I definitely do. My dumb-dumb brain doesn't really get the whole neurotransmitter thing, but as stingy as it is with dopamine and nor-adrenaline, as generous it is with endorphins. Oh, you're 5 minutes into your cardio warm-up of your hour long work-out? Enjoy this heap of endorphins for the next 2 hours. I feel good, it's extremely meditative because thoughts are just on pause, I love getting stronger and more in shape, and I always go in the sauna at the end of my work-out which is a huge motivator before going and makes it all even better at the end. I always walk out of the gym completely zen and satisfied.

If you don't get such an easy endorphin rush, I don't know what to do. I can imagine it would suck in that case.

I started working out at a park nearby on the mornings. I kinda hate it on the moment, but I reward myself for the last 15 minutes or so, with some creativity.
Freestyle dance (??!), kicking around, doing the cartwheel, random moves. All the while listening to old school hip hop and pretending I'm a hot shot, haha.
Those last minutes are amazing.

I think there's some people who do but the vast majority of people don't. I mean, if we look statistically, people do very little intentional exercise unless they have to and despite repeated instructions to do more exercise from the government, media, doctors, the amount of people doing exercise hasn't really changed. In fact, it's gotten worse. Compare that to other hobbies or just watching TV or playing video games.

Also regarding exercise highs, clearly some people do get it but there is an extremely strange insistence that everyone can get it if they try and there's not a lot of evidence for this. The majority of studies done on exercise highs are with already fit people who exercised regularly on their own. (And even then some studies had a hard time getting the effect to show up) Comparatively fewer studies are done on unfit, overweight and or obese people to see if they're getting exercise highs at all.

Personally I think that trying to get people to enjoy exercise is setting them up for disappointment. Most people don't like it, that's why they don't do it. I find most of my workouts neutral. A bit like doing a boring assignment at work. I think that's the best way for people to look at it. Imo the key is not to hate it. If you hate what you're doing, definitely change to something else. But if you're consistent and just feel meh about it, I don't think there's any reason to chase some mythical awesome exercise that'll totally make you love working out especially if you already have non physical hobbies you like.

For those that has natural build for body building, sure, it might be fun. Not everyone is built to lift weights.

This is one of the reasons why working out in VR with games such as Beatsaber and Ragnarock impacted my health quite positively. Workout is no longer an inner battle trying to fight myself, but a very enjoyable hour of my day(but it’s important to move ASAP to both games’ higher difficulties!). Have been doing it for almost two years and it doesn’t get old. I’m also quite musical, so that might have a lot to do with the enjoyment.

I did a few of those things, jogging, cycling, lifting weights. I rotated between them because I actually didn’t like any of it in the long term. I did it indoors (fitness center) and outdoors, in small fitness centers and large ones. The longest streak was about 3 years of intensive cycling outdoors.

In the end I started climbing / bouldering and stuck with it. The mental component is far more engaging.

I lift weights a few days in the week and it's just routine now. I don't find working out to be fun, but seeing friends at the gym and and chatting is fun.

It’s more the feeling of satisfaction and less a feeling of pleasure.

Working out is not a pleasurable thing, it’s hard, tiring, and painful.

But you see positive changes in your body, you feel better day to day and you know you are adding years on to your life.

This is what makes it enjoyable. But it will not be like this on day one. It will be like this maybe after 2-4 weeks of doing it consistently.

Also you have to eat right. If your just eating junk you may not feel as good.

When I'm running, yes I do. When I'm doing any other form of exercise? Not really.

But I really love feeling fit

I get the natural endorphins "runner's high." Music sound beautiful and all is well. And the cardiovascular exercise is good for me.

I compete in powerlifting and it’s a lot of fun. You just need a good goal and you’ll end up loving the process of getting there.

It depends. Running and lifting I enjoy the results but the activity is boring, I never got runners high.

Jazzercise was fun fun fun though, any sort of dance aerobics like that is perfect because have to pay just the right amount of attention to it - enough that I can't think about other things, but not so much that I really have to think hard about the movements. I wish there were still classes by me.

Yoga is fun too, in a different way. It takes concentration, always adjustments to posture, and it's very empowering to be able to do handstands or other arm balances, it's challenging in a good way and the reminders to coordinate your breath with movement is helpful.

So for me it depends on what the workout is but sure, I like moving physically, enjoy it and don't do it only for results.

I have a love hate relationship with it. I absolutely love it when I'm consistent with it. When I fall off the wagon, I hate trying to get back into it. Its hard and I could easily just go and do anything else.

No. It's always a pain the ass. I love how it makes me feel though.

I can definitely lose myself in the flow of accomplishing a workout the same as I used to playing sports.

I also usually like the feeling of being a little sore/achy knowing I did something worth doing that day.

I like the feeling of not being winded walking up stairs and feeling like I can carry all the weight without much effort.

I like eating a pile of food knowing my body needs to eat because it had to work.

Somedays though, working out and all the rest of it just sucks.

Having had both great and terrible work out days, I found what led to the good, enjoyable days was purely the mindset. HIIT on a stationary bike sucks, but I had some fun sessions when I turned it into a game. Weight lifting routines can be super boring, but changing from rep based to time based and seeing if you can crank out a few more reps without sacrificing form can make it fun.

It takes a lot to get into that mindset for me, but it's possible and it makes a world of difference. Gamification of any task can introduce a challenge and give oneself a better purpose in the moment.

Yes, I love running. I also go hiking and do body weight exercises.

To answer your question, the only way to cultivate the habit is to start something and sticking to some plan. I know it’s easy so say but it’s the only thing that works.

I do follow some runners on Instagram and YouTube for motivation.

Yes, I love it. I feel that enjoying it comes with a few factors: knowing what you're doing is correct and maximizing each workout, and a shift in mindset that the "dread" of it doesn't actually have to be dread, which takes time to shift your head into. Of course, there are days where I'd rather not go, but showing up for the ritual is what matters, at that point.

Working out is pain and suffering, but you can get so used to it you don't notice/mind the pain.

Gyms are weird. However, trail running in my favorite park til I feel like I might go into cardiac arrest is great! Plenty of distracting wildlife, no cars. Pushing past that feeling of "I'm gonna die" as I pass the muscular heavy lifters.

What can you do to cultivate this? Uhh...hate yourself and love the outdoors? But in a "guess I'll floss cause it hurts" kinda self loathing. Also gotta find a park you wouldn't mind dying in.

I'd rather hang upside down under water and smack my face with fast moving rocks than work out in a gym

Cuz I kinda do that

I actively enjoy climbing. It's just fun and kind of an exercise. For lifting, I don't mind it but it's definitely an effort some days.

Yeah, it's very relaxing stress release. I spend a lot of my day looking forward to my lifting between 10-11pm and thinking about what accessory work I'll be able to get to do after my main lifts.

You can listen to podcasts, nobody is coming to ask you to do something and demand your attention, there's no other chores to do during that hour.

It's addicting too, feeds the same itch from video games leveling up, grinding in Diablo for that piece of loot that raises one stat by like 2% you get hungry for those little boosts and they stack up over time and you keep trying to optimize your loadout so you can squeeze out a little more performance from the build, same thing with lifting and trying to keep pushing to the next increase.

I forgot to add, it's good to have a goal. Whether it's losing weight or building muscle, and have a plan to achieve it. Keep at it, it takes time for new habits to form.

I love it, I listen to music and it's like meditation. The pain of muscle fatigue for me feels good and bad at the same time.

I also used to run a LOT and now can't anymore cause of injury. Tried swimming but it wasn't enough to keep me in shape due to my age and...indulgent lifestyle.

Going to the gym became my only option and yeah, the results were almost instantaneous. I lost quite a few kilos, felt more energised, and my outward appearance improved.

I think when you consider the positives it makes a lot of sense...

• You feel good for challenging yourself, and even better when you succeed.
• You feel good full stop because exercise gives your endorphins.
• You feel good for sticking to a routine. This has the added benefit of demanding that you are more organised generally, in order to make time for workouts.
• You feel good because you start to look better.
• You feel good because it helps to relieve day-to-day stress that builds up.

I'm not aiming to get huge or anything. But I think the benefits should be pretty obvious. I enjoy going for the reasons I just listed and cause I can listen to music on my headphones and kind of zone out.

I do enjoy lifting weights but I can tell it's because I've been sitting at a desk all day. I think I'd hate it if I had any other job.