It’s an oxymoron to combine fitness and fun. When you’re thinking of fun stuff to do, grinding on the treadmill or the squat rack doesn’t come to mind. Although some may find those fun, they’re in the minority.
I often find training unenjoyable. I exercise for other reasons, including out of habit, to look good in the mirror, to impress my wife, and to outdo my kids at everything. The exercises I do are not fun, and I look forward to finishing them.
What am I looking forward to?
Eating.
When grinding through a set of Bulgarian Split Squats, I look forward to last night’s leftovers. It’s like the carrot dangling in front of the horse’s mouth.
To stick with many things, you need to find some form of fun to keep going, and fitness is no different. Here, I’ll provide some suggestions to make fitness fun again, so the bad-tasting medicine is easy to swallow.
Make Fitness Fun
Here I go again with the same oxymoron, but this time I can inject some fun into your fitness.
Play Your Favorite Sport
Reflect on your childhood. What sports did you play? Was it baseball, football, soccer, track and field, basketball, or hockey?
Now is the time to dust off those smooth moves. Take your fitness and skills to a recreation league or play in the backyard with the kids or friends. Then, you can base your exercise routine on a sport and exercise with a purpose. And when you have a purpose, exercise becomes more enjoyable.
A Change Of Scenery
Going to the same gym, using the same equipment, doing the same exercises, and seeing the same people doing the same thing is dull.
Instead, try training at a friend’s gym or get outside with resistance bands or your own body weight. Do sprints at your local park or join a group exercise class you’ve never tried before. These are only a few suggestions. Please go and be more creative than I am.
Stability Ball Wrestle
Exercising with a partner helps boost exercise consistency. Try this fun drill with a friend, and you’ll be sweating and smiling in no time.
Setup: Stand in front of the stability ball and place your right foot on it, with your knee bent to 90 degrees. Your partner, who is across from you on the other side, places their left foot on the ball, right beside your foot.
Rules: You’re both trying to knock your opponent’s foot off the stability ball by rolling the ball with intent. There is no kicking; just pushing the ball hard enough to knock your opponent off balance. The person whose foot stays on the ball wins the point. Whenever someone loses their balance, the opponent earns a point. First to 5 points wins.
30 Seconds Of Fun
Let’s say that I have a twisted sense of fun.
At the end of your workout, throw in a resistance band biceps curls, triceps extension, or both, and do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds. Count your reps and try to beat it next time. Or go against an honest partner and see who does the most. Not only is it a competition against yourself and others, but you’ll get a nice pump out of it.
It’s a win-win.
Have A Ball
I’d often get clients coming into training sessions stressed out of their minds, and the last thing they needed was to add split squats to that stress. Many med ball exercises are a great way to blow off some steam without adding unnecessary stress because
1. You are training power.
2. There’s no eccentric muscle contraction, the type that gets you sore.
But you’re breathing heavy, feeling the burn, and still burning a ton of calories. Some might call that fun. I do. The next time you’re talking yourself out of training because it’s not fun, try the circuit above.
You can thank me later.
Wrapping Up
I understand that many aspects of health and fitness are not fun. There is some temporary suck for long-term gain. But if adding some ‘fun’ exercises and activities helps you stick with this health and fitness journey longer, I’ll consider that a win.
Do you have a smile for me, or is that asking too much?
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Whether you’re just starting or you’re tired of piecing together random YouTube workouts, my online coaching will help you succeed with:
Customized workouts you can do at home
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