# How does exercise make you feel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939 "2012-07-01T20:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/101 "2012-07-05T00:43:23Z")
The flip side of this: how I feel when I \*\*don’t \*\*exercise. Today (being the 4th) we ate at our favorite local BBQ place and I had fries and a burger (not my normal veggie pattie and twigs and berries). I have let the day get away from me, I slept late, and now we are about to take the kids to the town fireworks show. I have not run, walked or skipped for exercise. The most I have done is some yard work. I feel bloated and nasty and slothful. Pretty much the opposite of what exercise makes me feel. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/102 "2012-07-05T01:32:56Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > Weight training: My absolute favourite kind of exercise. Urrgh, gah! How I hate weight training. It’s so awful that I’ve opted out of the whole deal entirely. Cardio exercise makes me feel great. Pooped, but great. Weight training makes me feel “Arrgh! WHY? Why have I done this to myself? What have I gained?!” I’ve decided I’ll just be weak. Lots of stamina, but weak. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/103 "2012-07-05T02:15:48Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Urrgh, gah! How I hate weight training. It’s so awful that I’ve opted out of the whole deal entirely. Cardio exercise makes me feel great. Pooped, but great. Weight training makes me feel “Arrgh! WHY? Why have I done this to myself? What have I gained?!” > > I’ve decided I’ll just be weak. Lots of stamina, but weak. Maybe you’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/104 "2012-07-05T02:20:30Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > The flip side of this: how I feel when I \*\*don’t \*\*exercise. Today (being the 4th) we ate at our favorite local BBQ place and I had fries and a burger (not my normal veggie pattie and twigs and berries). I have let the day get away from me, I slept late, and now we are about to take the kids to the town fireworks show. I have not run, walked or skipped for exercise. The most I have done is some yard work. > > I feel bloated and nasty and slothful. Pretty much the opposite of what exercise makes me feel. Yeah, the opposite of **good** tired is that ‘tired’ you get from not really doing anything physical all day long and getting that mentally-drowsy tired feeling but no real _physical_ tiredness. **Bad** tired. ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/105 "2012-07-05T06:26:15Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yeah, the opposite of **good** tired is that ‘tired’ you get from not really doing anything physical all day long and getting that mentally-drowsy tired feeling but no real _physical_ tiredness. **Bad** tired. Peaceful, proud, happy. And yeah, I’m one of those people who fly for the rest of the day on endorphins. If I don’t exercise, I feel very cranky (and a bit guilty) 🙂 I generally do 3 cardio sessions, 2 strength sessions and a vinyasa yoga class a week - which I do consider a workout, but not a cardio one. One of the strength sessions has now been replaced by a pump class, which kicks my arse, and I love every minute of it. I started about 3 years ago, quite unfit and have built up to where I am now - there is still much to improve. To keep me interested I chop and change activities quite a bit. And never underestimate the power of an awesome sound track to accompany you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ScarletNumber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@ScarletNumber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletNumber)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/106 "2012-07-05T09:28:42Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Great…I feel radient and energetic. And because time at the gym tends to pass slowly, I feel like I got a little bit of extra time in my day. If you have someone torture you, you will live forever. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/107 "2012-07-05T15:00:23Z")
> [@Even seven](#): > > If you have someone torture you, you will live forever. Nah, it just feels like forever. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/108 "2012-07-05T17:14:40Z")
Tired, sweaty and good! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/109 "2012-07-08T04:17:11Z")
Sweaty. Sticky. Tired. Disgruntled. Like I just wasted a lot of otherwise useful time. I hate exercise for the sake of exercise. Invariably it starts to seem like a pointless punishment. This is an improvement over when I was a kid. My mother has issues understanding that when she and reality are in conflict, she is the one who’s supposed to give. She used to schedule activities right after school, which meant by the time I was done exerting myself, it had been something like six hours since I’d eaten anything. I could barely hold myself up. Puking was sometimes involved. I don’t mind exerting myself for something. I walk because that’s how I get to other places, and I used to genuinely love dance classes, because I was working towards a polished performance. Just going to the gym to exercise solely for the sake of having exercised puts me in a very foul mood, though. ---
**Author:** ![ScarletNumber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@ScarletNumber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletNumber)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/110 "2012-07-08T07:40:36Z")
Like I am being punished. That I am wasting my time. I think people who enjoy exercise are kidding themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/111 "2012-07-08T14:31:47Z")
> [@Arabella\_Flynn](#): > > Sweaty. Sticky. Tired. Disgruntled. Like I just wasted a lot of otherwise useful time. I hate exercise for the sake of exercise. Invariably it starts to seem like a pointless punishment. > [@Even seven](#): > > Like I am being punished. > > That I am wasting my time. > > I think people who enjoy exercise are kidding themselves. Exercise for the sake of exercise is masochism taken to the extreme. Up there with flagellants. Back in Honolulu, I rode my bike to the top of Tantalus three times a week and participated in the _Honolulu Advertiser_ annual 100-mile bike ride on Oahu. It was a great way to get around and see stuff. But sitting on an exercise bike going nowhere I find to be idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/112 "2012-07-08T14:37:26Z")
Ok this is highly unlikely, but does anyone ever taste anything in their mouth during exertion? I find if I do weights very hard, sometimes I can taste pure water. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/113 "2012-07-08T15:12:00Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Probably. If the only thing something does is make me feel bad, I’m not likely to do it often, ya? > > Look, from the time I was a little girl, physical activity was associated with feelings of failure and being mocked by my peers. And I wasn’t a fat kid - just more interested in sitting in a corner reading than in doing anything physical. I was clumsy and didn’t know the rules to the sports that everyone seemed to know, so I was always picked last for teams, been told it was my fault our team lost, etc. I literally have zero pleasant associations with exercise. > > Nowadays, I’m a fat adult. I _know_ that I need to exercise. But I’m still clumsy, and I always fall behind in group exercise classes. (Having no real sense of rhythm doesn’t help either.) I compare myself to the agile, not-fat people around me and I feel like a loser again. I don’t know how to use the machines properly, have no clue what sort of form I’m supposed to have, and tend to stop when I get winded (which is like 10 minutes into it). Running hurts my knees and I feel like I’m causing seismic shifts with every step. > > So yes, all-around, I would say it’s only slightly more desirable than a gang-bang. All of this is why I hate exercising in groups. I can’t keep up with an exercise class, I’m self-conscious in a gym-type setting, and my joints are lousy; losing weight has helped that, but bad joints are still bad joints and there’s no point to pounding my knees and ankles into the ground any further. So I exercise alone. I feel pretty good after a bike ride. I’m exhausted and grubby, but I feel relaxed afterward. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/114 "2012-07-08T15:31:37Z")
> [@Even seven](#): > > Like I am being punished. > > That I am wasting my time. > > I think people who enjoy exercise are kidding themselves. Do you like sex and/or dancing? For me, exercise gives me a similar flushed, free, expansive feeling that comes with being wholly absorbed with something physical. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/115 "2012-07-08T16:17:37Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Do you like sex and/or dancing? For me, exercise gives me a similar flushed, free, expansive feeling that comes with being wholly absorbed with something physical. Who has sex for the sake of having sex? If you’re not accomplishing something, like having a baby, then what’s the point? It’s just idiotic. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/116 "2012-07-08T16:20:58Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But sitting on an exercise bike going nowhere I find to be idiotic. Unfortunately around here IMHO riding a real bike on the streets is pretty idiotic, given the crazy drivers (not to mention the stifling heat and humidity during the summer). It’s more convenient for me as well, tho if I do end up moving to another more bike-friendly state in the future I’ll probably spring for a street model. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/117 "2012-07-08T19:00:01Z")
> [@Even seven](#): > > Like I am being punished. > > That I am wasting my time. > > I think people who enjoy exercise are kidding themselves. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Do you like sex and/or dancing? For me, exercise gives me a similar flushed, free, expansive feeling that comes with being wholly absorbed with something physical. Well that’s not confusing as fuck…I read the first and thought “Now that doesn’t sound at all like **even sven**.” To address the comment…no, people who enjoy exercise aren’t kidding themselves. Between the natural physical high, being in the great outdoors in all seasons, and constantly pushing personal performance…what’s not to love?? For some people (myself included) it is a physical and emotional event, even if it’s a particularly bad or exhausting session. You might as well say that people who enjoy smoking weed are kidding themselves. Sounds like a coping mechanism for you, though. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/118 "2012-07-08T19:04:28Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Who has sex for the sake of having sex? If you’re not accomplishing something, like having a baby, then what’s the point? It’s just idiotic. :rolleyes: Am I being whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/119 "2012-07-08T23:55:39Z")
> [@Even seven](#): > > Like I am being punished. > > That I am wasting my time. > > I think people who enjoy exercise are kidding themselves. Maybe you just haven’t found the right exercise yet. I don’t enjoy exercise the same way I enjoy going to a concert or out to dinner. I wouldn’t say “enjoyable” so much as “rewarding.” When I exercise, I feel better all the time. I don’t do it for the pure enjoyment of exercise itself. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/120 "2012-07-09T02:37:56Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Who has sex for the sake of having sex? If you’re not accomplishing something, like having a baby, then what’s the point? It’s just idiotic. :rolleyes: > [@monstro](#): > > Am I being whooshed? I’d bet dollars to doughnuts. Those really good cream-filled doughnuts that make you need exercise. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Unfortunately around here IMHO riding a real bike on the streets is pretty idiotic, given the crazy drivers (not to mention the stifling heat and humidity … Ditto for over here, which is why I’ve hung up the bike and make do with walking up my six flights all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939.md?page=5)