Exercise is fun, at least, it’s supposed to be. Many people think of exercise as a chore that involves going to a gym and lifting weights or using the cardio equipment. Understandably, that doesn’t appeal to most people. The good news is that exercise does not have to be a chore, a grind, an endless suffering, something you have to force yourself to do. Yes, there’s going be a little bit of that if you want to improve, but overall, if you don’t find some level of enjoyment in physical activity, it’s not likely to last and your health will suffer, or worse, you’ll be stricken with boredom.
You can find the fun in fitness and here are strategies for how you can make fitness fun for you.
Note: from here on, I’m going to refer to every form of exercise and physical activity as a sport, even if your sport is walking.
Get a Workout Partner
Having someone to hold you accountable and that is accountable to you further incentivizes you do to get out and play. As a bonus, few activities will be as bonding as a workout. Even if you prefer to work out alone, find someone who also likes to work out alone and join forces in working out alone, together.
Join a Sports Club
The sad reality is that most people never play sports after High School, many didn’t even play sports in the first place. Sports is not just for kids. Every sport imaginable is being played by adults all over the world, either as a hobby or in organized leagues. Living in or near a city makes it even easier to find a sports league or club and they range from casual to competitive.
Know Thyself
Do you enjoy being inside or outside, team sports or individual sports, competing with others or competing only with yourself, easy-going activities or pushing far beyond your comfort zone, going fast or going slow?
Who you are gives clues to what activities you’ll enjoy most. Someone who prefers more endurance-based activity may be drawn to competing in obstacle courses. Someone who enjoys the outdoors will find themselves more inspired to go hiking, mountain biking, or rock climbing.
Do Something Completely Different
Beyond the activities that fit your personality, consider trying something completely unexpected for you. Perhaps you love Yoga but have never tried weightlifting. Maybe you think Pilates is for wimps. Go take a Pilates class and you’ll be quickly humbled by people half your size and twice your age. You might even love the very thing you thought you’d hate. The rule of thumb for doing activities you’ve never tried or shunned in the past, “Don’t knock until you try it”.
Face Fear and Doubt
Fear and doubt are dangerous obstacles. If you don’t think you’re coordinated enough or capable enough to try something new, just know that nobody is when they first learn. Anything can be trained and always remember, you’re doing this to have fun, not win medals. Don’t let fear or doubt stop you from trying something you could really enjoy or even be great at.
Explore Your Sport
Each sport has specializations within the sport. Someone who lifts weights may emphasize bodybuilding, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, kettlebells, or any of dozens of other specializations. Someone who enjoys running can specialize in specific distances, trail running, ultrarunning, relays, barefoot running, and so on.
Join a Community
Make exercise social and supportive. Surround yourself with people who you enjoy being around. When you surround yourself with people who enjoy the same activities as you, it no longer becomes about the exercise, it’s about sharing in the experience, looking forward to hanging out with friends, making new ones, being a part of something, and building camaraderie that usually only comes from team sports or being in the military. You’ll also find yourself pushing each other to get better.
Make a Comeback
Get back into a sport you played growing up. Perhaps there’s an activity you enjoyed as a kid or have always wanted to try and have since forgotten. Make a plan to start that activity this month.
Take Lessons
Approach your sport with the idea of learning and perfecting your skill set. Being more skilled will make any sport more fun because it’s fun to be good at something. To develop skills best and ultimately have more fun, dropout of YouTube University, get yourself a Coach and take lessons. As a nice side effect, focusing on your technique can help you forget that you’re even exercising. You’ll be motivated to get better rather than trying to motivate yourself to workout.
Do More Than One Thing
Of course, as a Strength Coach, I place a high value on Strength Training, but I never encourage anyone to only do Strength Training. Become a multi-sport athlete. Multi-sport athletes tend to be the most athletic and balanced due to exposure to a wider range of mental and physical challenges. One example is triathletes. Triathletes tend to be more athletic than someone who only runs.
Being a multi-sport athlete provides you a diverse set of athletic traits as well an alternative activity when the other is not available or you’re simply not in the mood. You’ll also find yourself meeting a completely different group of enthusiasts within each sport, thus expanding your social network.
Compete
Having a goal to work towards such as a competition seems to be one of the biggest motivators in keeping people engaged in sports. A competition could be a weekend 5k, an obstacle course, a powerlifting meet, or a friendly race among friends. Competition comes in many forms.
Get Inspired
Watch a documentary or videos of the best of sports. Sometimes watching will motivate you to be a player rather than a spectator. It will even give you a greater appreciation for the activity.
Make a List
Go Play
For a few of us, doing what you’re already doing may be satisfying enough, but there are hundreds of other ways to get fit. Ideally, you’ll find a healthy combination of what you need and what you enjoy. By exploring your options and finding the fitness activities you truly enjoy, you’ll lock in your commitment to fitness and boost your results.
Go have some fun!
