Easier than it looks: how to overcome laziness and start working out?

Physical activity is essential for humans – its absence leads to all sorts of health problems, from scoliosis to cardiovascular disease. Hardly anyone would argue that sports are useful. Nevertheless, many people cannot overcome laziness and make the first step towards physical activity. Together with psychologist and psychosomatic therapist Nadezhda Pozharova we find out how to overcome laziness and start exercising.

Self-violence is bad, effort is good

It’s important to separate effort and violence when it comes to overcoming laziness. “Fighting laziness is a dangerous story if it’s violence against yourself,” says the expert. For example, some people perceive sports as an obligatory part of the life of an established person. They talk a lot about it and even write about it in books. But you should not take sports as the key to success. Otherwise you may feel inferior if you are not attracted to exercise.

Hope: It is important to realize what benefits a person will get from exercise. When trying to create the illusion of success, one really has to rape oneself because there is an internal protest against conforming to something against one’s own desires.

A completely different story is making an effort on oneself. Why do not want to make an effort? Most often it is because a person does not see the prospects. To make an effort, you need to “be in the resource”, that is, get enough sleep, eat well, feel comfortable in the environment. In order to start exercising, to create a new pattern of behavior, it is necessary to form a habit through effort. The psychologist recommends a conditional system:

Notice your own resistance and askyourself, “Do I really not feel like exercising, or am I so tired at work and at home that the extra workload will only create tension, not pleasure?”

Find the right sport. Everyone can find enjoyment for themselves in physical activity. For some people it will be Nordic walking and for others it will be tennis.

Scaling up only gets in the way

You have to start small. You should not immediately burden yourself with daily trips to the gym, especially if it is your first attempt to do sports.

Hope: It is very important not to scale. Sports classes are now often burdened by the fact that you need to buy a mat, sneakers, sports uniform, to get to the gym. On the one hand it is exciting, but on the other hand it causes a natural resistance in a person, because he has to spend a lot of extra effort, time and money. In this case, it is important to start at least somewhere. Do not go to the scale and immediately buy a subscription for a year, at first it is enough to study at home. If a person sets the goal of immediately practicing five times a week for two hours or every day to go to the pool, of course, everything inside him will begin to sabotage. Because the body is not ready to process so much new activity.

If there are difficulties in contact with the body, it is important to do everything gradually. Gradually get to know yourself, your body, work with the theme of personal boundaries and separation from other people. It is also important to practice something small every day. Exercise in the morning and 3-5 minutes of breathing techniques is already a lot!

Home exercise and zoning out

For various reasons, it may be more convenient for a person to exercise at home: it is risky to buy a fitness club membership during a pandemic. Moreover, home workouts are a good way to save money and time that would be spent traveling.

Hope: I make the same recommendation here as I do for anyone who works out at home. Zoning. To give a person the feeling that now he will be engaged in other activities, it is necessary to prepare. For example, organize a special corner where there will be dumbbells and water.

It is difficult to do sports at home if a person does not have a conventional zoning. It is the same with work. The basic recommendation of psychologists to people who work from home is to change the environment and form a sense of workplace. It is necessary to put yourself in order, for example, dress differently, that is, to create space for a new occupation. In the vast majority of cases, the brain simply doesn’t understand why you should do something different now, if you are used to relaxing at home instead of working and exercising. It’s important for it to get help.

External support is a great helper

Hope: It‘ s always great to start when you have external support in the form of a coach or people who are also exercising. This can give additional motivation. If a person is shy, for example, and a new community is a new experience for them, there are now many opportunities to work out online and feel the same sense of community in all kinds of chat rooms where people share meal plans and workouts.

Own a unique system

You don’t have to be equal to others. It is important to consider your own desires and peculiarities when taking the first steps towards sports.

Hope: Many people “zombie” themselves on two liters of water a day and 10,000 steps, and then, without drinking these liters and not passing these steps, begin to berate themselves. Your own system is important. Only in this way will the habit gradually form. And I’m not saying it’s going to happen in 21 days. Everyone will have a unique path here.