6 Fitness Fun Tips: Bring The Joy Back to Your Workouts

That’s right, I said it.

Fitness is FUN or at least it should be. If you’re dreading every single workout, your run down, injured and totally stressed out then you’re doing it wrong.

I know the world is ablaze with “no pain no gain” mantras and “never miss a Monday“, but sometimes what you need on a Monday is to put your feet up and soak in a good book.

In fact, Monday’s are my rest day and I don’t feel bad about it at all because I finally fully understand that without recovery there is no progress. If you don’t give your body a break for your muscles to repair and your system to relax…you will likely slam headfirst into the dreaded over training syndrome or wonder why you’ve plateaued.

A rest day doesn’t have to mean leaving a dent in the couch from a Netflix marathon, it can always include a great walk, some easy yoga or even a fitness class that’s totally for fun.

But enough about recovery, let’s focus on how to make fitness fun anytime!

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HOW TO HAVE MORE FUN

Let’s talk about how to have more fun with your fitness…if you’ve unfortunately lost that lovin’ feeling today we’re going to get it back! Some of these are no brainers, but we all need reminders!

Won’t you be my buddy?

One study, showed that we are five times more likely to exercise if our spouse does! No need to fret my single friends, having a consistent buddy who is counting on you to show up or to help them achieve a goal is just as good.

For many of us workout time may be the only real time we take for ourselves, which is why group fitness classes are booming, friendship.

Michigan State University’s Department of Kinesiology found these results:

Participants who exercised as part of a team kept going, on average, two minutes longer than those who exercised independently with a partner — 22 versus 20 minutes — and twice as long as those who exercised without a partner — 22 versus 11 minutes.

The best news about this study? The results were the same whether the partner was in person or virtual!Checkout these great running Facebook pages for an online community!

Go with the Flow

Instead of making every workout about health or a better body, move just because you enjoy it!

I love a dance party at my standing work desk and I love trying out new classes with ClassPass. When you leave the calorie burn or mileage focus at the door a lot of times you might even find the run you were dreading becomes a lot more relaxing.

Take a Zumba class, try fencing, go for a hike, making enjoying yourself the only goal.

Shoot yoga on the rocks isn’t a crazy workout, but it makes you fall in love with yoga all over again and that’s part of how you stay consistent!

Get Outdoors

A better mood means a better workout a getting outside has been proven to be a natural mood booster! From the fresh air to the vitamin D, to the variety!

“Breathing fresh air opposed to the recycled kind can create a feeling of euphoria, which comes from the body’s release of feel-good endorphins,” says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of the Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. “It’s not that your muscles respond better to it, but rather your mind does, which in turn makes you want to work harder.”

ABC news also reported:
Exercising outside also creates greater feelings of revitalization, energy, and positive thinking than does working out indoors, according to a report published in Environmental Science and Technology. What’s more, after an 30-minute walk in the park, 71 percent of people feel less stressed, while 72 percent of people who take their walks indoors actually feel more stressed.

Variety by Apps

Maybe your lack of fun is because every workout feels the same? No cash to try out a ton of classes? Good news, there’s an app for that!

• DailyBurn 365 – try a new workout every single day (most are good for any ability level)
• Zombies, Run! – just in case you need to be prepared for doom’s day
• KrowdFit – join group challenges, get entries to big giveaways each time you workout
• Thank Dog – get fit while teaching your dog obedience, that’s multitasking at it’s finest

Added bonus? New research has shown that “gaming” can both enhance your motivation to work hard and to stick with a program! Checkout these specific apps for runners>>

One study by Dr. Natalia Lawrence, concluded this “It is free, easy to do, and 88 percent of our participants said they would be happy to keep doing it and would recommend it to a friend. This opens up exciting possibilities for new behavior change interventions based on underlying psychological processes.”

Challenges

One of the reason I LOVE the online community is you can always find a challenge that will tap in to our primal drive to measure progress and have a bit of friendly competition.

You can also challenge yourself by changing your goal!

• Run for time instead of miles
• Try an obstacle race
• Test your skills at pull ups or push ups instead of cardio
• Focus on increase your run/walk intervals instead of max weight reps

Head over to Facebook to show off your fitness fun!!

How do you keep it fun?

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