Richard LittlerI do exercise to keep thing ticking over. 5km jogs. You hear of people who experience feelings of well-being, even rushes of euphoria, to which they become addicted. Who *are* these people? Sport/exercise to me has always felt like being dragged around a field by a rabid bull. A necessary evil.
Joanne Jacobs@Richard_Littler walk, don't run. And play podcasts while you walk.
Ian Robinson@joannejacobs @Richard_Littler Yep I get a buzz about 2.5 km into a 5km walk. So good.
I used to get it doing fast bowling practice at cricket nets too. I miss that 😊
Graham Dunning@Richard_Littler I don't experience anything as profound as euphoria, but definitely notice that my mood has lifted after a run, fairly often.
Similar to the effects of meditating, it's often quite subtle, but unmistakable once I do notice it.
Similar to the effects of meditating, it's often quite subtle, but unmistakable once I do notice it.
Mad Argon 
@Richard_Littler not sure if real high euphoria... But in 2019, when I started running regularly (~4 km/day in quiet local forest) it was the first time since secendary school when I didn't feel that constant background sadness. Well, few months without depressive mood as normal baseline of life... It was kind of surreal itself.
mojala@Richard_Littler there are a select few people whose system just doesn't respond to exercise with an overflow of endorfins. We are in the minority, for most exercise can be pleasant and even very addictive. I've found kendo, which allows me to scream and hit people and while doing it get vigourous exercise. Running? yuck.
Colman Reilly@Richard_Littler have you tried something that requires more brain power while you do it? Technique based dance, martial arts, t’ai chi? That sort of thing. I envy you the willpower to do something you hate but I find I need something that gets my brain into my body to keep my interest and get me off the couch. (I can then do things I have in support of that.)
Anthony@Richard_Littler Yes! If I've ever said "There is never any buzz for me" I've always got *that* look; that I'm lying and just lazy, but if I only actually tried... And then getting diagnosed with ADHD it all began to make sense.
RolloTreadway@Richard_Littler Same here. I think it's far more common than is widely discussed (and anecdotally, I think possibly more common amongst neurodivergent people than the general population).
It's something I do try to draw attention to as much as I can, because it can feel lonely and othering when all you hear is 'exercise makes everyone feel great!'. Believe me, you're not alone in this. Many people don't feel good as a result of exercise and no change to the exercising will alter that.
I believe a current neuroscientific school of thought is that those who get the good feelings, dopamine or whatever, do so because exercise inherently feels very uncomfortable - shortness of breath, increased heart rate, sweat, joint strain - and the hormonal system evolved to disguise that unpleasantness in order to ensure that bodies got what they needed. Similar to how, if you need a particular nutrient, then food containing that can taste fantastic.
But it's a spectrum, as these things always are, and some people get all the euphoric feelings, and some people (you, me) get absolutely nothing except the unshielded discomfort, and others fall somewhere in the middle.
Fiona Craig@Richard_Littler In common with a couple of other replies, I too don't enjoy exercise for it's own sake, but still enjoy disciplines which actively promote a mind-body connection. The thing they have in common is requiring the brain to get in on the activity. The 'better' feeling afterward is either from social contact with like-minded people, or it's as if my flesh fits my skeleton again and the nervous system has less to complain about. Not anything like the endorphins people talk about.
metalfabs@Richard_Littler it takes a while to get the positive effects. Few weeks of feeling sore and tired usually. Even then, maybe the activity is not for you.
I tried to take up running and always hated it and found it boring, even after giving it a good honest try.
Lifting weights worked for me. But first it was weeks of feeling weak, and being uncomfortable with the mirrors everywhere. Once results piled up there was no stopping me.
Aidan Murphy@Richard_Littler Research [which I can't reference] suggests ~20% get a positive feeling, ~20% get the opposite, and 60% get neither. Personally I suspect the 20% positive is on the optimistic side!
gleeb@Richard_Littler I have never found it necessary to be dragged around a field by a rabid bull.