How do you motivate yourself to exercise when you can't even get out of bed?

I’m in the same boat as you. I lay in bed all day, and I only get up when the kids come home from school. I have to make dinner, help with homework, maybe do some laundry. Then I’m back in bed after 6 hours. I know exercise would help, and every night I lay in bed telling myself it will be different tomorrow. I’m going to use my treadmill. I’m going to eat better. I’m going to get out and put in some applications. Then I wake up and don’t do any of it.
I find if someone comes over, I’m willing to get up and do something. It’s like I don’t want to look pathetic in front of people LOL. I have had some bad times when I wouldn’t get out of bed for any reason, but thankfully this time it hasn’t gotten to that point yet.
I hope you feel better soon :-)

Adopt or foster a dog. My dog is my motivator. He looks at me with huge soulful eyes and gently wagging tale, and I can’t resist him. I know he needs the walk and outdoor time.

He will also shower you with love, which doesn’t hurt.

@elijahsuicide if only we were physically together and maybe we could whip each other’s asses into shape (or we’d just lounge around together, who knows), but at least we know we’re not alone.

@Marina…I’ve thought about that…that a dog might get me to run. So, it’s good advice, but my life is too, tumultuous right now, I think to adopt an animal. I don’t even know where I’m living, and I’m in fact living in two different counties about 3 hours apart. It’s a little nuts. If only my cat would go for runs…

I’ve been there…oh, have I been there. Sometimes I am still there.

Take up something that you have wanted to take up…like I finally took up an instrument, and I already feel way better most of the time. When I am feeling sad, I pick it up and play my worries away. Write them away, whatever you need to do to get them out of your brain. Take up cooking. Just take up something new that you have wanted to do for a while, than perhaps you can become more motivated to do exercise after.

I also would think about seeing a personal trainer. That might just motivate you to go work out, having a date set with another person you can’t cancel on. Plus, I think it’s a good idea for most people to go to one, since they teach us how to exercise effectively and correctly.

Hang a mirror over the bed.

@ronski I’ve always wanted a personal trainer. If I had one, I swear I’d be so buff. :) thanks

I started taking karate recently, and the class is small enough that if I don’t show up it’s noted and I’ll get a call. I’m now there three times a week for 1 1/2 hours each time.

@aviona yea, it has gotten both me and my mom more motivated to exercise. it makes exercise way more fun for me personally, and you can just buy some dumbbells and a exercise ball for home…but don’t be too hard on yourself! you will get there. everything takes time.

This may not speak to psychological motivation, but starting the day doing simple sun salutations (yoga) may be a possible transition state between escaping to dreamland and pushing yourself to exertion. One of the nice things about ashtanga yoga is the focus on paced, deep, steady breathing, in combination with basic yoga poses (stretching), something many of us do already before a run.

When I actually follow my own advice, I often don’t get through the first round of poses because I’m too sleepy – I end up shaking myself out of a daze and starting over, but at least it’s a stepping stone. Focus on a few small tasks at a time that lead you to your workout so it isn’t a huge leap into exercise as it is a gradual climb.

Do you put your workout clothes on first thing in the morning? Would that help get you in the right mindset? or will you end up like me, just sitting around in the internets in your workout clothes?

I would suggest you to “just do it”
Sometimes you may not get the motivation, but that doesnt mean you cannot exercise. Just dont wait for motivation, get up and get running. This is because in tbe past i had lots of motivation, but no implementation. If you start exercising by hook or crook, you will just get used to it.

Another method is to exercise with a friend. He/she would wake you up when you dont feel like exercising…and you would be interested to exercise just because you have a friend going along with you

One thing to consider I to have yourself tested for simple anemia.

Anemia is a silent condition whose symptoms can mimic fatigue and depression.

If it is not anemia I suggest setting small goals and rewarding yourself when you meet them.

The best thing to do is have your workout clothes ready for you as soon as you get out of bed and just do it. Otherwise you have the opportunity to put it off for as long as possible. This is the only routine that works for me.

@Dog I’ve been tested for anemia, especially since I’m vegetarian. There are a lot of factors in my life right now which are making me depressed. And I know I’m depressed.

But thank you.

I like your ideas @Amoebic and @jonsblond of just putting my exercise clothes and shoes on right away and having them laid out maybe the night before. Then it’s the first thing on my mind.

The thing that works for me is this:
Before you go to bed… paste post-its all around your room with motivational phrases like ” COME ON, YOURE HALFWAY THERE”, ” NO PAIN NO GAIN”, “IMAGINE YOUR BODY IN A FEW WEEKS” or ” DONT GO BACK TO BED” and ” YOU WANT TO GET FIT NOW, RIGHT?”. Then set your alarm clock for the next day, and paste a final post-it on it that says ” OUT OF BED NOW!!!”

Its really hard for me but this really motivates me.

@aviona I like to workout to an aerobic kickboxing video. When I wake up, I put those clothes on and make myself do it. Halfway through I’m wishing that I would have stayed in bed, but when I’m done I feel as if I can conquer the world. Good luck! If I see you on fluther in the early morning, I’ll kick-box your ass in line! :)

When you say “can’t even get out of bed” I am going to assume you mean you aren’t motivated to get up and exercise. I once worked for a person who literally couldn’t get out of bed, and required a diaper and physical therapist to move his arms and legs in the hope of helping him recover some amount of use. He did eventually regain the ability to walk.

If you simply don’t want to get out of bed and do a few simple stretch movements, followed up with a half hour walk twice a day, I don’t think there is much I can help you with. It has to come from your own desire to change.

Well, I have to get up early during the week to get a good parking spot at work. On the weekends, I started going to a morning yoga class. I work with my teacher during the week, so she’ll give me crap if she doesn’t see me in class. After a while, I got to know others in class, and I look forward to seeing them. If I don’t show up, I don’t get to see them that week.

As @Amoebic pointed out, the breathing exercises are one of the best parts. I do vinyasa yoga (based on ashtanga), which incorporates breath with flowing movements, so it adds some cardio to the workout; I am awake in no time. The motivator is knowing that I am expected in class and the rush I know I’ll get from it. I’m amped for the rest of the day after a good session.

I’m a pretty busy guy…. so sometimes when i get the urge to go run.. or play basketball or tennis or something… i’ll just lie down till the feeling passes… that usually works.
On second thought… I play B-ball twice a week.. soccer once a week… and work 24 hour shifts the rest of the week…. lying down really isn’t in the cards for me is it?

Make some espresso and burn one.

this is a theoretical first draft mind trick: plan for the past, rather than for the present.

what you really want is not to exercise but to HAVE exercised in the past.. like 5 minutes ago, for example.

so, do it now: Imagine having accomplished 3 (or however many) push-ups just now. Imagine how proud of yourself you would be if it were done already. Close your eyes and think about how you would feel to have it accomplished in the past.

That is the real goal not the exercise itself. It’s about getting to Present moment where those actions are already complete. You want to switch your beliefs from one moment “I haven’t done the pushups” to the next: “I have done the pushups.” Whatever it takes to make this belief switch between the two moments is worth it and essentially inconsequential since.. once you believe “the pushups are done” you no longer have to do them. Just as how you don’t have to do them right this second either.

It’s kind of like blacking out.

How long would it have taken you to do the pushups? Would it take 1 minute? Alright, well look at a clock. see the next minute approaching? Have it done in time so that you can be in THAT present moment looking back on your actions and living IN that sense of accomplishment that you visualized: the pushups are done, you no longer have to do them and the minute hand has is in a new place on the clock.

It’s also like time travel.

Buy a powerful/noisy/disturbing alarm and put it as far as possible from your bed.

When you will get out of it, just force yourself not to come back to bed at least for the next 5/10 minutes. Hopefully then your awaking body will do the rest.

@ninjacolin That’s interesting, but isn’t that um, delusional?

lol, i don’t know. it’s visualizing fully the outcome then denying yourself your concerns about how hard it would be to achieve it… you end up just doing it because the doing becomes less important to you than the having done… something like that.

Oh I see. I didn’t realize with your mind trick that you are still doing the exercise. I think our beliefs are incredibly important, but we actually do have a body, and it seems to benefit from exercise – regardless of what we believe.

lol, absoultely. :)
sorry if that wasn’t clear. you were hoping, huh?
hahaha.

i said it was a first draft. ;) i knew i’d make mistakes in clarity and what not.

@aviona, is there a coffee shop within walking distance? Throw on clothes, grab a book, or laptop, and head out the door. Getting out of the house is the first step, even if you’re doing nothing particular somewhere else. Don’t stop to shower. Up, clothes, out the door. You can shower when you get back. Spend some time around other people. Force yourself to have 5 exchanges of pleasantries with strangers. Have a cup of coffee or tea, and read the paper, listen to music, and just sit.

The isolation makes it all so much worse, just like the darkness makes the monster under the bed come out at night.

@elijahsuicide , you have to set SMALLER goals for yourself. If dressing is not a problem for you, say that tomorrow and everyday for a week, you’ll go to the store. For gum. Or you’ll walk around the block. Once. Or even just up and down the street. Make the goal really small.

If it IS hard for you to get up and dress, then your goal might be to get up for a half an hour then go back to bed. Then the next day, maybe an hour, etc.

Tell yourself you HAVE to do it for your kids (but I know, when you’re really depressed, this doesn’t always work).

And you WANT to get that health insurance coverage. Or a free clinic.

I just remind myself of how much I dislike how my body currently looks lol. That’s enough to get me going.

You also need to be on guard about to what extent your depression is psychological, and to what extent your depression is a STRESS REACTION to a life which REALLY sucks at the moment (job, people, illness, etc.). And with the current economic climate, MANY lives do.

Usually, depression is a combination of both! Things going on in your life that REALLY suck stressing you out, AND a psychological component.

ALSO, some medications cause depression (even meds NOT related to psychiatric conditions). When people stop these med or change these meds (with their doctor, of course), they get better (and usually quickly).

@ninjacolin it may or may not be delusional… but man am i going to try it… i loved your idea.

A book I liked is by a guy named Jorge and I think its called the 8 minutes in the morning. It is kind of weak, but easy and effective.
http://www.amazon.com/Minutes-Morning-Simple-Pounds-Guaranteed/dp/0060505389

Thanks for all the great ideas @eveyrone

and @AlfredaPrufrock there’s nothing in walking distance of where I am mostly living now, it’s in a redwood canyon. Where I used to live was wonderful and right downtown.

I just agreed to go to a yoga class that is held once a week at the local psych ward outpatient program. This should be interesting!

Actually, that’s a good thing.

Good job @elijahsuicide

well I have a small confession. Yeah I know exercise is going to help, but I mainly did it for the entertainment factor.

WHATEVER you did it for, it’ll be a good thing. Just stay away from paranoids. They might misinterpret your moves as attempts to kill them. :)

But if you think you’re going to see “crazies” doing yoga, you’ll be disappointed.

If you want entertainment, try a dodgeball game with paranoids.

I’m referring more to my friend and I doing exercise. The most exercise we normally do is go shopping.

or a cooking class with Obsessive Compulsives. They spend the entire class washing their hands.

A CPR class with Hannibal Lechter wannabe’s wouldn’t be so good.

@aviona I wish we lived in the same city, you could come along with us. Unfortunately we will probably go out for ice cream after class, so much for burning calories.

@elijahsuicide haha that would be great. But yeah I’m not sure about the ice cream. You should at least get frozen yogurt!

@elijahsuicide Lurves to you for taking that step! I went to my first class because my wife wanted to try it on her psych’s recommendation. We were both sore for six days after the first class, but that doesn’t happen once you get used to it. Unfortunately, she never went back. I’m currently going daily after work and weekend mornings. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself – and others, as it improves my life outlook and makes me see others in a more positive light.

@elijahsuicide said: I’m willing to get up and do something. It’s like I don’t want to look pathetic in front of people LOL.

@elijahsuicide said: ”...I know exercise is going to help, but I mainly did it for the entertainment factor.”

in both these cases, i think elijahsuicide is applying the same principal i suggested earlier. she’s visualizing a desired outcome (1. not looking pathetic and 2. being entertained) and then acting according to whatever will make those outcomes a reality.

she’s almost (not really, but almost) oblivious to the fact that accomplishing her goals requires undesired work.

@ninjacolin the problem is that I commit to action in my head all the time. When the time comes to do it, I just sit there don’t get up even though I know I should.
Hopefully I actually follow through on this.

lol, i guess you just have to apply the same principal at the time of the exercise.. and not just for the sign up process. :)

The following article might be helpful:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-motivation

@discover Thank you. I’ve actually been thinking about this thread a lot recently because, hey, I’ve been exercising a lot recently! Every day, actually! I’ve gotten out and gone for a run or a long hike or something…so things are looking up. But I will read and bookmark that article just in case.

Yay Aviona!!!!!!! Lovely to hear this.

:) awesome, aviona. good to hear and keep it goin’!

:) thanks for the support @Trustinglife @ninjacolin

@aviona It’s so good to hear that you are keeping active. I’ve started my exercise routine again after putting it off all winter and I feel so much better. It gets easier once you establish a routine. This could be the exercise support thread. Keep at it aviona!

@aviona Fantastic! Keep it going. The more you do, the more you heal. I took a day off from yoga today, but I made up for it by shoveling a couple yards of mulch at my wife’s house. It’s so easy (and healthy!) to get addicted to exercise.