I don’t know about you, but I only want to workout if I find fun ways to exercise! Even though we all know that we should workout for our health inside and out, many of us have trouble getting motivated. The gym can be a weird, smelly, uncomfortable place for some, and not everyone wants to weight train or do CrossFit. If you’ve ever felt that working out was painful or boring, these fun ways to exercise are for you!
Zumba classes are high energy, fitness focused dance classes. The instructors usually have a set arsenal of songs and routines that you can learn over time, which means that you can put even more energy into the routines as you learn them! The popularity of Zumba means that you can try a bunch of different classes and instructors until you find the right fit for you and your workout needs. There are plenty of places now doing online sessions, so you don’t even need to leave your home.
If you don’t want to try a class and already own a video game console, see if you can purchase a movement game like Just Dance. Although you can ‘get by’ doing just the hand movements, if you try to keep up with the person on the screen it will be like your own, personal Zumba class. Just be careful if you opt for at home. Know your limits and never push yourself too far. Dancing is harder and more taxing than it looks!
A great way to encourage and support circulation is to jump on a trampoline! Supporting circulation isn’t just important for distributing oxygen and essential nutrients to your body. Fascia is a type of strong and fibrous connective tissue that extends throughout your body and connects to everything. If you don’t move regularly, your fascial tissue will not be lubricated and therefore pliable, and will become stiff, which makes it painful for you to move and can even lead to chronic pain. Circulating internal fluids and nutrients can help to nourish muscles and nerves, reduce pain, and increase your range of motion.
Jumping on a trampoline is especially good for this because it is soft on your joints, and it’s one of the fun ways to exercise! If you don’t want to get a little trampoline, or you don’t have room for one, you can jump anywhere to achieve the same effect. Just make sure to land softly for you joints. Jump at least 20 times.
If you’re looking for fun ways to exercise, yoga is a really good option for people who prefer moving alone, or quietly. There are so many different types of yoga out there, but all of them focus on the breath and mind/body connection. Yoga can help improve your balance, flexibility, and muscle tone, as well as calming your mind by connecting you with your breath. Once you learn different poses and sequences, you can start focusing more and more on that mind body connection, which will help improve your mental health.
If you don’t want to attend a class online or in person, there are a lot of at-home yoga videos to choose from. Make sure to start slow so you don’t injure yourself, and always listen to your body. Here is a gentle video to start with. Here is a video specifically for women, and here is another that I really like.
Walking and hiking are good ways to increase circulation as well as use your leg muscles. By walking or hiking with a friend, you are both distracting yourself from the fact that you are walking or hiking for exercise, and getting in some nice socialization. Maintaining a brisk pace is best because it will get your heart rate up, but if you want to start by taking leisurely walks with friends, there is no harm in easing into it. If your body isn’t used to the exercise, or if it isn’t used to the amount of exercise, you will probably need to stretch your hip flexors, calves, hamstrings, and quads.
If you love dancing, or if you’ve always wanted to gain this new skill, try going to a partner dancing class alone, or with someone else. By doing a physical activity with other people, you are achieving the same kind of ‘distraction’ that I just mentioned, allowing you to enjoy yourself instead of focusing on getting through. Enjoying yourself is certainly one of the fun ways to exercise.
Partner dancing can have some really great music, which is a big draw, so listen to the music of the particular dance you are interested in learning before you go to make sure you like it. Checking out videos of a specific dance is a great way to see if the movements, rhythms, and music are interesting or exciting to you, too!
One of the fun ways to exercise for people who prefer contemplative, solitary movement is swimming! Not only is swimming great for your joints because the water supports your body weight, it also requires strong muscles and respiratory health. Even if you don’t have these things when you start, slowly building up your endurance will definitely get you there.
Swimming is also a great sport to help strengthen your mind because you will practice pushing yourself to reach the other side over and over again. That’s a test of your perseverance, and it will help you in your day to day life.
Biking is a great way to get outside and see the world while you move. It will increase your circulation, get your heart rate up, and you might even break a sweat- all while sitting down! Biking is one of those fun ways to exercise that will help strengthen your legs. Do it with friends, family, or alone; you can even use it as transportation to and from work, class, or errands, so you can workout while you’re getting through your to do list.
If you don’t own a bike, some cities and schools offer rent-a-bike programs. Stationary bikes can also be purchased or found in gyms.
Rock climbing can be challenging, and daunting to a newcomer. However, climbing to the top of a rock wall can also be really empowering. Your local rock climbing gym will have plenty of trained staff ready to help you and answer all your questions, so don’t worry if you know nothing going into it. For people who like a physical challenge, and who want to exercise their bravery, rock climbing is one of the really fun ways to exercise.
You might not be able to climb for very long at first because your muscles will get tired, but as you keep at it, you can climb for longer and longer, and on harder walls!
Water sports are fun ways to exercise for people who love and live near the water. Stand-up paddle boarding (or SUP) in particular is a great way to exercise because it requires a lot of balance and core strength. You can flex those muscles while enjoying a nice, calm paddle out on the water, alone or with friends! If you get really good, there are even SUP yoga classes that you can try to challenge your balance and strength.
Sex is a part of many of our adult lives, and you probably already knew that it burned some calories. Take your sex life up a notch by putting more effort into it. Not only are there many creative and fun ways to exercise while getting it on with a partner, but it’ll help you build confidence, improve you and a partner’s outlook on your sex life, or just be downright fun. You probably already know the rewards of orgasms, but imagine how much better you’ll feel if you also turn it into a little workout. Bang on!
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