How does one become physically active

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If you are a goal motivated person I'd suggest setting up bench goals. Rather than say "I want to lift 300lbs and I ain't satisfied until I can". Start off small. One step at a time. If your gym has a coach/PT system available I'd recommend trying that. The right coach can really help with motivation.

As for say cutting down on sodas: What worked for me was to set a "cheat day" where I am allowed to drink one soda per week. That's worked for me for little over a year now.
 
Most replies here are missing the most important point:

How do you get motivated to become physically active? By finding something you enjoy doing. That's the most important part of the process at first. If you only do something because it works but you hate it, you will end up stopping and go back to inertia.

Do you know whats the second most important part of that process? Stick with it. That might sound contradictory with what I said, but it's not. Most likely, before you find the form of exercise(s) that's best for you, you'll probably end up going through a few different things and you won't enjoy them. There could be two reasons for that: 1) It's genuinely not something you enjoy 2) You're just not used to doing them. For example:

No one likes running, at first. I mean, it sucks. However, if you stick with it for more than a couple of runs, you'll find that like most people who give it a try, that you enjoy it. Something clicks in your brain and you go 'Holy shit. This is fun.' Same goes with weight lifting, and many other activities/sports.

So if you want to get in shape, you can start something like Couch to 5k. At first, it's gonna suck. The more you stick with it, however, the more you'll start enjoying it. At some point you'll be really looking forward to it. And then at some point you'll get annoyed by rest days because you really feel the urge to run. Then you'll ignore rest days, get an injury and get even more annoyed you can't run at all, but won't act like a retard in the future and learn to not run on rest days even if it sucks.

Replace running with basically any kind of physical activity. That's more or less the universal process everyone goes through. Which brings me to the third point:

Don't be a retard, rest days exist for a reason.

Once you've started getting active and you see real changes, or when it''s been a while and you're really comfortable, you will feel constantly tempted to do more and more and more and always push the envelop. Don't. Stick with programs, stick with rest days, this shit exists for a reason.

tl;dr:
1) Try many things until you find what you really love
2) Stick with everything you try for a while to make sure it's not just the beginner's curve you don't like
3) Resting and taking care of yourself is as important as training when you lead an active lifestyle
 
Internet War Criminal said:
So if you want to get in shape, you can start something like Couch to 5k. At first, it's gonna suck. The more you stick with it, however, the more you'll start enjoying it. At some point you'll be really looking forward to it. And then at some point you'll get annoyed by rest days because you really feel the urge to run. Then you'll ignore rest days, get an injury and get even more annoyed you can't run at all, but won't act like a exceptional individual in the future and learn to not run on rest days even if it sucks.

Replace running with basically any kind of physical activity. That's more or less the universal process everyone goes through. Which brings me to the third point:

Don't be a exceptional individual, rest days exist for a reason.

Once you've started getting active and you see real changes, or when it''s been a while and you're really comfortable, you will feel constantly tempted to do more and more and more and always push the envelop. Don't. Stick with programs, stick with rest days, this shit exists for a reason.
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War Criminal has a great point on that, I was very much in the more has to better camp for a while and it doesn't lead anywhere good. As far as weight training goes I found that it actually slows your progress if you don't take rest days, as backwards as that may sound. Your body needs time to repair and recover from the activities you put it through, maximum gain for minimum time spent is the way to go I think. Along the way you will pick up what is most effective for what you are trying to achieve, what to not do to avoid injury etc, for me it's been a process of realizing streamlining is better than an ever increasing workload.
 
  • Go visit your local gym or YMCA. The Y and Planet Fitness are especially wallet and noob friendly; odds are you'll get at least a free personal training session when you sign up. The trainer will work with you on setting goals and proper form.
  • Buy some snappy workout clothes and shoes. Getting dressed to move is surprisingly motivating.
  • Download some phone apps to help you stay on track. I like Zombies, Run! and Couch to 5k.
  • Check out Craigslist and eBay for inexpensive gear and DVDs.
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables. Drink more water.
If you do these things, you'll find activities you enjoy and build good habits that you can keep.
 
Jerk Sauce said:
What I found worked for me is as others have said, the best idea is to start off small and get in some extra walking etc where you can, build some endurance and get yourself used to exercise. It has been shown that the best way to lose weight is through a combination of cardio and resistance training [weights]. A set of dumbbells is enough to get you started and relatively inexpensive, I would recommend starting off at a weight that is moderately challenging for you and get used to body positioning and the correct way to do an exercise. There are plenty of websites around that will give examples of good exercises to work specific body parts. For me I began at 10kg it may however be different for you, I would recommend doing this for 2 - 3 weeks and once you have a grasp on that then gradually work your way up. Much easier to learn your lessons at a weight that is fairly forgiving of mistakes.

The hard part about something like this is that no one can really teach you how to get yourself into the right frame of mind, you need to keep your eyes on the prize, and work towards where you want to be rather than stressing over the here and now. I can't speak so much for the cardio side of things, I only walk a lot, on the weight training side however for me it took around 3 - 6 weeks to get used to the exercise depending on the muscles [something like triceps that you don't use much generally are harder funnily enough]. Most people tend to give up right around the point when they are actually making some progress. Overall I would say it's probably harder than you think it is, but less work overall. I am getting fantastic results and am only spending around 3 hrs a week on weight training and around 1 hr 15 mins on abs, I work fucking hard when I do it, but it isn't that huge of a time commitment. As I have progressed I have learned what exercises work best and things such as doing reps extremely well is more important than sheer weight.

A lot of it isn't a hard and fast path, it's a very grey area that depends upon you your areas of interest [running, cycling, swimming, weights etc] and what works best for your body specifically, muscular structure, limitations etc. You have to really feel it out for yourself, I'd say the absolute most important thing however is consistency. A consistent half assed effort is worth a lot more than busting your balls every now and again. Sorry for rambling a bit but it's kind of hard to structure it more effectively as a lot depends on what interests you.
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Great post!

I am lucky enough to live near a lake, so during the summer I swim 2-3 times a week, and do a little walk around the neighborhood, just 25-30 minutes most evenings. Once you start to DO IT (ha ha Shia) your body craves it.
 
If you're an autist? Pokémon GO.

Go to a park then run like hatching these eggs is going to make you friends.
 
How much rage do you want me to spew?

Cross fit has it's ups and downs. It's really kinda a tried and true idea of cross training, with facebook mixed in and a lot of bad ideas.

It's great all around and done well is a wonderful jack of all trades system. Over all you'll never peak at anything. It's fun and fast paced the culture is awful imho. Lots of people dig it. The competitive factor esp to new lifters I find flat out dangerous. Compound lifts like snatches are NOT for starters.

The work outs are fast paced explosive and change up a lot. So it draws people in it's like a game, social and active. You aren't trying to hold breakfast down after big squats kinda suffering.

Gyms are run (the term box makes me shudder) on their own manner so it'll differ some good some bad. Some for elite some for entry. You'll need to do research.

I really am very big into cross training and the idea of what it should be but what cross fit has turned into to me has a dark side. With anything idiots ruin it. Cross fit isn't a bad program and I'm airing my gripes with it here but it's a great way to enter into fitness, aside compound lifts. I think new lifters should forgo them fully. Esp in something like cross fit where I've literally seen people say OK do as many jerks as you can in 30 seconds. Some gyms are that ass.
 
Not to mention that in Crossfit, every workout is different, and everyone (often with very different fitness levels) does the same workout.
Progressive overload is a very important part to a workout routine. You want to progressively increase the stress you put on your body (whether it's running or lifting weights). It's quite hard to do that with Crossfit, with the constantly changing workouts. Not to mention due to the constantly changing workouts it's incredibly hard to gauge if you actually made progress, or if you're just spinning your wheels. Sure it keeps thing "interesting", but it's not the most optimal way to progress.
As a lot of people have said, Crossfit is good if you want to exercise (provided you have good form). Not so good if you want to train.

Anyway, enough Crossfit sperging. As someone that hates cardio but is very enthusiastic about lifting weights, and used to be completely physically inactive (powerleveling, etc), I would recommend everyone not physically active to try lifting heavy for a while. Get on something like Stronglifts 5x5 for a while, starting with light weights. Since it's not very physically taxing in the beginning (you're benching the bar for 5 reps), it's easy to stick to the routine. By the time it gets tougher, you've already got into the rhythm of the routine, and it should be easier to keep up, compared to a workout routine that takes everything out of you in the very first session. Besides, seeing how much stronger you can get in such a short time is a powerful source of motivation.
 
I'd say get a gym membership to kinda motivate you, but it all depends from person to person, really. With some people, they'll get a gym membership and be like "Fuck yeah, I'm part of a gym now!" but then go once or twice out of the whole month. But with me I want to make sure I make the $10 I pay a month worth it, so it motivates me to go more often. But if you don't feel like spending money, a simple walk or jog always helps to get started. Just don't go into a vitamin store and have some roided out gorilla try to sell you the Pec-Nectar and Ab-Aids just yet.

And I now realize I wrote this all for a sperg who sperged too hard.
 
You just have to get off your ass. No one is going to do it for you, it's down to you each and every time. Think about the good feeling you'll have afterwards rather than the effort of doing the workout. After a while you'll start to enjoy the workout itself.

I like to listen to gaming podcasts or audiobooks like exercising. Combining sperging out with doing something active.

Start small and build up. If you try to make it like a movie workout montage you'll never stick with it. Just go for a walk and switch to diet soda, whatever.
 
I used to play World of Warcraft while I used a treadmill. It was very meta. Then I got downstairs neighbors so that ended.

Exercise bike while you do your normal loafing and staring at screens is good.

Also I've gotten a lot of success out of swapping to a standing desk. I made a cheap one with a dining table and some TV stands but it keeps me off my ass, and I'm inclined to do squats and stuff when I'm standing.
 
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