Alas! A common complaint from many people.

The majority of people don’t really like exercise because it often means panting, sweating, pain, etc. They equate exercise with torture that the need to endure just to stay healthy.

The people who do like exercise may look down on these “slackers” as being weak and lazy. Are they correct?

No. They’re not. Forget what the magazines, personal trainers and weight loss ads tell you. It’s not easy to lose weight and get in shape. It takes time, effort, sweat, pain and sacrifice.

None of these are really fun unless you enjoy working out. This is the difference between those who do exercise and the majority who don’t. The former actually enjoy what they are doing. They feel a sense of joy and accomplishment after a workout session. That’s their reward.

Those who hate to exercise do not get anything in return. They feel neither proud nor satisfied with themselves. However, in order to be fit and healthy, exercise is of paramount importance. In fact, without it, you can never be fit. Period.

So what do you do if you hate to exercise?

The fallacy here is that exercise needs to be some boring, traditional activity that everybody else is doing. Many people hate to run but they know that they should do it if they wish to lose weight. So, they force themselves to do so. What happens then?

For starters, they dread having to run and the feeling of dread only goes away once they have completed the task. Sooner or later, they just give up and say that it’s just too torturous to run every day.

So how do you remedy this situation?

Simple. Find an activity you enjoy doing. Maybe you like swimming? Or hiking? Rock climbing? Kickboxing, yoga, Pilates, spinning, Zumba, Latin dancing, karate, judo, body building, Crossfit, etc. There are so many different activities that are physical.

You can definitely find one that you enjoy doing. Maybe you love playing basketball or tennis? Team sports are fun and the competitive nature of these sports will keep you going without even having to think of doing so.

All these activities are forms of exercise. Choose one that suits your personality. Then all you need to do is engage in this activity daily or as often as you can. Push yourself to break your own personal bests. Do it with intensity.

You love cycling? Great. Measure the distance you will cycle and record how long it took you to complete the course. Aim to do it faster the next day. Keep reducing the time till you really can’t get better. Then, increase the distance. This is how you train with incremental goals.

You may not realize it but over time you are not only building up your stamina and strength, but you’re also developing the habit of exercising. It’s the habit that will decide whether you get fit or fail in the long run. It’s absolutely a MUST that exercising becomes a habit for you.

Once you have it ingrained in you, you will find yourself exercising daily. Skipping workouts will not even cross your mind and on days when you just don’t feel like it, the habit will make you go do it anyway.

Activity begets more activity. When you’re active, you will be tempted to try different sports. Referring to our earlier example, you may realize that you become a better cyclist; you’ll need to strengthen your muscles. You’ll then go to the gym and focus on squats and machines that will work your adductor legs, quads and adductor muscles.

One thing leads to another. The first step is the most important one. It’s best to choose to do something you like. If you really can’t find one physical activity you like amidst the plethora of activities available today, then it’s unfortunate. You will never ever have the health and body you desire.

That’s the cold, hard truth… but you’re definitely better than that. You surely already have an activity in mind. It’s time you stop reading this and go figure out how you will do this activity you’re thinking about and take it to the next level. Do what you need to do today so that you will not have to regret tomorrow.