinate exercising. Once I'm there, I'm good though.

Okay, so this is my layperson style.

It's never good to go to the gym on an empty stomach. That's why gyms keeps sweets or some kind of candy nearby, for those whose sugar takes a nosedive. It's never good to go to the gym on a full stomach either. You can cause cramps, nausea, gas and make yourself just feel weighted down and miserable.

My solution is to eat a good sized banana smeared with peanut butter about half an hour to 45 minutes before I start my warm up. It's not too much and the peanut butter has staying power once the carbs from the banana wear off.

Water. Water. Water. I'm not a fan of plain water but it's all I drink when working out. It's feels more refreshing and 'clean' to me. Keeps my engine running well.

Post workout, I eat. I eat sooooo good and I eat whatever I want within reason. By the time I get home, I'm famished but I don't want to undo all the good I just did, so it's usually a good, solid protein to help my muscles rebuild and some quality carbs, like fresh veggies either in a salad or steamed and I limit the junk. Your body burns more calories right after you work out, so that's the time to get a meal in. Some says it's 60 minutes after your finish your work out and some say more. I try to eat within the hour of stopping my workout.

As for warming up, there's been so much hype, both pro and con, that's it's really up to you and what works best for you. I do know it's easier to injure yourself stretching cold muscles, so I typically will walk on the treadmill (I know, you hate that but it's what *I* do regardless of what the rest of my workout consists of) for a few minutes, with a gradual increase in speed and elevation. I usually give myself about 5 minutes for a moderate workout and about 8-10 for a difficult workout. I want to be as warm and pliable as possible when I go into my workouts since I tend to overdo it. When my workout is finished is when I typically stretch. That's a good way to calm my system down and get back into 'not workout' mode.

I can be a little aggressive when working out and I'm definitely competitive with myself. Once I reach a goal, I want to go farther or faster or longer. That can be a good, healthy mentality but it tends to backfire on me when I'm restarting a new program, so I'm trying to be very aware of that this time. The last time, I hurt myself and then I couldn't workout at all for a couple of weeks. In that time, I lost my drive and motivation and then I just didn't work out at all. So, it's best for me to take longer and build up to what I know is my best before trying to conquer it.

For me, I need to be consistent. Working out around the same time and getting into a routine with it is what works best for me. Other folks need to jazz it up and do different schedules, whether due to work responsibilities or the boredom factor. I need to switch up the actual routines so my body doesn't adapt and my progress plateaus but my time frame needs to be consistent.

The length of time at the gym is solely determined by my work schedule. Working days are either off days at the gym or very short days. Less than an hour for sure. Days off are limitless. I can meander around and do a little on all of the machines or spend an hour on one before moving on. There's no rush and I tend to enjoy it more. It feels less like a workout and more like something I'm doing for me. I mean, it's all for me. BUT when I'm able to enjoy it more, it's more fun. The rest of the time it's something I "have" to do not necessarily something I "want" to do. So, my "have" days are shorter and less fun and my "want" days are longer and more fun. I also tend to do more weight work on my days off and basically stick to cardio on my quickie days.

Clear as mud?