Ps and Workout routines?

[Yaru]

I started to work out almost every day 2 months ago. It's something I never done before, because I thought I was gonna hate it like I've always hated all everything a bit physical. But I actually do enjoy it quite a lot, and I feel better, so much better.
I was doing it really well, until I realized something: I wasn't doing a proper warm up+stretching.

I watched a few lessons that explain how to do it , for how long and why I should do it and it was a significant revelation.
Anyway, it became a problem. I am not working out as much anymore. Knowing that I have to warm up and everything before the actual exercise makes me feel super lazy and I just don't feel like it. And it sucks.
I also hate that I have to follow a workout plan and alternate exercises everyday and all that.
Every single fitness person on YouTube or in real life that I've ever met/watched talk about schedules, lists and routines, and that's crazy talk to me.

How do other extreme P types like me adapt to all these J habits?
Is there a way to go through all this that's bit less strict but effective?
Are J types more likely to be active than P types?

I really need some motivation tips, I don't want to stop doing this, but if for some reason if I can't work out for a day or two, going back to the routine feels so hard. It's like restarting each time.

 

[Blank]

You can do more dynamic warmups that incorporate movement into your workouts. Actually, if you know your body well enough you don't HAVE to stretch or warm up your body before a workout. There have been studies that suggest static stretches before a workout can lead to more harm; on the other hand, there are also studies that stretching can increase athletic performance by something like 10-15%, I believe (but don't quote me on that.) You don't have to follow exercise plans. They're just plans. Whatever makes you fitter, healthier is good enough, really. Heart disease can strike perfectly "healthy" professional body builders, marathon runners, etc. just like it can morbidly obese people. Sure the chances are lowered, but there aren't any real guarantees.

You do you if it makes you happy and healthy to be you.

 

[Dopa]

Frankly I just hate not working out more than I hate working out. I couldn't stop if I tried. I'd feel like shit and I'd want to go work out. I hate sitting around and feeling like I am atrophying.

Currently I am on a 6 day cycle. 4 of those 6 days, I just do 2 easy 15-20 minute workouts on the elliptical with some stretching and light resistance work (1 morning, 1 evening). Just to keep things all lubed up, keep my metabolism on. And on the remaining 2 days, 1 of them I lift the fuck out of some weights and 1 of them I basically do an hour long sprint on the elliptical, heart rate in the 180 range (I'm 29). I'm thinking about cutting 1 of the rest days though and making it 3/2 instead of 4/2. Diet's important as well. I eat a shitload. Lots of protein especially. Oh, and I try to hit the pool when I can, like at least once a week.

 

[heal1079]

I think I should follow my workout routines more sincerely from now onwards.

 

[Poki]

I am really active, enjoy it. Workout when I get bored.

I pretty much stick with basic concepts...48 hours between working the same muscle...ummm...watch the type of pain...some pain is good, others are not. Know what exercises work what muscles. A good workout is when you are exhausted when you are done...don't stop until your exhausted

That's my extent of how I work out and my planning of working out. When life is not crazy busy and not exhausted I work out 3-4 days a week.

 

[Such Irony]

I hate workout routines. It's just another thing I feel like I have to do, along with holding a job, paying bills, household chores, etc.

I have had workout routines off and on. I can't seem to maintain it over a long term.

What works best for me, is to vary the time of the day and type of exercise but make sure to get 30-60 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week. I don't mind walking and riding the exercise bike. My mind is free to wander while doing the activity. Also helps to have some sort of diversion, usually listen to music or an audiobook.

 

[gromit]

Playing with a team, the warmup is built in to practice sessions so that was never a problem for me while I was involved in high school and collegiate sports.

After graduating college and working out on my own I didn't really warm up/stretch, but as I got older and started getting small injuries/sprains/strains from playing soccer and other cutting sports more recreationally, I started to incorporate a warmup, basically just a jog 1-2 times around the field and then some dynamic stretching activities (butt kicks, high knees, high skipping, lunges, and side shuffles/grapevine to each side). That has really helped me with injuries personally, getting those muscle groups activating more gently before requiring them do sudden sharp movements.

Anyway, for me it wasn't until I actually firsthand saw the value of it (vs just thinking about it abstractly) that I started to do it. Same with most things.

What sort of workout do you do? I think if you're running, just start out a little slow and go into the heavier/faster stuff after a few minutes of running and that's pretty good. If you're doing weights, start out with one set of pretty low weights to get the muscles going properly. Or if you're going for power, like box jumps, do a few jumps in place or start with shorter boxes at first before going into taller ones. Obviously a full warmup is preferred, but if you're young it's probably better to work on regular exercise than anything.

And if you get injured enough times, then maybe you'll learn to see the value, like me

 

[Showbread]

My ISFP friend is probably one of the most diligent exercisers I know. She's very fit, but she has to have a lot of variety in routine or she gets bored. She does a lot of lifting, body weights, rock climbing, yoga, etc.

 

[ceecee]

And if you get injured enough times, then maybe you'll learn to see the value, like me

This. No matter what, I do a daily yoga routine. I don't always have time to do my weights/walking alternating workouts but I always have time for this. I have found by not forgoing the yoga, I hurt less and I get injured less, especially when I started adding in more dynamic moves and stretches.

 

[INTP]

If im not in a real rush when leaving home, i do a fast work out because it kinda wakes me up a bit. Also i do the same thing usually once a day, sometimes two(besides when leaving home) at some random time during the day. Doesent take more than a few mins and i dont need to follow any routines.
Ofc this isnt enough if you want to lose a lot of weight or look like a bodybuilder, but just few mins 1-3 times a day can be surpsingly beneficial, or then i just have good genes

 

[RandomINTP]

I hate workout routines. It's just another thing I feel like I have to do, along with holding a job, paying bills, household chores, etc.

I have had workout routines off and on. I can't seem to maintain it over a long term.

What works best for me, is to vary the time of the day and type of exercise but make sure to get 30-60 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week. I don't mind walking and riding the exercise bike. My mind is free to wander while doing the activity. Also helps to have some sort of diversion, usually listen to music or an audiobook.

Oh god, it's Fe. My arch nemesis...

 

[Amethyst]

"Work out" is such a negative term. I hate work in the first place.

I like to have fun with it, and every now and then have a workout that pushes my physical limits (since vigorous exercise once a week is actually better for you than forcing yourself to work out every day)

Easy Does It: Run Faster, Less Often - Competitor.com

I probably work out twice a week at most, but I still feel fairly fit. I do fun activities like hiking, biking, roller skating, ice skating, snowboarding, and playing sports. If you have fun exercising, it won't feel like a workout.

 

[Patrick]

Knowing that I have to warm up and everything before the actual exercise makes me feel super lazy and I just don't feel like it. And it sucks.
I also hate that I have to follow a workout plan and alternate exercises everyday and all that.
Every single fitness person on YouTube or in real life that I've ever met/watched talk about schedules, lists and routines, and that's crazy talk to me. ...

I really need some motivation tips, I don't want to stop doing this, but if for some reason if I can't work out for a day or two, going back to the routine feels so hard. It's like restarting each time.

I can relate to everything you're saying. For most of my life I didn't do a workout of any kind unless I was forced to (by school or the army). Then, around age 47, I realized I needed to work out--so I started and have never stopped (I'm 60 now). But I have to do it every day--and just about the same time and the same way every day--or I won't do it at all.

IMO, the best exercise is whatever you can make yourself do regularly. Don't do anything that'll hurt you, but don't try to follow every piece of advice you hear either. I, too, have been discouraged by motivational coaches and helpful tips.

I don't know how much of it has to do with my being an INFP or an enneagram type Six, but I find that I need fixed routines for chores and workouts and such; if I wait for inspiration, I'll never do them, so when the time comes I do it and get it out of the way. I've done my daily workouts for so long now that I'd feel something was wrong if I missed one (though sometimes I'll mow the lawn or something instead of working out). Since I work at a desk and enjoy sedentary hobbies, I also need to work out every day.

But I'm a "P type" too, in the sense of being generally unstructured. I rigidly schedule my workouts and chores only so I can get them over and done with and be free to do as I please the rest of the time. Because of that, I resist any attempt to get me to change my routines. It's all I can do to stick with them as it is; if I have to take a more conscious approach and add variety and all that, I'll simply quit.

I do mix things up a little, though. I do bodyweight exercises (calesthenics), and for variety I assign exercises to the cards in a deck: spades are push-ups, hearts are squats, etc. I shuffle the deck and then turn cards up one by one, doing the number of exercises shown (e.g., ten push-ups for the ten of spades). So, it's the same workout every day, but in a different order each time. My wife bought some Fitdeck cards, so I use those on Friday for additional variety. I used to use the treadmill or go out running now and then, but I've gotten out of the habit of that.

Anyhow, my advice would be to pick a workout routine that you like and that you believe will be good for you and not harmful; and then just do that daily--or as regularly as you set your mind to. Plug your ears to advice from others, until you decide you're ready for something new. Then listen; and if you pick up a good tip, work it into your routine as you see fit.

That's what I did. Nowadays, besides the deck-of-cards routine described above, I do handstand push-ups in the morning, plus the Five Tibetans and a set of acupressure exercises coupled with a few exercises I picked up from Pete Egoscue. At work I sometimes do a few Synergetics exercises too. But no way would I have taken on all those things at once in the beginning! I wanted one simple, straightforward exercise routine; so all I did for the first couple years was the Royal Court.

'Nuff from me.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Just keep doing it how you've been doing it.

 

[Patrick]

Just keep doing it how you've been doing it.

How come it took me seven or eight paragraphs to say that?

 

[Crabs]

Ughh...the lactic acid from my workout 2 days ago is torturing my back and biceps, and my routine is suffering. I need to work chest and shoulders today, but my body is telling me no.

Frankly I just hate not working out more than I hate working out. I couldn't stop if I tried. I'd feel like shit and I'd want to go work out. I hate sitting around and feeling like I am atrophying.

Same here. I hate not being active. Unfortunately, these days, I don't have as much free time so I've gotta workout whenever I can.

 

[wolfy]

It isn't really a P or J thing. Plenty of P athletes around. I like training, have an outcome but enjoy the process. learn why you do things.

 

[five sounds]

I try to get my exercise naturally by living an active life. Playing with friends, bar tending makes me feel like I'm doing a lot of moving while I work, I walk up 4 flights of stairs multiple times a day, etc. Other than that, yoga or pickup sports is really as "exercise routine" as I get.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

S

I started to work out almost every day 2 months ago. It's something I never done before, because I thought I was gonna hate it like I've always hated all everything a bit physical. But I actually do enjoy it quite a lot, and I feel better, so much better.
I was doing it really well, until I realized something: I wasn't doing a proper warm up+stretching.

I watched a few lessons that explain how to do it , for how long and why I should do it and it was a significant revelation.
Anyway, it became a problem. I am not working out as much anymore. Knowing that I have to warm up and everything before the actual exercise makes me feel super lazy and I just don't feel like it. And it sucks.
I also hate that I have to follow a workout plan and alternate exercises everyday and all that.
Every single fitness person on YouTube or in real life that I've ever met/watched talk about schedules, lists and routines, and that's crazy talk to me.

How do other extreme P types like me adapt to all these J habits?
Is there a way to go through all this that's bit less strict but effective?
Are J types more likely to be active than P types?

I really need some motivation tips, I don't want to stop doing this, but if for some reason if I can't work out for a day or two, going back to the routine feels so hard. It's like restarting each time.

The biggest thing is just do what you can do. Make it part of your lifestyle, rather than it be something you need to do. At least, that's how I look at it. I have days I don't want to go. Sometimes, I don't. But pay attention to how you feel. I love the way I feel after working out and that feeling incentivizes it.

It's better that you do something than let one thing deter you from continuation of progress. If you have to force yourself to go often, maybe your expectations are too high. Are you aiming for 6 days a week? Try 4. Take some pressure off your goals in order to maintain consistency.

But consistency is key. Think about it not like, "I need to workout today" but "I need to workout for the rest of my life". Heavy? Eh. It puts it in perspective. Hey, you're doing this to maintain your health, right? So don't go in with the mindset that there is an "end" because there isn't. Surrender to it and it gets easy.

So, about your stretchy issues...first, tell the instructor about this. Ask for alternatives. Most will give you options. Maybe that will solve it right there. If not, mix up your workout. Add cycling or running into a day, etc. Then maybe doing this stretchy workout a little less per week won't be so daunting.

I don't make lists, btw.

But yeah. Alternating workouts is needed with weight training. So, that isn't a J thing - that is how you weight train. Simple.

Reps/sets/muscle group.

That is essentially what you need to know.

 

[Mole]

Euphoria and Relaxation, and Metabolic Waves

I practise 5X5X5.

I dance for five minutes, then sit for five minutes. I do this five times and it takes me fifty minutes.

As I dance, I become euphoric, and as I sit the relaxation response automatically kicks in and I deeply relax.

So I alternate between euphoria and relaxation, setting up metabolic waves in my body.

And we know that when we are flatlining, we are dead. But the bigger the metabolic waves in our body, the more alive we are.

This also goes by the name of interval training, and has proved to be the most effective form of training.