I've faithfully gone to the gym 5 times a week every week for a year and a half. I still despise exercise - but I like the results enough to keep going.
My inspiration is simple [0]. Ultimately, I'm in control of how I look and feel. Exercise sucks - but it's the best way to keep myself looking how I want to look. That's the only motivation I need to suffer through it.
Maybe it's not exercise you hate, but the gym. I tried the gym once and dropped it because I hated it. A few years later I found running and loved it; then I found cycling and loved it even more.
Exercise is tiring enough as it is (that's the point). You should at least find something you enjoy, otherwise it's even more likely that you won't do it.
I tried everything - lifting weights is the only thing that 'stuck'. I'd love to swim, but the only pool is at the gym and it's heavily chlorinated and I have to shower before and after swimming which is now outside of "convenient to exercise".
The gym is a few minutes up the road, I'd jog but it's on an incline - terrible for the knees.
Scan in, get changed, throw some weight around, wipe off the sweat (not enough time for a full shower), leave. It's convenient enough and something I've managed to stick with long-term.
I agree.. I have had a greenway near me for 5 years before I started using it... If you can do something without even having to commute to it, it can be even easier to start a habit
My inspiration is simple [0]. Ultimately, I'm in control of how I look and feel. Exercise sucks - but it's the best way to keep myself looking how I want to look. That's the only motivation I need to suffer through it.
[0] http://i.imgur.com/B63LzdF.jpg