How do you break out of your sedentary lifestyle?

[lacieloo]

I'm super sedentary; I move very little, your average couch potato, and if I'm just going about my daily routine I'll get only 1,000-2,500 steps per day. What I want to know is, how do those with sedentary lifestyles find the motivation to increase their activity level? Are there any tips or tricks that could be offered to me?

[etvete]

I find that sometimes giving back to the community/world is a great motivator. I found an app called Charity Miles (charitymiles.org) that donates for each mile walked/ran or biked. Their terms of use state: you can earn up to 25¢ per mile for your chosen Charity while walking or running, and up to 10¢ per mile while biking. They have a bunch of corporate sponsors and you are able to pick from a long list of charities that you want your miles to give back to.

I have racked up quite a few miles because of this incentive!

[C_Ella]

You are so right about finding a specific motivation for getting strong.  I lived in the mountains and wanted to hike to the top of a nearby peak.  I was so far from having the strength to do it.  But, after an entire year, I climbed to the top with a friend and was able to look out over the entire valley below.  The reward for my effort was incredible.  The goal of being strong around your precious grandchildren is fantastic.  It will help you bond with them and they will remember you even when you are far away.  Good luck and keep up the effort!

[C_Ella]

Gary, you've made a really important point about getting and staying strong when you face illness.  I have a chronic illness and face flare-ups several times a year.  I am totally out of commission for three weeks at a time.  It is frustrating to lose strength and to undergo damage to joints and muscles.  However, keeping a habit of seeking strength and fitness really pays off even with a chronic illness.  When a life threatening illness strikes people, fitness can make the difference between dying or recovering.  It is something that most young, healthy people do not readily see.  But, it can be quite a motivator.

[garybartlett]

@C_Ella  Isn't it astounding how fast the human body condition can deteriorate over a relatively short period of inactivity?!  If you have nothing in the tank to start with, it's a lot worse.  "Incurable but treatable" (multiple myeloma) as a diagnosis is a good motivator.

Let's hope we have convinced at least one person to think about what might happen in the future and do something about it now  --  and/or enjoy the pleasure of exercise in the interim.

All the best to you with your struggle. 

[Shadowsforbars]

My tip is to not skip the ads when you watch a recording.  Instead, get up and walk around the furniture until your show starts again.

[lps1dragonfly]

OMG!!! This one is a duh moment for me! On my weekday off I get little to no steps even though I am doing things around the house. I tend to take my FitBit off when I do some chores with water or vigorous scrubbing due to the sensitivity of it falling asleep, so when I take a few minutes to "recharge" for a TV show or the news I really need to do this!  

[TanithSeh1011]

Just do a few steps small steps at a time. It gets easier and easier. If you watch a lot of TV get up and walk a bit during commercials. Even if you just step in place for 1 min, that 1 min is still more than you would have done before. 

[abrahamster2]

1) Join a gym

2) get to the gym even if you hardly do anything. The thing is to get there and do whatever you feel like doing. Once you get comfortable you will find yourself moving more and more. Don't put pressure on yourself. Getting to the gym is an accomplishment in itself  

3) It helps a lot if you can find a friend to go with and have coffee with after the gym so that it becomes an enjoyable experience 

[VicChic20]

I used to be very sedentary, and after seeing myself at my heaviest, it was a big wake up call.I haven't looked back and told myself I need to do this now or I will never do it. 

I started out with small goals. It is all about setting yourself up to get more steps in.

I park farther away from work, from the mall, wherever I am. I use the stairs at work instead of the elevator and I force myself to get up and take a few minutes to walk every hour if I've been sitting for awhile. 

It gets easier to want to exercise and get more activity in, because after each workout my mood is lifted up, my mental state is clearer, my focus is clear, and my body feels energized and strong. You start to want that feeling more, you start to like working out and when you have days where you are not so active, you feel the difference in your mood, in your mental state. 

Taking small, achievable goals helps a lot.

[DotᚖMac]

Thanks for your suggestions!

[walkandfun]

Hey, I recently signed up for achievement where you get points for your activities, and once it accumulates to 10,000 points, you get $10! It keeps me motivated to get those 10,000 points so I do more steps, and I also found joining challenges really helps! 

If interested, sign up here please! 

http://tinyurl.com/y7tphm7k 

(you would get extra points and I would get extra points!) 

[DotᚖMac]

Thanks – I downloaded this and will take a look at it! Good catch.

[BellaStella25]

What helps me is to shoot for the10 minute goal.  I'll watch a show or listen to music for at least 3 songs (about 9-10min)  and walk in place, then once  I see that I achieved the goal on my Fitbit and did the 10 minutes, I decide I want to go for another 10 minutes.  Wow okay, now I'll do another 10 minutes and hit my goal of 30 minutes for the day! Hope that helps : )

[bluebadgergirl]

My biggest issue is my job. I'm chained to my desk most days; my standing work station allows me to pace and do some other movements but it doesn't help with my step count. So, I added alarms to my fitbit, they go off every hour to remind me to escape and go for a walk around the building. 

[kitley]

You are so right.  Just back to fitbit now, after a year or so since mine quit.  Bought the Alta, and finally reached my goal today.....made it, only because I wanted to be cheered.  Didn't notice the cheer, so must have been to busy...lol.  Best of luck to you all.

[SunsetRunner]

I broke out of sedentary lifestyle about 2 months ago. My problem, however, is asthma which wasn't managed too well so far and any exercise could induce the asthma attack. Moreover, I work as a software engineer so most of my time I just sit in front of the screen. But I can't call myself a couch potato 😉 as I was always keen on doing things which require little more effort. I liked to walk, cycling and always wanted to try bouldering and always wanted to run, which is a big big must-not-do in my case.

So now my story. I just came back from 45 minutes 5.5km brisk-walk/jogging. I have changed my lunch time into activity time and I love it. A month ago I would not be able to jog 50m. Now I divide my activity into splits of 1km brisk walk and 0.5km jog and repeat. Slowly I'm gonna get where I want to be 🙂 Before that I tried treadmill and spinning. I have both machines at home and in the case of asthma spinning seems to be less threatening. So first 2-3 weeks were focused mostly on spinning ( 45m to 60m, but very intense ). Then I added walking, went into brisk walking. Stopped using lifts and started using stairs. Now I do it almost every day ( recently some random events in my life forced me to "miss" few workouts ) and don't want to stop.

My wife, however, is a couch potato and looking at me at least motivates her to do anything. I must say that Fitbit itself, which I got for her too, makes her more aware of being inactive and builds some sort of "guilt" of not doing anything 😉 Very positive psychological effect. So for somebody who wants to change such lifestyle, this could be one of the ways - find somebody who motivates you, somebody who you can look up to.

In my own case, I didn't really need much motivation as it was always somewhere there concealed behind layers of fat 😉 Although, I suppose if not for going on diet ( which was my wife's idea ) I don't think I would get "awaken" so much. Diet gave me an impression that something was very missing. When I stopped treating it as kind of punishment ( it didn't take long because I must say, I have a very strong will when doing anything ) then I tried adding cardio exercising.

What makes me going forward? The feeling each time I have after the workout. One may think workout will make you tired and unable to do anything but laying down on a bed. Not true. A good workout is recharging your batteries. You end full of energy, your brain works better, brighter and what can I say? You feel just great! I used to complain a lot about the feeling of being always sleepy and tired ( I could just lay down my head on a pillow and sleep immediately ). Breaking out of sedentary lifestyle became the best medicine I could ever take. No more problems with focusing at work, my eyes don't shut on their own accord anymore. Also, my asthma slowly stops being such a pain for me.

So if one needs motivation how about that: you're gonna feel like brand new, better person and it's going to be feeling that you will crave for, because it's so good 🙂

[Pattigs79]

I used to be a typical couch potato. I would get 3000 steps max. Now my goal is 8000 a day. Sometimes I make goal, sometimes I don't. I've found the best thing for me is to walk laps around my living room while watching tv or listening to the radio. I walk the entire store when I go the grocery store. I also take my dogs on a .5 mile walk every few days. The walk doesn't add up to a whole lot of steps, but it's better than when I stay on the sofa.

[SunsetRunner]

@Pattigs79 mentioned something that I totally forgot about - the TV 🙂 It helped my wife to cut down on watching TV ( I don't watch TV almost at all, but my wife, on the other hand, used to get to bed in our bedroom and spend quite a lot time just watching her favourite shows ). Many people don't realise how badly watching the TV may affect their daily activities. My wife took a simple step - she didn't renew the subscription to her TV provider and suddenly she got lots of time to go out and for example have a nice walk in the park ( or even small workout in the park's outdoor little gym ). Fitbit also showed her how her working schedule affects her life. As a hospital worker, she works 3 days a week during which she's very active ( 15000 steps counted easily ). But then days off come and she used to take very "stationary" rest. Watching the telly or just spending time in fronts of any other screen like a mobile or tablet. And what one does during such (in)activity? Usually one eats. Watching TV may be a nest for developing bad and unhealthy habits. Realising that allowed her to alter her days off. Not only by adding steps but also spending time outside ( it's not fun to walk around the own living room ). Still, she's not a lioness of being active but I must say she improved things quite a lot and the most important, she has built awareness. Radio, on the other hand, is fine, especially that nothing stands in a way to listen to the radio on the go ( it may be really nice walking companion after all ).

[Olive_oil]

I used to watch my favorite shows sitting on the couch. Now, I get on my stationary bike for that hour to get myself moving.

You can add me if you'd like. We can motivate each other.

[Persianlady]

I truly believe if you have a someone to encourage you helps a lot. I love to motivate people. I am very active  but that has not always been the case. How do you feel about setting challenges and do it together? Do you have any goals in mind?