by Audie Metcalf

Hi. I’m Audie. And I hate exercising.

I don’t know. I just never got to the point where it “feels good.” It always just feels like “I want to lie down.”

But endorphins. Mental health. Getting older. Etc. So I have to. But I need sooooo many tricks and hacks and mind games to actually do it. Perhaps you do, too?

Here are mine. They seem to work. I still don’t like it. But I do it.

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1. TREATS!

I need to bribe MYSELF. That’s how much I hate it. We actually wrote about this in detail HERE, but the concept is that we give ourselves a reward for doing that mile walk or getting on the treadmill. And we don’t even need to feel embarrassed for needing that boost. It’s something we loathe doing, we create a reward system, we’re human beings, and it works. The end.

Here are some specific treats I use:

One of those extra expensive magazines that cost inexplicably like $12. Domino and New Beauty come to mind.
Any book you desire on Apple Books or Audible.
An excellent pen for your purse instead of the crappy Bic that’s rattling around in there now.
Some kind of cute “workout” scrunchie because for some reason, loading ourselves up with “gear” inspires us to identify more as “people who workout,” and so we actually do it.

2. A CUTE SET

And speaking of that last bullet point, I cannot stress this enough: finding a workout set that you feel cute in, and is supremely comfortable, might actually be the key to everything. You’ll feel like an athlete. You’ll feel strong. Just putting on sneakers will make you POSITIVE that you’ll look like Tom Cruise when you run. All of this sounds insane. But it’s not. It works. Here’s the set I’ve been loving lately:

3. WATCH A SHOW

This is possibly the greatest hack known to (wo)man. If you have a treadmill, or use a treadmill at the gym, and if you have space in your living room, PUT ON A TV SHOW. Not music. A tv show. Yes, if you need to follow a workout routine on a screen this is tricky, which is why a treadmill is best. But I used to always just mindlessly play music while working out to “pump me up,” but I realized that if put on an episode of Sex And The City, I become so engrossed with how much Carrie actually sucks even more than Big now in hindsight, that those 30 minutes just fly by.

There are limitations to this of course, depending on where and how you work out, but this hack can also be employed through audiobooks while you go on a long walk. The story can grab you more than music, and put you in a headspace where the working out becomes almost automatic. You know when you arrive at work not having remembered all the turns you took to get there because you just sort of spaced out? That’s called highway hypnosis. So I guess this is workout hypnosis? Whatever it is, it’s the closest thing to this which is basically my dream:

4. CHANGE YOUR GOALS

The key to working out is making it a habit that you barely have to think about. And that’s what reduces the dread. So at the beginning of your fitness “journey” (🙄), you just want your goal to be the habit, not the result.

That means, you’re not working out to lose weight, to be strong, or to stay on the treadmill for an hour. You’re just working out to actually do it and create the habit. That’s it. No results. Just the habit. It’s a weird but important shift in your brain that will help reduce the pressure of why you’re doing it at all and inspire you to simply do something. Even if it’s for ten minutes.

5. EAT AND DRINK AN HOUR BEFORE

I used to load up on water and protein right before I stepped on the treadmill and then would get horrible nausea about 5 minutes in.

I changed that up to eating and drinking about an hour or two before my workout, and it was a game-changer. No nausea. Just energy.

Here’s my easy, breezy protein smoothie:

Half a frozen banana
Half a cup of water
Big fat handful of spinach
THIS delish protein powder
And then either a scoop of cacao powder for a chocolate moment (THIS one is jam packed with superfoods and gives a jolt of energy. THIS one is pure and simple and gloriously on Amazon.)
OR a half cup of frozen blueberries for a more fruity moment

I love THIS blender because it blends like a dream and is also gorgeous on my counter when I’m too lazy to put it away. Which is always.

6. FORGET THAT EARLY BIRD THING

Sometimes it feels like there is some universally accepted way to think about exercise—as if the “ideal” time to work out is in the early morning.

Forget. That.

If you’re a morning person who pops out of bed at 6 am, then great. Work out then. But if you’re NOT (me!), you’re not doomed. But you don’t want to try and become one just to work out. Because then you’re really going against the grain and trying to create TWO new habits at once. Which is basically impossible. If you have time after work, do it then. If you’re a night owl, try to do it late. However and whenever you find the time, just know there isn’t a “better” time to do it. Some Pilates guru who does a “class” at 7:30 am after drinking a green juice and going grocery shopping for the week and “journaling” isn’t better than you because you will choose your sleep in the morning.

They just have a different circadian rhythm than you. Not better. Just different.

Ok. It’s 8:30 pm where I am. Off to slowly walk on the treadmill and work my way up to a 12 incline, which is probably going to take another year, and I'M ENTIRELY OK WITH THAT.

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The 6 Hacks That Inspire Me To Actually Work Out, Even Though I Hate It.