Do you secretly hate exercising but feel like you have to do it?

ME TOO! And I am starting a support group for people like us. People who don’t really enjoy sweating and breathing hard, who feel like hamsters when we set foot on a treadmill or an elliptical, and who would sit on our butts all day, every day, were it not for a nagging feeling that doing so would bring about an early, preventable death.

My name is Yvonne, and I am a couchaholic.

I wasn’t always a couchaholic. I was very, very active for most of my childhood. I took dance classes and played soccer year-round. But I eventually quit dancing and playing soccer and stopped making time for physical activity in my life. I got by in college by walking all over the three-mile-long campus, taking free yoga classes, and playing the occasional game of Ultimate Frisbee. Then I moved to Pittsburgh for grad school and the campus got smaller and the yoga stopped being free, but I still played intramural volleyball. And then I moved to Houston, where people drive a half mile to buy a sandwich. All this, plus advancing age, made me realize that I really needed to make time to exercise and take care of my body.

After a year in Houston, I was not in good shape. I had gained weight and lost muscle tone. On my occasional trips back to Pittsburgh, I found my legs getting sore after distances I used to walk effortlessly. I had also lost so much core strength that standing for a few hours made my back hurt and I aggravated an old lower back injury several times, each time requiring two days of rest before I could walk without pain.

I started working out seriously in October, after my husband bought me a pair of running shoes. I began logging my runs on RunKeeper in December, and this month I hit the 50-mile mark. As you can see from my RunKeeper log, I am not extremely consistent—there are a couple of 3-week hiatuses in there. But I have stuck with it longer than I have stuck with any other exercise regimen outside of organized sports.

I still don’t particularly enjoy running, and there are 65-year-olds who can run circles around me, but I can run now. Three miles, no walking, and I’ll still have energy at the end of it. I’ve also resumed the yoga, once again free thanks to instructors who post videos on YouTube. I’m in better shape now than I’ve been in at least six years, and that feels good.

And so this is my invitation to everyone else out there who needs to drag their butts off the couch to exercise to join me, and we can encourage each other to continue dragging our butts off the couch. And so we can have the best part of team sports—the socializing—while doing solo exercise activities all over the globe.

If you’re interested in joining Couchaholics Anonymous, here are our steps (only four!):

1. Make your doctor a partner in achieving and maintaining good health. Not only should you consult your doctor before beginning a new exercise regimen, but your doctor can diagnose and help you manage conditions that affect your energy levels and ability to exercise.
2. Make a decision to focus on yourself and do the exercise that is right for you. When you’re just starting out, it’s tempting to compare yourself to everyone else at the gym or on the track. Don’t. Set a pace and a routine that is comfortable for you and stick with it.
3. Make a decision to invest in the right equipment. Don’t get the cheapest stuff out there. Assume you will stick with it and spend the money to buy decent (but not the most expensive) shoes, clothing, and other gear (including gear for different seasons, if necessary). Getting in shape will be hard enough without having to fight against uncomfortable or unreliable equipment.
4. Log your workouts and be proud of your progress. Take the time to celebrate milestones, like by posting one of these chips on your blog when you’ve earned it!