The Real Reason You Hate Exercise and 5 Steps to Turn It Around

Many of us start our weight loss journey with exercise. We try things like running, biking, or weightlifting, but sometimes it can feel like punishment and we eventually quit. 

Granted, exercise alone may not be as critical to weight loss as we think. Still, it offers tons of benefits, including improved brain health, stronger muscles and bones, and a lower risk of disease, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, it’s worth the effort to find a type of exercise you enjoy and can sustain for the long haul. 

To do that, you first have to identify what’s keeping you from exercising. Once you figure out what’s holding you back, you can discover the type of exercise you’ll most likely do. 

Read on to uncover the reasons you might not enjoy exercise and how to find a form of it you’ll love.

Why Can’t I Enjoy Exercise?

There are many reasons you may loathe working up a sweat. Here are the most common ones, according to experts.

You Have an All-or-Nothing Mindset

It’s pretty common to take an all-or-nothing approach to weight loss and exercise — you think you must do a workout or program exactly “by the book” for it to be worthwhile. So if the day gets busy and you don’t have time to complete the planned workout, you skip exercise altogether. Or if you go on vacation and can’t get every workout done that week, you quit your program. 

By adopting an all-or-nothing view, you not only create unrealistic expectations of yourself, but you also remove any fun or spontaneity from exercise, notes Alison Heilig, a National Academy of Sports Medicine–certified personal trainer who helps clients create sustainable fitness habits. 

A better approach is to create gray areas in your routine, she continues. For example, instead of deciding you must work out for an hour for five days a week or not at all, come up with exercise tiers you can choose from.

The first tier is a routine that’s so easy you can’t possibly skip it. For you, that might be 10 bodyweight squats and 10 push-ups, or a two-minute walk on the treadmill. The middle tier is a routine that’s challenging but doable. The top tier is your original 60-minute workout. 

Giving yourself options allows you to choose your workout according to how you feel on a given day. If you tossed and turned the night before, spent your day in back-to-back meetings, and the thought of an hourlong workout leaves you feeling stressed and overwhelmed, do one of the easier routines instead of throwing in the towel. “That can be helpful for seeing other options besides all-or-nothing,” Heilig says.    

You Don’t Have a Supportive Environment

When people quit exercising or delay starting a workout program, they often blame it on a lack of discipline or self-control. But research shows that creating an environment that reduces the need to rely on self-control plays a much greater role in being able to stay consistent. 

“Using your willpower and your self-control is exhausting,” Heilig explains. The less you have to rely on it, the easier — not to mention more enjoyable — it will be to exercise. This means creating supportive systems and environments that remove mental and practical barriers, making it effortless to get your workout done. 

For example, the authors of a research review published in February 2021 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that older adults and people with chronic diseases were far more likely to form an exercise habit when the workout program took their lifestyle into consideration. For example, some studies reported success when workout programs took place in settings where older adults didn’t have to worry about common barriers to exercise, such as weather, transportation, and fear of being in the spotlight in a group class.  

You Fear Judgment

Many people avoid gyms and other fitness spaces because they worry others will judge them. They may be embarrassed if they don’t know how to use the exercise machines or will look out of place if they don’t resemble a fitness model. Some people even fear that others will make negative comments about their bodies, especially if it’s happened before. 

These are all legitimate reasons for not enjoying exercise. But it’s important to remember that everybody belongs in fitness spaces, and if you haven’t felt supported in the past, the problem isn’t you. “Allow yourself to explore other places until you find one that fits,” says Carrie Jackson, a sports psychologist, mental skills trainer, and author of On Top of Your Game: Mental Skills to Maximize Your Athletic Performance. 

Moreover, you don’t have to look a certain way to work out. “I guarantee there are people who look like you who are working out — you just might not see them,” Jackson says.

If the thought of navigating a new space alone is intimidating, consider spending a couple of sessions with a personal trainer. (Some gyms offer free or reduced-cost introductory sessions.) They can show you around and teach you how to perform a few exercises, which can help you build confidence.

And if you do get hurtful comments from others? Jackson recommends planning what you’ll say ahead of time. “Think about what you need to say to keep your motivation and confidence intact,” she says. 

Above all, remind yourself that “you deserve to be there just as much as anybody else; those people don’t own that space,” Jackson says.

5 Steps to Finding Exercise You Love

Our experts explain how to discover what type of exercise you enjoy so you can stick with your routine for the long haul.

1. Identify Your “Why”

You might start exercising for weight loss, but that motivator will only carry you so far. For many people, the desire to lose weight doesn’t encourage them to exercise when faced with everyday stress. 

To enjoy and stay consistent with exercise, you must uncover a deeper reason for working out — one that speaks to your inner values and how you want to show up in the world, Jackson says. When exercise holds greater importance than simply a means for shedding pounds, you’re more likely to persevere when you encounter the inevitable setback. 

2. Don’t Choose an Exercise Because You “Should”

How often have you done an exercise because you believed you “should” do it? “It’s funny when people are like, ‘I hate running,’ but they force themselves to run because that’s the exercise they think they ‘should’ be doing,” Jackson says. Unsurprisingly, many of those people eventually fall out of a running routine. 

To find an exercise you enjoy, remove “should” from your vocabulary. Sure, aerobic exercise is vital for the heart and overall health — so much so that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 150 minutes of the moderate-intensity variety (e.g., brisk walking or jogging) per week. Still, there are many ways to get your heart rate up besides running (or whichever form of cardio you despise); you simply need to find which kind of cardio you like. Is it bicycling? Hiking? Brisk walking?

3. Make a List of Activities You Enjoy

Jackson often instructs clients to list the activities they’ve enjoyed in the past, along with ones that intrigue them. Get creative: Think back to high school gym class and past fitness experiences. Do you follow sports? Are you interested in any trendy activities, such as pickleball or parkour? Write them all down and give one a try.

4. Try a New Workout Outside Your Comfort Zone

Set a goal of trying one new activity from your list every two to four weeks, Jackson suggests. You’ll probably have to push yourself outside your comfort zone, but testing new workouts is the best way to find the one(s) you enjoy. 

5. Recruit a Friend

If you’re feeling intimidated by a workout, Jackson recommends enlisting a friend to join you. This way, you can brave a flamenco or rock climbing class together, which not only makes the activity more fun, but may also result in a shared interest.

What Type of Exercise Should I Try?

When it comes to exercise, you’ve got plenty of options. Here are 30 great ideas to start!

1. Rock climbing
2. Rowing
3. Surfing
4. CrossFit
5. Running
6. Strength training
7. Zumba
8. Step aerobics
9. Hiking
10. Barre
11. Stand-up paddleboarding
12. Yoga
13. Gardening
14. Swimming
15. Tennis
16. Brazilian jiu-jitsu
17. Tai chi
18. Walking
19. Stair climbing
20. Pickleball
21. Cycling
22. Boxing
23. Parkour
24. Cross-country skiing
25. Jumping rope
26. Gymnastics
27. Pilates
28. Rollerblading
29. Kickboxing
30. Obstacle courses

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

• Jackson M, Fatahi F, Alabduljader K, et al. Exercise Training and Weight Loss, Not Always a Happy Marriage: Single Blind Exercise Trials in Females With Diverse BMI. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. April 2018.

• Benefits of Physical Activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Gotzemeier J, Price M, Wilkinson LL, et al. Understanding Everyday Strategies Used to Manage Indulgent Food Consumption: A Mixed-Methods Design. Appetite. May 1, 2019.

• Collado-Mateo D, Lavín-Pérez AM, Peñacoba C, et al. Key Factors Associated with Adherence to Physical Exercise in Patients with Chronic Diseases and Older Adults: An Umbrella Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. February 2021.

• Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2018.