Of course, you can pick anyone who pops into your mind as being an avid exerciser, and be pretty certain that they have days when they just can’t be bothered and where they’re only going through the motions.
Whatever you’re doing and however much you love it; some days you’re just not very good at it and everything feels too difficult.
But there’s a huge difference between these situations and only ever doing a particular exercise because you feel like you should, or because you’re only thinking about the calories you’re burning etc etc.
This is a problem.
You’re not enjoying the process, your heart’s not in it, you’re probably not honestly trying your best, and you’re probably not going to see much progress.
You need to find pleasure and satisfaction in doing your best with the exercise you’re doing. The improvements to your health and the changes to your body need to be almost a side benefit.
You can try to force yourself to do a workout a few times a week and find absolutely no pleasure in it, but you won’t be able to carry it on forever. You cannot out willpower things.
I could (and have!) made a million different arguments for why lifting weights is going to be the best workout. And it is. But, really, the best workout is the one you can stick with.
Find something you enjoy, practice it and get better at it, and let the fact that your body is changing and your health be an added bonus.
If you love walking, that’s great, go and walk. Make it a proper, definite, no excuses, part of your weekly routine and stick with it regardless. Pay attention to how you’re feeling – notice how you’re not as out of breath walking up the hill today as you were last week.
Sure, on paper, walking might not be as effective as another type of exercise. But, if you hated every second of that exercise yet you love every second of walking (well, maybe not the seconds you’re going up hill!) – which do you think is going to do more for you?
Everyone has something they enjoy, think back to what you enjoyed as a child and see if you can pick it back up again.