How to break the exercise inertia ?

ska_lover · 6 September 2017 at 4:16PM

dixon-bainbridge wrote: »

I'm confused why you are bringing up nurses and shift workers - that has nothing to do with the OP's situation.

What exactly are you confused about, other people are talking about their own situations and lives - it is how folk generally support each other.

I was - as I said above, looking for any advice from people in the same situation.

I haven't taken exception to anything you have said, you do realize that two of the three posts of mine you quote, I was responding to someone else, as in why I had quoted them in my own posts

ska_lover · 6 September 2017 at 4:24PM

dixon-bainbridge wrote: »

I didn't say they should cut down on their sleep, I said they COULD get up earlier. They can always go to sleep 30 mins earlier.

.

The highlighted bit in red, is a back peddle, sorry but it is additional information and not what you said in post your post - number two, hence me saying it is unhealthy to cut down on sleep in order to exercise as that is what you had implied. There was no mention of adjusting sleep patterns and going to bed earlier, just 'get up earlier'

I don't like to see people giving out bad health advice, which is what you were doing.

Now, you say you meant something different - maybe you should have specified to avoid misunderstanding - i.e say exactly what you mean.

dixon-bainbridge · 6 September 2017 at 4:34PM

ska_lover wrote: »

The highlighted bit in red, is a back peddle, sorry but it is additional information and not what you said in post your post - number two, hence me saying it is unhealthy to cut down on sleep in order to exercise as that is what you had implied. There was no mention of adjusting sleep patterns and going to bed earlier, just 'get up earlier'

I don't like to see people giving out bad health advice, which is what you were doing.

Now, you say you meant something different - maybe you should have specified to avoid misunderstanding - i.e say exactly what you mean.

It's not a back peddle at all. Perhaps I should have explicitly said, but I thought it was pretty obvious that to get the same amount of sleep you'd need to go to bed earlier for the same amount. It's common sense.

And actually thinking about it why would it be be unhealthy anyway? Is 7.5hrs sleep with 30mins exercise worse then 8hr sleep and no exercise? Surely the benefit of the exercise is more beneficial then an extra 30 mins in bed? Genuine question.

ska_lover · 6 September 2017 at 5:25PM

dixon-bainbridge wrote: »

And actually thinking about it why would it be be unhealthy anyway? Is 7.5hrs sleep with 30mins exercise worse then 8hr sleep and no exercise? Surely the benefit of the exercise is more beneficial then an extra 30 mins in bed? Genuine question.

For some it wouldn't be a problem, but for others it would.

I am by far an expert, but any literature you read says that with sleep you cant really benchmark it at 8 hours for all - as some need more and some need less, to be able to function well. If you are one of those who function better on 9 hours or more it could really hit you hard. Margaret Thatcher could reportedly work well on four hours, each to their own

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/lack-of-sleep-health-risks.aspx

I was talking from my own experience like before, when I am on back to back shifts, I am really lucky to get 6 hours per night and I really feel it as I function better on at least eight

indesisiv · 7 September 2017 at 11:18AM

BBH123 wrote: »

You commute to work in your car, sit down at a desk all day with the most walking done just across the office to the photocopier. You eat a sandwich at your desk and dont move all afternoon until you get in your car to go back home.

You are then shattered from a days inertia and lack of fresh air, walk to the kitchen to make a bowl of pasta and then to the sofa for an evening telly. Up to bed and it all starts again the next day.

Weekends are spent doing chores and shopping ready for it all to start again the following week.

This was me a year or so ago, except you would need to add in the stop in the pub for a pint on the way home into that.

I started by skipping the pint, thus freeing up half an hour.
I also started planning meals better, so that I could free up extra time in an evening.

Now I finish work, go home, eat, then have an hour or so on the sofa relaxing before going out for a run.

Weekends I realised that even if I run 15 miles on both Sat and Sun you are only talking less than 3 hrs. So I can go out at 8 in the morning and be home by 11 and still have the rest of the day free.

If I don't get time to do all the chores I just ignore them, whats more important spending 30 mins tidying or getting out for some exercise?

Upshot of what I have ended up doing is cutting out a bit of pub time, and a bit of TV time to fit it all in.

YORKSHIRELASS · 7 September 2017 at 3:16PM

Speaking entirely about my own personal life here, and not suggesting it would work for anyone else, I rarely sit down and watch telly on an evening. In fact I only watch telly on a weekend.

Mondays and Wednesday I take a longer lunch break (lucky that I am allowed to do it) so that I can go to the gym. I then work late so by the time I get home and do some chores and see the family it is almost bed time. If I cant do this for any reason I go to the gym before work (gym opens at 7 am).

Tuesday and Thursday evening I go to exercise classes.

Most weekends involve an afternoon cycling and a long dog walk.

I have to say that my kids are nearly grown up, it was harder when they were younger but it is just about making exercise part of your life, part of your weekly routine. Even a bit of exercise is surely better than nothing?

MallyGirl · 8 September 2017 at 10:48AM

I find my daughter is the biggest limiting factor, followed by injury

I walk the dogs every morning for 50 mins or so before I start work at 9. The time before that is spent getting husband and child out of the door!

I work from home so it is pretty sedentary - lunch hour tends to involve chores or food shopping. I finish around 6:30 and start cooking. DH swans in around 7/7:30 and we eat. I might fit in up to an hour's telly but usually fall asleep during it and then am in bed by 10pm.
Except on Tuesday when DD has to be dropped across town for band at 7:30 and collected again at 9, or Wednesdays when it is DD's hockey from 7:45 to 9 (transport required), or Fridays when it is her other band from 7 to 9 (again transport required)!!! I am glad she has these opportunities but it makes exercise for myself more of a challenge, especially as they shut the local swimming pool.
If I ever recover from plantar fasciitis then I can squeeze in runs in the gaps but other than that I am think I might need to get my old bike out, although cycling for the sake of it rather than to somewhere seems odd.

[Deleted User] · 8 September 2017 at 2:11PM

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

I cannot do any earlier exerise in the morning as I tend to my ponies but aswell as the walking group I also persuaded a friend to start a regular wed eve walk and we did that this week.

Ia m hoping the day will come when I enjoy it and it won't seem like such chore.

[Deleted User] · 8 September 2017 at 3:04PM

There's not enough hours in a day when you have a family.

Wizard_of_Id · 8 September 2017 at 8:49PM

For me the biggest single factor was the desire to get off my bum and do something, I had tried to get active before but always found an excuse not to do it such as not being able to find time.
I knew that if I continued to be sedentary when I took early retirement, I would not be around to enjoy very much of it.

As busy as I was, I found a couple of hours every day just to walk and found that I was enjoying the activity. I moved from solo walking to going out with a group once a week, then twice a week and after I finally stopped working, walking was my dominant activity. Now that I have a dog, I am out half a dozen times a day and keep track of my distance covered on all these walks no matter how far and it soon mounts up.

How to break the exercise inertia ?

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