Getting fit is necessary for our physical and mental well-being. It improves not only our general health but also our overall physical appearance. Even though it sounds easy, it’s one of the hardest things to do. We understand that not everyone can be self-motivated or find fitness fun. That’s why we are sharing fun ways you can get yourself motivated and fit.
Everyone knows that exercise is good for them, like eating healthy, taking multivitamins (there are even specialized multivitamins for women), or quitting smoking. But why aren’t more people exercising? Because it’s easier not to exercise and harder to start getting fit. You see, exercising is every bit as mental as it’s physical. Here are several tips on getting motivated to get fit.
Motivation is not a feeling; it’s not something that comes like an epiphany. Motivation is something you create, so you need to find a reason and not wait for inspiration to strike.
That reason could be to lose weight, the fear of illness, or wanting to be healthy for one’s children. Each person’s motivation is different, and what matters is the reason that makes you take the first step.
Let’s be honest with ourselves here: if you’re flabby and overweight, don’t expect to look trim and athletic within a few days. You need to set realistic, attainable goals, ideally weekly. Gradually increase your exercise’s length and intensity as you hit your goals consistently.
You don’t have to go to the gym or join marathons, especially if you don’t enjoy doing them in the first place. If you don’t find the exercise fun, there’s an excellent chance you won’t keep doing it for long. You have to choose an activity that you enjoy.
If you enjoy basketball, play hoops with your friends or your kids. If you have a Wii, just pick an exercise game like Just Dance or Zumba Fitness. You can also walk your dog or ride a bike, as long as you take pleasure in it. If the activity is something that you look forward to, you’ll hardly ever be short on motivation.
If your reason for not being able to exercise is that you’re too busy, you’re not alone. But, no one’s too busy to squeeze in some physical exertion in activities. For instance, you can go for a couple of kilometers on your stationary bike while doing the laundry at home. Or, instead of riding the elevator, take the stairs. Maximize the time by combining everyday activities with exercise.
Don’t think that just because your schedule (which now includes your exercise) is all planned out, you won’t be experiencing any setbacks. If you miss your daily morning run because of an extra-early meeting, don’t let it ruin your entire exercise plan for the week or month. You can put in an extra kilometer to make up for the miss.
Going to the gym is good, but there are other ways to keep healthy, and it would be good for your overall health if you didn’t limit yourself to one type of exercise. You can also dabble in other activities like yoga for better circulation, aerobics for cardiovascular health, and running for better endurance.
Rest is just as important as exercise to give your body enough time to heal and rejuvenate. A break would suit your mind because it will keep you from burning out. Remember to space your exercises so that you can sustain them for the long term.
Exercise may be good for your health, but you also need to reward yourself along the way for sticking to the plan. The mind can be a fun tool; even if it knows that what you’re doing is good for you, it’s still necessary to reward yourself to keep it motivated to keep exercising and staying fit.
There are many good reasons to get fit: you’ll be healthier and more energetic; you’ll feel better and handle stress more efficiently. However, getting there is easier said than done. So several tips and exercises can help you achieve your health goals.
Whatever exercise you favor, increasing your intensity will burn more fat, increase your metabolism, and improve your physique. Increasing your intensity can give you the benefits of longer workouts without spending as much time doing them.
Don’t let the winter blues push you to stay indoors and slack off. It’s a great time to exercise because your body burns more calories in the cold. Furthermore, running in cold weather improves how your body uses oxygen. According to research, doing regular cold workouts can increase your running speed. It will strengthen your immune system and lower your risk of catching a cold or flu.
Since rowing involves several major muscle groups in your body, it’s a more efficient way to exercise. The result: you can burn from 600 to 800 calories per hour and increase the amount of interleukin 6 in your body.
Interleukins are glycoproteins that regulate your immune response and speed up your fat-burning process. And since the very motion of rowing is more natural for your body, it exerts less stress on your joints. Just remember to do the correct rowing posture to avoid straining your back.
Placing one foot in front of the other (i.e., walking) is a great way to improve your fitness without exhausting yourself at the gym.
Simply taking a 10-minute brisk walk four times a day can lower your blood pressure significantly and minimize the chance of stroke and heart disease. Walking for about 20 to 30 minutes per day can reduce your stress. Extend that to 45 minutes, and you can get rid of colds faster.
Squash (not the vegetable) is the most physically demanding sport. Squash is a game held in an enclosed court where two players use racquets to hit a small ball against the wall.
It’s a very effective workout because you run, lunge, twist, jump, and work out many muscle groups simultaneously.
Squash can burn more than 1,000 calories per hour, which is even more than rowing. It beats other grueling sports like rock climbing, basketball, pentathlon, and boxing in terms of calories burned per hour.
According to several studies, dog owners are more likely to get into a lot of physical activity when compared to people who don’t own dogs or even those going to a gym.
How so? Dog owners take more regular walks (and perhaps run after their canine pals). Another possible reason is that going to the gym can sometimes be viewed as a chore, while taking your dog out for a walk is considered more fun.
To work out more often, or perhaps remind yourself to work out frequently, you can place several exercise equipment around your home. For instance, you can leave your dumbbells at the foot of the couch so that you can do bicep curls while watching the telly.
Similarly, you can hang your resistance band somewhere in the kitchen to perform some quick exercises while heating your food. That way, you can stay active more often.
In addition, to exercise, a healthy and balanced diet is one of the fundamentals of fitness. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for variety and moderation in your diet.
While you should dedicate a large part of your diet to fruits and vegetables, variety is necessary to get a range of nutrients.
On the other hand, moderation is about restraint in the quantity you eat. You don’t aim for 100 percent full when you eat meals; instead, go for 50 to 80 percent full to have room for water and digestion.
Interestingly, you don’t have to go to the gym to get fit. You have to start incorporating more activities in your daily doings. For instance, instead of taking the elevator or escalator, use the stairs, especially if it’s only a couple of floors up.
Instead of looking for the parking space closest to the door, get the farthest one to walk more. To make your efforts more effective (and so that you can monitor your progress), try to set weekly goals for yourself and write them down.
No matter how effective your routine is, how many calories your sport burns in an hour, or how healthy your meals are, it would all be useless if you don’t do it consistently. Sustaining your effort will improve your all-around fitness level.
It may sometimes be difficult since you may occasionally get discouraged. The secret is to stay motivated by setting realistic goals, trying a variety of exercises (and foods), finding your reason to keep going and having fun while you’re at it.
Getting fit doesn’t have to be boring, difficult, or painful. If you try one (or all) of these fun activities while getting fit, you’ll be healthy before realizing it. Enjoy!
Zumba is an aerobic workout that combines various styles of Latin American dance such as samba, salsa, merengue, flamenco, and other hip-hop, Bollywood, and martial arts moves. Making these moves is much more enjoyable than running on a treadmill or doing jumping jacks. If you want a cardiovascular workout that lets you burn fat and tone your body, give Zumba a try.
Pilates is a series of exercises that improve one’s range of motion, posture, flexibility, circulation, and abdominal strength. Pilates is fun because it gives a complete body workout, significant health benefits, and is a blast to do with other people. With Pilates, you’ll enjoy better body awareness, a stronger core and body control while decreasing joint, neck, and back pain.
While known as a performing art, pole dancing is also a combination of dance and acrobatics on a vertical pole.
Pole dancing develops upper-body strength as you use your arms and shoulders to raise your body on the pole. It also improves your core and tones the body as a whole. The fun is swinging around a vertical bar, getting physical, and sharing a laugh with friends.
Indoor rock climbing is an activity where you climb up, down, or across an artificial rock wall to reach the summit without falling. It’s a great anaerobic exercise that improves strength and balance. What’s more, rock climbing can burn up to 800 calories in an hour. Aside from the health benefits, climbing the summit is exhilarating.
Hula-hooping is no longer a kid’s game. You can hula your way to fitness as hooping provides a cardio workout that can help you trim your hips, thighs, buttocks, and waist and simultaneously tone your lower back and stomach muscles. It’s even more enjoyable when “played” with friends.
Yoga is a relaxing way to exercise and meditate. It’s also a great way to burn fat, fight stress, and improve conditioning. It’s like Pilates, only more soothing.
If you love to compete and enjoy fast aerobic workouts, you’ll love fencing. You’ll burn calories, improve footwork, speed, coordination, flexibility, and tone your thigh, stomach, and bum. You’ll also have fun anticipating your opponent’s moves as you thrust, evade, and parry your way.
Consider: a mere 15 minutes of jumping rope will burn 200 calories. Not only that: jumping rope will strengthen your bones and muscles while you improve your coordination. Did we mention it’s fun, especially when played with a friend and doesn’t lead to knee damage?
Time to join a pick-up game of your favorite group sport. It could be volleyball, football, softball, or basketball—that you enjoy well enough to get involved. If you’re not good at any sport, don’t worry; you’ll improve as you play. You’ll get plenty of exercises, spend time with friends and family and enjoy the social aspects of the game.
There you have it, getting fit shouldn’t be stressful or boring. We hope we’ve positively impacted your fitness journey.
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[…] Starting slowly also refers to choosing less intense cycling routes. It’s better to do easy cycling routes frequently than to be too ambitious and lack consistency. When you’re starting out, you need all the motivation you can get. Starting slowly is a good hack to build motivation. […]
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