First, I'm not a personal trainer, kinesiologist, or expert in fitness in any way. I'm simply someone who hated exercise for many years and managed to get started exercising and keep it going.
A big mistake many people make when they decide to workout is that they're so eager to see results they begin their routine all gung ho. They hit the gym like a maniac, doing long cardio sessions, more weights than they really should. Of course, their body lets them know how it feels about that, and they can barely move for a week. But a couple weeks pass and hey, it's not so bad. It feels like you're getting better. Your muscles are all nice and hard. You can see some definition.
And then something happens around the four week mark, give or take. It suddenly gets
really hard. You feel like you can't do anything like they were doing at first. It's demotivating, unless you realize what's happening. Your muscles are suddenly all, "Hey, this is for real! This guy means it. Damn, I guess I better stop playing around and do something." That's when the real muscle building takes place. It really will get easier if you don't give up. But most people do, by this time. Exercise is taking time out of their schedule. It's hard. It's boring. They can think of a million things they'd rather be doing. So one missed day becomes two. Two becomes three. Next thing they know, they haven't been to the gym in a few weeks. And then they can't remember the last time they went.
Most exercise routines are created by fitness experts. The thing about fitness experts is, they like to exercise. That's why they got into the field. When they design starter routines, they're thinking like people who really enjoy working out. But what if you're like me, and you hated it? Couldn't stand getting sweaty. Couldn't stand muscle burn?
You get into the habit slowly.
Here's what worked for me, and it's what I recommend to people who hate exercise: fifteen minutes, five days a week. That's it. For fifteen minutes, five days a week, work out. Fifteen minutes is less than an episode of
The Simpsons. This isn't going to give you the body of a runway model. It isn't going to prepare you for a marathon. Forget about looking like Dianna Agron or Mark Salling (Quinn and Puck from
Glee). Bodies like that require both good genetics and
very strict diet and exercise. (Seriously, it means taking your eating habits and your workout routine to a whole new level.
Here's a CNN.com article on one man's journey to obtain six-pack abs).
Fifteen minutes is an amount of time everyone can fit into their schedule. It helps make exercise a habit, and right now, that's what you're going for.
Now, after a month, bump your time up to twenty. It's only another five minutes, and you've already carved out fifteen. A month later, bump that up to twenty-five. Another month, thirty. If you want to stop there, fine. Thirty minutes, five days a week is good, and look, you've been working out for four months now! The fitness experts will try to get you to one hour a day, but again, they like to work out. You're just trying not to give up.
One last thing: make yourself work out to your schedule no matter what, barring illness or injury. "I just don't feel like it," is no excuse. Neither is, "I don't have the time." Make the time. Cut out a TV show (or watch it while you exercise). Get up thirty minutes earlier, if you're an early morning person. (I'd rather cut off my toes than work out in the morning). But always, always fit that workout into your schedule, until it's so ingrained you can't imagine not doing it.
And now fourteen years later? I still don't really
like working out, not the way you'd think. It still takes time from my schedule I'd rather spend doing other things (about four hours a week). But I
love the results. I love that I can try harder, more intense things and not fail horrible, because of the endurance I've built up. I love when I occasionally hit a runner's high. It's as intoxicating as it sounds. I love knowing a six-block walk is nothing but a bit of time, or that I could run a 5K with little difficulty (notice I didn't say I could win a 5K; I'd be lucky not to come in last).
If you make exercise a part of your daily life, I guarantee it'll pay off in the long run.