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Make Exercise Fun

Posted by Caley on August 17th, 2009 at 05:00am

After my post last week which discussed the infamous Time exercise article, I feel I need to say something positive about exercise. We all know that exercise is vitally important for health, from helping to prevent heart disease to extending lifespan. Exercise is also very important for mental health, helping to relieve stress and also improve overall concentration. Personally, I find that I sleep better and am overall happier when I get more exercise. Now, we all know that serious stuff about exercise. My view on exercise is that it should be an enjoyable part of life, rather than a chore. Exercise should be harmonious with our lives, not an interruption. Perhaps that’s a bit idealistic but don’t you agree? Here are my ideas for making exercise fun.

Set up your home for exercise, no matter how unconventional. A friend of mine lives in a long, thin railroad style apartment. She has furniture situated at the sides with a long space in the middle. Hooks are ready to hang a net for badminton. Guest love it, her boyfriend love its and it’s a great break during her work-day. Alternatively, you could set aside a space for ping-pong or even horseshoes. If your home encourages physical activity, you are more likely to engage. Personally, I’m tempted to install pedals under my desk. I love to bounce my feet while I type and this would probably help me concentrate.

Be a kid again. When I was at home in Indiana and entertaining my 6-year-old niece, she was determined to teach me how to hula-hoop and I was determined to learn. Isn’t it funny how much harder these things are when we are adults? My niece can practically walk around hula-hopping. I got a pretty good ab and hip work-out swinging that thing around. Draw a hop-scotch pattern on the floor of your unfinished basement with chalk or use tape to mark one down in the hallway (under the rug).

Dance. Dance around when you are cooking, cleaning the house or even working at your desk. (Have you mastered the fine art of dancing in a chair?) Be silly. Do the sprinkler.

Set a friendly competition. Race your friend down the block or across the field and winner buys lunch. Get some friends or family members together on the weekend, pick teams and play capture the flag or basketball. My family sets some pretty mean blocks when we play basketball. With three women in my family nearly six feet, gender divisions are not so serious. Get your competitive spirit going and have fun.

Explore. This is my favorite way to exercise. Pick a new portion of the city and walk around briskly. Go for a hike. Snorkel.