No motivation
Not sure if this is an Aspie thing, or just me being lazy, but I HATE... HATE... working out.
I know that I have to do it in order to prevent myself from becoming a fat slob. It's the healthy thing to do, etc.
However, when I get in a gym environment, I get intensely bored with the workout. Seriously... weight goes up... weight goes down... weight goes up... weight goes down... BORING! Try some calisthenics... let me get on a mat and flop/twitch for awhile... YAWN... I try running because there's at least a periodic change in scenery, but even then I can't escape the thought that I'd get there faster if I just drove a car.
Not a diagnosed Aspie myself, but I've had a long train of people (one of which is my wife) telling me that I should probably look in to an Asperger's diagnosis and I also scored pretty good on that standard Asperger's test (>150 I think).
Are there any Aspie fitness nuts out there? How do you do it? How do you stay mentally engaged in your workout?
I'm an NT with similar struggles when it comes to exercise and typically low dopamine, which obviously doesn't make the process any easier.
I just keep fun exercise gear around so it doesn't even feel like I'm exercising. Getting into hooping, skateboarding, cycling, etc (if time provides) can make the journey a lot more fun than going to the gym. The last time I had a gym membership, it was right next to my house and I still rarely worked up the gall to go and workout.
Also, people are getting pretty ripped with resistance bands and yoga if you have a look around on YT.
The only exercise that I have ever really loved was distance running. I hated team sports and for some reason calisthenics and weight training were always incredibly painful. I have enjoyed some forays into martial arts but despise dancing (any kind). I started distance running as a child when I realized that other kids (bullies) did not really have as much wind as I did, even when they were faster. If I could keep far enough away from them I could eventually wear them out. The only alternative was to fight. I had to fight quite a bit at first, but I got faster over distances and developed a reputation for taking vicious cheap shots in fights and they finally left me alone. I kept running because it was something that I didn't actually suck at. That generated its own kind of enthusiasm.
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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 153 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 60 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)