5 Simple Exercises For People Who Hate Exercise

Are you like me and absolutely hate the thought of exercise? It could be because your weight makes it difficult for you to move around, you don’t have time, you have pain with movement, or you just plain old don’t want to do it because you’d rather be doing something else with your free time.

If any of those scenarios describe you (or even if they don’t), read on for some simple exercises for people that hate exercise.

Keep in Mind…

The thing to remember here is that exercise doesn’t have to be a defined activity like running, biking, or aerobics.

Exercise can be anything you want it to be.

Be kind to yourself.

It’s ok to only do 5 minutes a day of activity if that’s all you can handle right now. Living a sedentary lifestyle doesn’t have to be a lifetime membership.

Trust me, I’ve been there.

I used to come home from work and basically sit on the couch until bedtime. Nothing in between.

Weekends? Sitting or sleeping.

I didn’t have the energy for anything else. And why would I? Weighing as much as I do makes it extremely hard to get up and do pretty much anything involving, you know, getting up! Plus, if you suffer from depression and/or anxiety, it makes it all the more difficult to do something active.

Ok, now I’ll actually get into the simple exercise ideas for you.

1. Take a Walk

You can take the slowest walk in the world! I am giving you permission. One step at a time (literally). If on Day 1, for example, all you can do is walk to the end of your driveway, it’s ok! If you feel like you can accomplish more than that, go for it.

What You Will Need:

1. A small notebook (I’ll explain in a second)
2. A writing utensil
3. An open mind
4. The ability to walk a short distance

At the start of the day (or the night before), take the piece of paper and writing utensil and write down “Take a walk”.

Next, write down a goal of how far you want to walk. In this example, you would write down “Walk to the end of the driveway and back”.

Finally, write a positive note for yourself to read after you’ve accomplished your goal for the day.

Here is an example for you:

Good morning, <your name here>!

Welcome to a new day! Today is going to be great! Here is what you are going to accomplish today.

• Walk to the end of the driveway and back

You can do it, I know you can!

Love (or any other endearing closing word),

<your name here>

Guess what? It’s ok that you don’t want to do it. It’s ok that it might seem like a ridiculous goal. It’s ok.

Give yourself permission to take it slow.

Steps to Take:

1. Put on your shoes
2. Open the door
3. Take one step at a time and walk to the street
4. Repeat to yourself as you’re walking “I’m doing this for my health. Even if I don’t want to do it, I can do it!”
5. Turn around and walk back.

When you get done, come back to the paper you wrote the note to yourself on and place a checkmark in front of your goal for today. Even the simple act of making a checkmark for doing something can do wonders for the soul.

You accomplished something.

You did it!

2. Leg Lifts

Are you ready? It’s a new day and it’s going to be great!

Leg lifts are something simple that can be done in the comfort of your own home.

This activity is great if you:

1. Hate exercise (obviously)
2. Do not exercise for various reasons, or
3. Have furniture or walls in your home.

What You Will Need:

1. At least one leg (2 would be great, but it’s not a requirement)
2. Something to hold onto for balance, if needed.

Once again, feel free to write yourself a note in the morning as motivation and for you to check off the activity once you’ve completed it.

Now, for this exercise, keep in mind you are not training for a marathon, nor are you stretching for your floor routine in the Olympics.

Steps to Take:

1. Check to make sure you have a leg…Totally kidding, #1 is a freebie! Yay! One down- on to #2!
2. Locate a chair, wall or something sturdy for balance
3. Make sure you are wearing something with some give to it on your lower half
4. Stand next to the stationary object and hold on
5. Lift one leg off the ground and up toward your side as far as is comfortable
6. Bring your leg back down to its original position
7. Repeat #s 5 & 6 as many times as you can/want to
8. If you have 2 legs, switch and do #s 4-6 on the other side

That’s it! You have officially done leg lifts! See? I knew you could do it!

3. Lifting Weights (Of Some Sort)

Ok, still with me? On to #3, lifting weights.

What You Will Need:

1. At least one arm
2. Something to lift, such as:
   • a can of food or drink
   • a (preferably) clawless animal
   • a tape measure
   • a baby

Choose something you can lift repeatedly at least 5 times in a row that won’t squirm away, claw or bite you- for your own protection.

Steps to Take:

1. Pick up the chosen object with one arm
2. Lift your arm up and away
3. Slowly lower your arm back to its original position
4. Repeat #s 2 & 3 as much or as little as you can/want to

That’s it! Exercise completed. Go over and make that checkmark!

4. Sitting and Standing

Ok, on to #4! Great job so far!

What You Will Need:

1. Legs (again)
2. Something to sit on

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but what fun would it be if I didn’t go into great detail?

Steps to Take:

1. Stand next to the thing you’re going to sit on
2. Sit down
3. Stand up
4. Repeat #s 2 &3 as much or as little as you can/want to

Pick up that pen or pencil and head on over to your piece of paper. Checkmark it up!

5. Wall Push-ups

On to yet another exciting exercise, the wall push-up!

What You Will Need:

1. At least one arm, although two would be ideal
2. A wall

Steps to take:

1. Pick out a wall in your home
2. Place palm(s) against the wall
3. Lean into the wall against your hand(s)
4. Hope the wall isn’t infested with termites and will stay put
5. Push away from the (hopefully) termite-free wall back to the standing position
6. Repeat #s 2, 3, and 5 as many times as you can/want to
7. You can repeat #4 too- if you really want to…

That’s it for today! Head on over for your final checkmark! You did it! Feels great to do some simple exercises, right?

Final Thoughts

Well, that was fun! I sincerely hope you came out of the exercise(s) unscathed by your animal, baby, or wood-eating bug infestation.

In all seriousness, I know how difficult it can be to get up and move, even just a little bit. It’s like trying to get up the energy to climb Mount Everest when you don’t even want to think about getting up off the couch.

Do you have a simple exercise idea (or 2) for people who hate exercise, or are just starting out? Leave it in the comments!

*If you have health problems or concerns, check with a doctor before doing any kind of exercise. The exercises in this post are merely suggestions for anyone who would like to get moving by starting slow.

Read Next:

• 19 Alternatives to Eating (When You’re Not Hungry But REALLY Want to Eat)
• 11 Tips for Compulsive Overeaters
• How To Stop Being A People-Pleaser

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