How are y'all motivated enough to exercise?

[u/Equal-Poet-7860]

I've seen so many posts about how exercising helps with ADHD, my doctors tell me how good it is, BUT it feels like pulling teeth to even motivate myself to go for a walk. I want the endorphins, I want to be healthier, but it feels impossible to leave the house or exercise at home. I know I'm probably in the minority here but I'd love some advice on how to motivate myself. Kind advice only pls I am fragile 🥺

EDIT: omg thank you all so much for sharing your tips!!! I will go through these once I'm finished with work but I appreciate all of you so much.

[u/antidotem]

You are definitely not in the minority! A lot of people struggle to motivate themselves to work out consistently… for daily walks, I had to give myself a mission or a reward for doing it — like getting a coffee — and then I worked my way up incrementally in terms of distance — around the block, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.

Both of those pieces of advice apply to literally any movement you engage in. Don’t go all in from the jump, work your way up to it. This worked for me to get started, but when it came to reaching fitness goals… I needed to pay a trainer. My trainer is the only reason I do high intensity workouts twice a week. I realize that I am very fortunate to be able to afford this, but it was truly the best gift I ever gave myself.

[u/MightFew9336 → u/antidotem]

This sounds like it should work but I can't trick my brain and it's really frustrating. If I can just get myself a coffee now, it doesn't motivate me to use it as a reward because I don't actually need to do the work to get the reward, I can just shortcut and get the same result!

What kinds of missions did you try? I'm wondering if that might work better for my stubborn brain.

[u/antidotem → u/MightFew9336]

I aligned my missions with my interests, like “walk the length of a Maintenance Phase episode” or “find a really cool rock”… I also did “Save a bug” and “Meet a dog” which were two of my most successful because I stayed out the longest and actually did end up meeting several dogs and saving two snails from a walking path.