Fun Exercise Fun
A friend just gave me some gratifying feedback on my book The Maui Diet—he said the number one thing he’d gotten out of it was “make your exercise fun.” Absolutely—that’s why I highly recommend such a strategy.
There’s not a shred of evidence that exercise is to be taken seriously. Exercise is important, but it is just as important to make exercise fun. That way, you’ll be more likely to do it regularly. And it’s what we do regularly that is all-important.
A buddy or partner makes exercise more fun for most people. If you don’t have a partner, find an exercise buddy or two, or three or more. If one can’t make it one day, another one will.
If a buddy’s not available, or you prefer to exercise alone, you can still make exercise fun. It’s all in your attitude. Bad attitude: “I’ve got to get my exercise out of the way.” Better: “I’m grateful for my ability to exercise and I enjoy it to the fullest!”
Keep things light. If you’re not feeling motivated, warm up slowly and tell yourself you’re only going to do 10 minutes today. Chances are excellent that once you get going, you’ll do a lot more than that.
Keep your self-talk fun, light, goofy, whatever amuses you. Whatever makes it fun for you, do it.
Find new ways and times to exercise. If you’re a soccer mom or dad, the perimeter of a field is perfect for walking aerobically, or jogging. Have a sports bag packed, change into your exercise clothes and get out there. If you’re just doing drop off and pick ups, not sticking around for the practice or game, get there 20 minutes early for the pick up and use that extra time for exercise. Being spontaneous is fun.
Here’s my ultimate tip for making exercise fun: Use the beach. Take advantage of these incredible exercise settings. There are lots of reasons to exercise on the beach—the lack of pollution, the joy of exercising in the sunshine and fresh air, the entire setting—but the number one reason is because of the surface. Sand cannot be beat for walking, jogging or running. Choose the hard sand by the water, or the soft sand away from the water, two entirely different surfaces. On dry sand, all the sinking down and pushing back out overloads your musculature. Walking on dry sand takes two to almost three times more energy than walking on a hard surface. Running on dry sand requires 1.6 times more energy than does running on a firm surface. Moving on sand burns more calories, and training on sand carries a lower risk of impact injury than harder surfaces. The beach is a top exercise choice, it makes exercise fun. And if you don’t have a beach where you live, look for other great outdoor exercise settings with forgiving surfaces, like parks, trails, etc.
There are endless ways to get exercise if you’re willing to be creative, look for fun, and let nothing stand in your way.
For more go to www.themauidiet.com
