How to stay active when you hate exercise

More than half (55 per cent) of all Australian adults don’t get the recommended amount of exercise for good health.

While many societal factors come into play — like sedentary work, commuting, juggling parenting and hyper-busy lifestyles — many of us would prefer to do something else than another task that feels like more work. And some of us — let’s be honest — actively loathe the idea of donning lycra and heading for the gym.

What’s clear is that we don’t need another lecture about the importance of exercise (we know how good it is for us, right?!). Sadly, the pressures of trying to live up to our health standards and the feeling that we’re failing have become a leading source of stress. Thirty-nine per cent of Australians in a survey by the Australian Psychological Society said trying to stay healthy caused them stress, making it the fourth leading cause of stress. Exercise has become loaded with guilt and failure and the ongoing pressure to add more to an already swamped