You Don’t Have To Love Workouts To Stay Consistent

I’m honest about the truth a lot of people won’t say out loud: I hate working out, even though I go to the gym most days. I share how I found one type of exercise I genuinely love and how I use practical tricks to stay consistent with the parts I still can’t stand. 
• admitting the difference between disliking workouts and needing motivation 
• falling in love with water aerobics and why it finally clicks 
• why muscle and weights matter more with aging 
• using a trainer for a simple full-body plan 
• bribing your brain with entertainment rules 
• keeping strength sessions short so you actually do them 
• habit stacking weights with a class you already attend 
• lowering the bar to one machine on hard days 
• training for independence and future mobility over appearance 
Your challenge is do weights for 15 minutes, two to three times this week. Attach it to something you already do. 
If it hits home for you, share it with a friend who also hates working out, but knows they should be doing something. 

Transcript

Chicago Spring And Colorado Plans

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello, and welcome to Inside Marcy's Mind. My name is Marcy Backis, and I am your host. Ah, well, it's a beautiful day here in Chicago. Getting ready in a few hours to take off and head to Colorado to see our son and my nephew, my great nephew Chris, and check out his college campus. My great nephew's not my son's. I'm actually see my son's new office in Golden, Colorado. So he's just texting me with places to eat and things to do. And anyways, I just I always love seeing my kids. I'm gonna go see Kyle in California over Mother's Day weekend. That one I'm gonna do solo trip. This one is with Craig. We should have some fun. We're gonna go up to Pikes Peak. I don't know what else, but it'll just be enjoyable. It's a quick trip leaving Thursday night, coming home Monday morning. I hope your spring is starting out great. It's finally feeling springish here in Chicago. I'm ready. I I said this before, but uh the weather has been like powerball ball, Powerball numbers. We've had a 31, a 51, 67, 84. Like it's been insane. Insane. Up and down, up and down. So I am looking forward to this trip. I'm looking forward to seeing Alec. I'm looking forward, my niece is also gonna be there. And uh it'll be a fun trip. It'll be a fun trip. So, but you know, I was thinking this week, I was thinking about how I've kind of changed my tune on exercising, but not really. So we're gonna talk about that today. But I do want to welcome you back to Inside Marcy's Mind. I am Marcy, and today we're talking about something that I think a lot of people feel, but don't always say out loud. What do you do when you hate working out? Not I should work out more, not I need motivation. No, I mean you actively do not enjoy it. I actively hate working out. Although you all know five days a week I'm at the gym. What got me there? What started something that on a Saturday and it's 25 degrees out that I walk to a gym? Well, let me tell you, I found water aerobics in my 60s and I love it. Like I actually look forward to it. I feel good, I feel strong, and I feel like one of those people who has their life together. So I have managed to find something that I absolutely love. I do it all the time, but I need more. Then there's weights, and I do them, but do I like them? Absolutely not. Hate it. Hate everything about the gym, hate being there, hate doing it. I hate it all. I don't look forward to it. No, I don't. So today we're going to talk about how to stay consistent when you don't love something, how to make it easier, and how to stop thinking you're the problem because you're not. So let's just say this out loud. Not every workout is going to feel like a good time. And somewhere along the line, we've got this idea that if I don't love it, I won't stick with it. That sounds nice. It's also not true. Because if that was the case, none of us would clean our bathrooms, go to the dentist, or deal with insurance companies. Yet, here we are. Here we are doing all that. So let's start with the win. Water aerobics. I love it. I get in that pool and suddenly I'm energetic, social, moving my body, and feeling good. And I go to a water aerobics class that isn't your grandmother's water aerobics class. It's called AquaSculpt. It is a high-intensity workout that takes place in a pool. So once I get in that pool, again, I'm energetic, social, moving my body, and feeling good. And here's what I want to say about that. Finding something you love in your 60s, that's a big deal. Because a lot of people stopped trying, and I had. And I had moved here, I had gained, I was already fat when I got here, gained another 20 pounds, was miserable, in pain, could barely walk, moved to a city where walking is everything. I have a brand new car I bought over a month ago. I've driven it four times. We walk everywhere. All right. So people decide I'm older now and this is just how it is. No, it's not. You can still find things that make you feel alive. Don't stop. Here's the thing I don't love. I I don't like weights, but I do them. So so here's the deal. We do do weights in the pool, we do all that, but I do need some other weight lifting. One of the things about aging is um weight is weights are important. Muscle is important. We lose muscle just because we're alive. Muscle is important. So I started thinking about it, and we a trainer came into our pool class and said there was a deal for personal training sessions. So I bought three. And I had a young man put together a full-body workout in the gym, weightlifting, machines, and free weights. He said, machines are important, and that's from a trainer. He said, machines will get the job done. So I just want you to know that's what I did. And now I meet with him once a month. I first of all can't afford a weekly trainer, but my gym is not cheap. And so then a weekly trainer on top of that. But I do meet with him once every three weeks. And that way he can check on me, see what I'm doing, making sure I'm doing it. So I want to talk about weights. I do them, I understand why they matter. But if I had a choice between lifting weights or literally anything else, I might not lift weights at all. And this is where most people quit because they think if I don't love it, it's not for me. No, it just means we need a better strategy. Work with your brain, not against it. Let's stop trying to force ourselves to magically enjoy something. Instead, let's make it easier. Okay, and this is how I've done it. One entertainment role. You only get to listen to your favorite podcast, watch your guilty pleasure show when you're lifting weights. That's it. No weights, no show. Suddenly your brain is like, well, I guess we're going to the gym. Honestly, bribe yourself. Put that carrot out there. I have a radio show that I love to listen to. I used to listen to it driving in the car, but since I don't do that anymore, that is what I get to listen to when I work out. And I don't get to listen to it unless I'm lifting weights. So bribe yourself. Put that carrot out there. Another thing, make it short. You do not need an hour. My workout is 30 minutes. That's not including cardio because I do my workout, my weightlifting workout two days a week. Alexa, stop. Sorry. I had an Alexa timer going. Needed to stop it. Anyways, and I could edit that out, but guess what? I'm not going to. You don't need an hour. Let me repeat that for the people in the back. You don't need an hour. Try 15 minutes, five machines done. Walk out like you're efficient and slightly mysterious. Do it. Oh, that's not enough, Marcy. Well, sitting on your ass eating a bag of chips isn't enough either. 15 minutes, five machines done. Stack it. You already have a habit. I do water aerobics. This is what I do. I stack my weights before. Or stack them after. I'm not stacking them after. Because I have coffee with my girlfriends after. So I stack it before. Monday and Wednesdays, I go and I work out half hour, 40 minutes. Then I go down, get my suit on, and head to the pool. No second trip, no extra decision. No, I'll go later. Lies we all tell ourselves. I have a gym in my building. We have a gym. We have a theater. We have a lot of things here. I don't use it. I use the one because if I tell myself, oh, I'll do it in the afternoon, I'll never do it. So I stack it. All right. I want you if all else fails, if none of this is working, lower that bar. Instead of I have to do a full workout, try, I'll just do one machine. That's it. Because once you start, you usually keep going. And if you don't, you still showed up, and that's count. That counts. Do one machine. Oh, I'm gonna go in, I'm gonna do one machine. Trick yourself. Sorry for that silence. I was thinking. Trick yourself. All right. This is the part that matters. We are not doing this to punish ourselves, look perfect, or impress anyone. At this age, people, I don't know what age you are listening to this, and it may be different for you. But most people at this point, we're doing it for health. We're doing it so we can get off the floor, carry our own luggage, travel, stay independent. This is about your future. And I wish I had done this younger. I wished I had found this in my 40s. It took me till my 60s to find my workout formula. I have a niece, Angie, and Angie is my hero. I love Angie. Angie started working out years ago, and she's just amazing. And she gives me confidence. She lets me know I can do this. She reminds me that it's good for us. Remember, if you're doing this, we're doing it so that we can be grandparents that play on the floor and hop up. I don't know if I'm gonna ever get there, but I'm working on it. This is about your future, not your reflection. Give yourself an out. This is my favorite. Tell yourself if I still hate it after 10 minutes, I can leave. You won't leave. But your brain relaxes because it doesn't feel trapped. You think I'm joking. This all works. All right. I'm not doing this anymore. I have one every week. What am I not doing anymore? I am not doing this anymore. Waiting to enjoy something before I do it. No. Some things we do because they matter, not because they're fun. Taxes, paying bills, organizing. I'm not waiting to enjoy something before I do it. All right, here's a real talk moment. You don't need to love every part of taking care of yourself. You just need to take care enough about your life to show up anyway. And listen, you already did the hardest part. You found something you love. Now we just support it with the stuff you don't. So find what you love and then support it with what you don't. If you love doing the treadmill, if you love doing the stairs, if you love taking a class, there's a class you love. Stack it with something you don't like. Do weights for 15 minutes, two to three times a week. Attach it to something you already do. That's your challenge for this week. Your challenge is do weights for 15 minutes, two to three times this week. Attach it to something you already do. No overthinking, no perfection, just show up. All right. My episodes aren't super long lately, but I'm just trying to give you important information. Oh exhale. I got a lot to do. I've got hair color on my head. I'm leaving town. This is the last podcast I had to get done today. I talked about things that are important. And that's what's been on my mind this week. If it hits home for you, share it with a friend who also hates working out, but knows they should be doing something. And don't forget, you're not, we're not trying to be perfect over here, inside Marcy's mind. We're just trying to feel better, a little stronger, and a little bit more in control of our lives. I'll see you next time on Inside Marcy's Mind. You guys are the best. Keep going, keep moving. Live life. Love life.