> An hour spent being extremely bored and uncomfortable
In the beginning, this is often true. But exercise is addictive! When your body gets used to it, you really want it and it is not uncomfortable. That "runners high" is also not a myth.
I've been jogging for a long time. For the first year, I had to force myself to do it. After that, I was surprised to find I started enjoying it, looking forward it, and missing it if I didn't do it.
I don't try very hard at it, I'm not running against time, I just jog and don't worry about it.
As for boredom, the opposite happens to me. I find I think better while jogging. I work on programming bugs while jogging, and often find solutions that eluded me while sitting at my desk. I write articles and compose presentations while jogging. It's often my most intellectually productive time of the day.
I'm willing to grant that this must be true for some people. However, I don't think it's true for everyone, or maybe even most people. In the early 90s I was in the US Army for a couple years, and exercise never got better: it was always a struggle: boring, painful, and stressful. I suppose one good thing about it was that it was very rare that anything worse happened to me later in the day... :)
Looking around at the PT groups I was in during that time, I do not think most of them were looking forward to it.
Just guessing, but maybe a difference between recreational exercise by choice vs duty or imposed regimen. Or perhaps just having choice over the kind of exercise makes a difference.
I've never been able to reach a point where weight training is anything but boring and painful. The trouble is it requires mental focus, and I cannot think about other things while lifting.
I try to mitigate the boredom by watching a movie while doing it.
I listen to headphones, music, podcasts, ebooks. I find it a very stimulating time and I feel better about it at a gym, even though I don't socialize much.
Just seeing the same people every day makes me feel like a community member and helps me stay motivated and connected.
I agree, exercise is addictive, and I love running, but I worry that it's bad for the joints, from what I've read, which is the only thing holding me back at the moment. But I see all these people running, and I wonder, are there no join issues, or does everyone just not know yet.
In the beginning, this is often true. But exercise is addictive! When your body gets used to it, you really want it and it is not uncomfortable. That "runners high" is also not a myth.