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For the recreational fitness customer (which is most of us) working out can easily become stale or boring. This is a slippery slope when it comes to staying on the “fitness wagon” and not falling off it. Finding fun physical activities for adults can sometimes be a challenge. However, having the right information and approach to developing fun ways to exercise will ensure that you will “stay the course” and keep training for years to come. Below are 15 ways to make your fitness experience as enjoyable as possible which includes helpful tips and fun workout ideas.
#1 Choose the Right Time to Workout
If you’re like us, your workouts become just another “chore” to complete. But, just as you have to wash your dishes, you should workout to stay healthy and mobile. The first thing you should consider is when is the best time to workout? This question has a different answer for everybody. Below are some tips when considering the best time for you to workout:
- When will your work schedule allow you to?
- Are you a morning or night person?
- When can you “escape” your family for an hour or so during a day/week?
- If training outside, what is the weather today?
Hot Ground Gym’s Force Fit™ class, which is full of fun physical activities for adults runs weekly Wed-Fridays at 7:30pm and Saturdays at 7am. Come check us out then if that time works for you.
#2 Set Goals
Why are you working out? If you have specific goals to achieve, you tend to be more engaged and motivated to continue working out. Make your goals achievable, and track your progress on the road to meeting your goals. Your goal can be weight loss orientated, and/or physique oriented, or like for us just staying healthy, strong, and mobile is good enough. Setting your goals, then figuring out creative ways to exercise is a good recipe for keeping fitness enjoyable.
#3 Wear the Right Gear
There is nothing like the feeling of showing off your new “digs”. An easy way to make sure working out is fun again is, upgrading your gear! Keeping your workout attire fresh and clean, and replacing when worn out is important for your self-image, but even more important is the protection provided by well-maintained workout gear. Good shoes can alleviate back and joint injuries. Good gloves can make blisters not a thing. The right “sweating gear” can add that extra sweat to your workout. If you have not done so already, update your workout gear, and I promise you will be that much more excited for fun workouts at the gym.
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#4 Join a Class
If your self-motivation is pleating, try joining a class. Like the one we offer at Hot Ground Gym. Group classes are the best way to find fun forms of exercise simply because it’s a surprise every time. All you have to do is show up :) A good group class is a magical experience to be a part of, and most importantly you will leave the class feeling accomplished for the day. If you have not tried a group fitness class yet, we highly recommend you do. Any class worth their weight in salt will offer you a free trial class so you can see if the workouts are a good fit for you.
#5 Exercise With a Friend
Hands down the best tip for spicing up your workouts is to bring a friend. So long as the friend is at a similar fitness level and enjoys working out as well. Fun fitness classes attended by a group of friends is a great way to keep the motivation high, and the experience interesting. It will also grow the bond you have with that friend. Even with a friend, you can attend complex and fun team-building events that help strengthen the spirit of camaraderie.
#6 Exercise Without Realizing It
Sometimes the best fun physical activities weren’t entered into as a “workout”. Below is a list of such activities:
- Cutting the grass/yard maintenance
- Splitting wood
- Walk/jog with your dog
- Swimming
- Hiking through nature
- Most types of construction/home improvement projects
- Cleaning the house, vigorously
- Intimacy with your significant other
Working out without realizing it is a great prescription for an active and healthy lifestyle.
#7 Reward Yourself
Everyone enjoys the fruits of their labors. Try rewarding yourself for achieving a goal. Each goal should have a special reward for achieving. Don’t be afraid to treat yourself on special occasions. A special meal, trip, show, or activity is a great morale booster for those in the fitness trenches. Rewards after completing an enjoyable exercise session will keep you mentally fresh and motivated. Just be careful that the rewards don’t completely negate any progress made ;)
#8 Download Some Apps
Technology to the rescue!! There are literally hundreds of well conceived apps that were designed to make fitness fun for us. Some of these apps lead you through workouts, other track goals and give advice, others incorporate music into training sessions, and most importantly these apps should teach you how to correctly complete the exercises they are prescribing, making the chance of injury less. If you have not tried it yet, search for a fitness app, and give it a try. You might be surprised at how much technology can make exercising fun.
#9 Pump Up the Volume
Music is the one universal tool that can change an exercise session from plain to exceptional. The first way to make fitness fun is to pump up the volume and jam out.The music selected by you will push you through the slumps, and immerse you in a world of possibilities where you are the star. Sometimes music can get stale too though, for that, we suggest your favorite podcast or book. We are big fans of learning as we train. Music, podcast, or audio books get your mind off the task at hand and enhance your overall fitness experience for that session. Give it a try.
#10 Watch Your Favorite TV Show
Another way to create fun workout routines is to watch TV as you train. With today's phones that is not very difficult to do. Sometimes catching up on your favorite show while working out is just what the doctor ordered. It’s not as crazy as you may think. Give it a try, we bet you will do it from time to time, we do.
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#11 Play Games
For those who enjoy creative ways to exercise, you can always make a game. Immerse yourself in a scenario, and try to come out on top. Play the “numbers game”, where you try to hit an overall number of reps/miles/so on for the workout. Give yourself rewards and punishments for your performance during your workout. You can also utilize fitness apps to help create a fun game during your workout. Finally, you can also play a video game on your phone and pause it between sets. This can be a fun way to lighten up your workouts.
#12 Try Exercise Videos
Exercise videos like P90x and Insanity are great ways to participate in fun workout exercises. Usually being made by the best minds (and bodies) in the industry, these workout videos will teach, guide, push, and motivate you through your session. There are some really good ones out there. If you have never tried a work out video, give it a shot, it might just scratch the itch for you.
#13 Get Outside
Training outside is great at making exercise fun. You can run down a new trail, swim in a new river, go hiking across the countryside. Or it can be as simple as moving your weightlifting session outside to catch the warming rays of the sun. However you do it, try to get outside every once in a while for your workouts, it could play a huge role in keeping your will to workout high.
#14 Sign Up for an Event
Signing up for a fun run, marathon, obstacle course race, or other fitness event could be a great motivating factor while you search for fun ways to get in shape. What you do here is sign up for an event that is atleast a few months away. Then spend your time training for that event. You don’t have to worry about being the best, just concentrate on finishing the event strong. Once you have that experience you can repeat or adjust future events. Training for an event is how millions of people each year stay motivated and ontrack while exercising, simply because the event preparation gives their workouts a purpose. Try it out this year, start small, then go big.
#15 Revisit Your Childhood
There are certain activities that bring us back to our childhood. These types of activities can be incorporated into fun games for group fitness classes fairly easily. Hot Ground Gym’s Force Fit™ class has figured out how to do that very thing. Our class is a blend of military-inspired workouts and amazingly fun cool-down activities. These activities are straight out of our collective childhoods and consist of “target practice” which includes throwing darts, knives, grappling hooks, ring toss, and archery. The experience for this class is designed to give you a great workout, then tap into our collective childhood memories for a super fun activity that is a wonderful get away from “adulting”.
Conclusion
We hope these 15 tips can help you spice up your workouts. The biggest thing to remember when it comes to recreational fitness is, something is better than nothing. Keep training and use these tips to enhance your current fitness experience so you may continue to train for months and years to come. If you are looking for a friendly and interesting workout, come visit us at Hot Ground Gym.
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