One thing that almost nobody tells you about exercise, which I think needs to be said more often, is that if you stick with it long enough it becomes enjoyable and no longer requires discipline.
Eventually you’ll wake up just wanting to go to the gym/on a hike/play tennis, to the degree you’re looking forward to it and will be kind of mad when you can’t.
It’s just that it takes a few months or maybe even a year to get there.
But I have also found that it’s really easy to lose, an illness or injury forcing a long break is enough.
If the activity is one I really like intrinsically, like walking, it’s one thing, but when it’s the one I value more for results than for the process, then yes, it’s not too difficult to start enjoying it, but this does not always survive long breaks.
EDIT: This is actually a good exercise for me: to try to enjoy that other part of my exercise routine more, so that the natural pressure is towards doing it.
People say that often enough that I believe it is true for them. Yet the relapse rate within groups after experiments suggests that you and those like you are in the minority.
Very few people keep exercising, meditating, etc after year long interventions. They keep it up for a while, but it definitely doesn’t stay a permanent part of their life. And the desistance rates during experiments are not small either.
There is something internal that remains to be identified about who falls on which side of the line.
This is why the drugs for weight loss have been so transformative. If people could actually come to enjoy exercise in a reliable way, there would never have been a market for the drugs.
Most of the studies I am familiar with are from cardiology and describe “moderate” and “light” categories. Where light is walking, and moderate is 30+ minutes three to five times a week, of gym or calisthenics.
From personal experience as a competitive track runner in youth, and trying to lose weight as an adult, I have never experienced anything but loathing for exercise at any level of intensity. I do it anyway. Daily, for my whole life.
I hear the same thing about cold immersion, which a lot of people swear by, but also doesn’t induce any dopamine reaction in me.
What I want to see is someone do the research but break out groups by body type (endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph) and see if that’s part of it.
One thing that almost nobody tells you about exercise, which I think needs to be said more often, is that if you stick with it long enough it becomes enjoyable and no longer requires discipline.
Eventually you’ll wake up just wanting to go to the gym/on a hike/play tennis, to the degree you’re looking forward to it and will be kind of mad when you can’t.
It’s just that it takes a few months or maybe even a year to get there.
Yes, I have found that this is true.
But I have also found that it’s really easy to lose, an illness or injury forcing a long break is enough.
If the activity is one I really like intrinsically, like walking, it’s one thing, but when it’s the one I value more for results than for the process, then yes, it’s not too difficult to start enjoying it, but this does not always survive long breaks.
EDIT: This is actually a good exercise for me: to try to enjoy that other part of my exercise routine more, so that the natural pressure is towards doing it.
People say that often enough that I believe it is true for them. Yet the relapse rate within groups after experiments suggests that you and those like you are in the minority.
Very few people keep exercising, meditating, etc after year long interventions. They keep it up for a while, but it definitely doesn’t stay a permanent part of their life. And the desistance rates during experiments are not small either.
There is something internal that remains to be identified about who falls on which side of the line.
This is why the drugs for weight loss have been so transformative. If people could actually come to enjoy exercise in a reliable way, there would never have been a market for the drugs.
I’d be interested in seeing what kind of exercise were used for those experiments.
I do think there’s a certain minimum level of intensity involved to get to the dopamine/seratonin release phase.
Most of the studies I am familiar with are from cardiology and describe “moderate” and “light” categories. Where light is walking, and moderate is 30+ minutes three to five times a week, of gym or calisthenics.
From personal experience as a competitive track runner in youth, and trying to lose weight as an adult, I have never experienced anything but loathing for exercise at any level of intensity. I do it anyway. Daily, for my whole life.
I hear the same thing about cold immersion, which a lot of people swear by, but also doesn’t induce any dopamine reaction in me.
What I want to see is someone do the research but break out groups by body type (endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph) and see if that’s part of it.
Have you tried different types of exercise? Sports, heavy vs light lifting, running vs swimming, etc?
I’m wondering if the effect is just universal for physical exertion or if there’s just something that’s a good “fit” for you.