Hate Exercise? 10 Fun Ways To Move Your Body
We can all agree that exercise is good for you. In fact, it’s great for you. It doesn’t mean it’s fun, though. Many people believe they hate exercise. ALL exercise. Unfortunately, many fitness influencers have been peddling the no pain, no gain philosophy. A lot of their workouts are very intense or involve a lot of time in the gym. It’s no wonder exercise gets a bad rap.
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are so many ways to move and get your heart rate up without ever setting foot in a gym. Here’s my top 10 to get you started 🙂
1) Play Dance Games
There are lots of dance games on every console available. There are different music types, energy and difficulty levels, so there’s something for everyone. You could even get your friends or family involved and make it a regular party.
2) Organise A Scavenger Hunt
This is another one to do with friends. Make up a scavenger hunt and head out to explore the city you live in. You could all contribute a little bit of money and buy a prize for the winner. If you’re trying to beat the other teams, you’ll find yourself moving faster and getting your heart rate up.
3) Skipping
Not one to try if you have bad knees! If not, try and remember how much fun it was skipping when you were a kid. Set yourself challenges like how many times you can skip without tripping over the rope or try different rope tricks.
4) Walking
You don’t need to walk for long; a brisk 15-minute walk each day can work wonders. You can set a new route each day to stop it from getting boring and have your favourite music or podcast blasting. You could also set yourself a challenge. Use google maps to find the distance between two locations and set a timeframe to get there.
For example, you could walk from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building (6.7 miles) in a week. If you want to up the difficulty, try walking on sand if you live near the beach. You’ll need to use more muscles to stabilise yourself as you walk.
5) Frisbee
I am AWFUL at anything that involves hand-eye coordination. I wouldn’t personally try this in the interests of public safety! However, if you are less hopelessly clumsy than me, it’s a great way to get moving. You could play with your friends, kids or your dog.
6) Sex
Yes, it counts! It’s definitely exercise.
7) Rock Climbing
You can do this at a rock climbing centre or out in the country. Obviously, this is a hobby you need some training in, so safety first! It is an amazing activity that works every muscle in your body, though.
8) Get On Your Bike
Another fantastic childhood activity. You could cycle to work, go for a ride around a local park with your family, or head off-road for some mountain biking.
9) Play Hide and Seek
No, you don’t need kids for this one! No one says that adults can’t play too, and they should! Head out to a shopping centre, a park or a friend’s home and garden. Take turns to hide and enjoy some time running around trying to find each other.
10) Axe Throwing
If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a Viking warrior, this one’s for you. New centres are springing up everywhere, and it looks like loads of fun. I’d love to try it, but I refer you to the frisbee section. A plastic frisbee is bad enough, but an actual axe? Yikes!
What If I Can’t Exercise Or Don’t Want To?
That’s fine! You don’t owe anyone fitness, so if anyone tells you otherwise, you have my permission to tell them to butt out! It’s good for you to get your body moving, but it doesn’t make you morally superior. Your body is your business, always.
Those are my ten ways to make exercise fun, but what are yours? Pop them in the comments.
