What you can do if you don't want to join a gym or exercise class
Here's a fail-safe strategy for following through on your good intentions
Welcome to lazybones.substack.com. Every other week I’ll be sharing psychological insights and techniques to help you (or a friend) overcome the friction preventing a more active lifestyle.
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So, you want to start a workout routine. You’ve been thinking about it for quite a while and you’re finally ready, but the thought of joining a gym or enrolling in an exercise class makes you queasy.
When you don’t know anyone and you feel out-of-place just showing up can be overwhelming. If you’re self-conscious about your body, wearing snug-fitting exercise clothes would make you miserable. You’re afraid that you’d feel like an outsider seeing the gym regulars chatting together. There are countless reasons why starting to exercise in a group might not work for you.
Some people would just do better on their own but they don’t know where to begin. Fortunately, there are several free apps for your phone. Thesportsedit.com lists seven free workout apps for general fitness, running or biking, yoga, etc. The website is https://thesportsedit.com/blogs/news/sweat-7-of-the-best-free-workout-apps-for-tracking-and-planning. For seniors enrolled in certain Medicare plans, Silversneakers.com has a range of online fitness classes.
If you choose an exercise app, plan a schedule including the days and times that you’ll use the app. Enter the sessions on your calendar. If you have doubts about your commitment to follow through, make a public announcement of your plans. Tell a friend or family member and ask them to check up on you.
If you still need more support to get motivated, you can try an awful technique I used years ago when I was having trouble finishing my first book. After months of procrastination, I wrote ten checks, each for ten dollars, payable to the Ku Klux Klan. (You might prefer a different contemptible group). I gave the checks to my office mate with stamped, addressed envelopes and instructions to mail one each Friday by 5:00 PM if I didn’t produce ten pages of manuscript. Each week I happily tore up that week’s check and eventually finished the book.
You can set verifiable goals and, with a trusted friend, do something similar to ensure that you follow through on your commitment. It wouldn’t hurt to add a reward for meeting your goal.
Hold This Thought: Don’t let your fear of the gym or exercising in public hold you back. There are apps for exercises that you can do by yourself with a little encouragement from friends.
You may be worried about hurting the feelings of friends, neighbors, or family who might benefit from this advice. Lazybones is a friendly resource and may be most effective when shared. Give it a try and let me know what happens.
1Photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash
Love this post. I don’t go to a gym. The last time I did I was doing step-classes but with no guidance and ended up injured. Plus i love hiking in the hills near my home. Thank you for this post.