What do I do if I hate working out?
It is a question I get in whispers from people I meet after they find out I’m a trainer, often when others have wandered out of earshot. In spite of the trained embarrassment that shows through the speaker’s volume, this question is far more common than you might think.
I hate the gym.
The gym is the bane of my existence.
People really dread the idea of working out. As a trainer, I don’t actually judge them for it. Changing your life is hard, especially when the change is as uncomfortable as exercise (it’s literally a controlled stress, it’s inherently unpleasant).
Making any change is much easier when you start with baby steps (no pun intended). People tend to not even start something if they set their goal too high. When it comes to “being fit”, people think they need to be at the gym 5 times per week and do all the things in order for it to count. This actually isn’t the case.
If you want to get fit but hate working it, have your first step be just that- steps.
Walking is the gateway drug to the gym and you can’t change my mind.
It’s also excellent for your body in its own right. While most people laugh at the old ladies in their sweat bands power walking in the park, dismissing their walking as “non-exercise”, those old ladies deserve more credit.
Walking is excellent for fat loss- especially belly fat
A few years ago, I was so out of shape, I couldn’t even play as a goaly during a soccer game with friends without getting winded. The weather got warmer in Dublin, and one day I decided to walk the 20 minutes to work. I enjoyed the walk down Thomas Street, so I started doing it regularly. Then I decided to walk home, too. Then I found myself carving out extra time so I could walk everywhere I needed to go. Before I knew it, I lost 40 pounds.
Regardless of whether or not your fitness goals have to do with losing weight, belly fat is not just an aesthetic. It is associated with health risks such as dementia, impaired lung function, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. If you want to get fit because health is a concern, losing abdominal fat- which is often “visceral” (stored on your organs)- is a great goal. Luckily, it can be as easy as going for a walk.
Multiple studies have been done demonstrating the effects of walking on weight loss and abdominal fat. In this study, walking an average of 20 minutes more per day helped weight loss clients lose more weight (about 30% more) than diet alone. Brisk walking has been shown to specifically reduce that unhealthy visceral fat. Even if you want to lose weight but don’t yet feel ready to change your diet, upping your steps will help you to lose fat, simply because it leads to you burning more calories each day.
Walking improves metabolic syndrome
It is estimated by the CDC that 30% of Americans have metabolic syndrome- that is one in three people. Metabolic syndrome isn’t some cute little club that you want to be in, it severely impacts your health and quality of life.
In a nutshell, metabolic syndrome is a collection of bodily dysfunctions that wreck your metabolism and make you feel crappy. Some of the notable signs are high blood pressure, high bad cholesterol, low insulin sensitivity, and abdominal fat. It is the precursor for some undesirable diseases such as diabetes II and cardiovascular disease.
More walking is associated with less of an instance of metabolic syndrome. People who walk also have an average lower waist circumference (goodbye, visceral fat!), lowered fasting glucose (better insulin sensitivity) and triglyceride levels, and increased HDL (good) cholesterol. In study on middle aged women, all markers of MS were improved when put on a speed walking regime 50% of their max just 3 times per week.
For insulin health, you don’t even need to carve out 20-30 minutes of your day. Splitting up your walking into little movement snacks is also beneficial- just two minutes of walking every 20 minutes to break up long periods of sitting is shown to reduce insulin demand compared to simply sitting all day.
Walking improves cardiovascular health
If you’ve been consuming longevity-science content as of late, you’ll note that people have a lot to say about their VO2 max. The leaders in the field, such as Peter Attia, love to educate their audiences on the importance of your VO2 max for a long healthy life.
What is a VO2 max? It is the amount of oxygen your body can take in while exercising. Having a high VO2 max allows you to get winded less easily while moving your body. Some people train vigorously, pushing themselves on the treadmill at various intervals to focus simply on lifting their number, due to the stark correlation it has to all-cause mortality (the higher the number, the less of a chance you have of dying of any cause.
If this sounds like a ripe hell for you, don’t fret. VO2max is also improved with just 30 minutes of brisk walking per day, or even 3 10-minute bouts of walking. Walking is also used as an intervention for heart disease with promising results.
It’s the most accessible exercise
If you needed any other reason to start walking more, consider the fact that it’s an activity that will be the hardest to make an excuse not to adhere to. Unlike other hobbies, you don’t need to wait to get equipment to start, you can literally start right away (as in today, as in right now), and there are many options for getting your steps in:
- You can walk around for 2 minutes every 20-30 minutes during your work day.
- You can choose to walk places in your city instead of taking your car.
- You can hop on a treadmill with your favorite Netflix show.
- You can get a walking pad and step at work.
- You can walk around the block after every meal.
- You can pace on the phone.
- You can make your next meeting with a friend or colleague a walking meeting.
Even starting small, at just 10 extra minutes per day, will make a notable difference in how you feel. All of your I don’t feel like it’s will get harder to find as your steps feel lighter.
Overtime, you will actually feel good about increasing your walking time. After 10 minutes feel like a piece of cake, you can push that to 15, then 20, then 45 minutes without much effort. Make a point to do it at the same time each day and soon your body will crave movement at that time, and it will associate movement with feeling good. It will become a habit. After two months you won’t even think about doing it, your feet will just go.
Then, before you know it, you’ll stumble into a gym and it won’t seem so daunting. You might even like it.
