Music. For me, music motivates me to move more. If you loved working out b4 work, you'll probably be better off trying to find ways to do that instead of trying to squeeze it in during your lunch break or after work where you might be tired.

You're lucky to have a gym at work, but finding time to use it can be a challenge, especially if you don't really feel like using it. I'm guessing you'll have to find little things you can do at work if you can't fit in a regular workout, like using the stairs to go up to your office. Parking at the back of the parking lot & walk at a brisk pace to the office. Get a kettle ball or a small weight & use it at your desk. etc, etc.

The little things, built up, might give you the motivation you seek to up your cardio game.

Good Luck

You lost serious cred in your implication that ANY cure would work for all of a population. Seriously? If you need meds then that means that depression medication works better than exercise period? REALLY? You aren't familiar with a bell curve? With means, modes, outliers?

Up until a few weeks ago I was taking medication for depression, I'm getting talk therapy (CBT primarily) biweekly for depression, I'm exercising as one piece of my fight against depression, I use light therapy for depression, I have aroma therapy tools that help maybe more with focus but still a little with depression, I use meditation for anxiety and depression, I make myself spend time in green space for depression (and ADD)... These are all tools. Nothing is 100% I'm very confident I will be on medication for my depression again, as far as I can tell this is going to be a lifetime battle. I will seek out and use all the tools I can find that might help me through this hell.

My explaining that I am motivated to exercise by the benefits that exercise provides to my fight against depression is not a personal attack on your use of antidepressant medications. My god.

Oh Sparklekitty - Weren't you the one who said you didn't have time to go look up sources for me when I asked you for your sources in an earlier discussion? (yes, actually, you were). But while I'm clearly a petty person who holds grudges, I also admire your desire for facts and sources - a trait I truly wished everyone shared!

So yes, if one Googles this the first source that comes up tends to be the one from the UK written in 2012 which is a meta study (a study of other studies for those reading this who aren't used to the terminology). Two important points in this study is that the act of simply prescribing exercise is not helpful to a depressed patient (because seriously - you're already depressed, being told you need to go do the exact opposite of what every cell of your body desires, sleeeeeep generally, often cruelly combined with insomnia, isn't exactly helpful) and the fact that you can't perform a double blind test with exercise because most of us can't be duped into "pretend" exercise where we (the patient) and they (the testers) are both unable to know if we were randomly placed in a group that actually performs "real" cardio exercise or a group that isn't actually achieving cardio effort. Valid points for sure! But there is more to my admittedly causally offered comment than the prescribing part or the validity of the scientifically constructed study.

There are reasons that non-profit, patient focused wellness dollars are being invested in exercise programs designed to combat depression and anxiety, mostly the finding of studies that show a correlation between cardio activity and Quality of Life improvements. In studies where one can't perform a double blind side to side analysis this is often as good as it's going to get.

The phrase I used was intended to relate this to pharmaceutical studies, which as I'm sure you are aware, require only a slight improvement in a few patients to be considered a general success. If a tested drug shows a perceived improvement that is just slightly better than a placebo, it's considered a viable option for treatment.

None the less, I will go back and edit my original post to clear up this travesty, because you did well in calling me out!

Here's a nice source that might motivate a reader to exercise - http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160589

I hope so too! Trainers and coaching staff in such groups DO have a turn-over.

I remember my first half marathon (Massive Medals in Newport Va..Christopher Newport University).

It was so hard and I was so tired and wanted to give up. But a "Girls on the Run" group was there with a cute sign that said "Punch here for power" and they cheered so happily and energetically when you did! And they wanted you to take their gatorade and fruit too!

Their happy spirit encouraged me for another 2 miles!

>> Regular cardio is a better cure for depression and anxiety than any medication on the market - like literally performs far better than drugs.

Citations please? The meta-analyses I've found say this is not true. For some patients, exercise may be more effective than SSRI's, but I see nothing to support your claim that it's "far better." (Source)