For some, working out comes with ease. However, If you’re like me and was not lucky enough to naturally enjoy working out, in order to reach our optimal level of fitness, we sometimes have to trick ourselves into working out by making the act more fun. By switching up your normal workout routine for an activity with elements of competition or games, you will likely enjoy the act of working out more. This, in return, will provide you with an enjoyable and engaging workout. Here are a few workouts I gravitate towards when I want to change up my workout routine.
Swimming - Swimming builds endurance, muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, and lung strength. Swimming also takes off the stress of impact on your body because you’re underwater the whole time. If you like to swim already, this is a great way to stay active while participating in something you already enjoy.
Intramural sports - Joining an intramural sports organization is a great way to stay active and meet people at the same time. Unlike going to the gym alone, with intramural sports, you are meeting up with a group of people who enjoy whatever activity you are doing and will likely push each other to preform the best they can. You have a team of supporting members who only want to see you and the team be as successful as possible. This means whatever intramural sports group you choose will likely be a very positive, uplifting and active environment.
Rock climbing - Rock climbing is a great way to work out your muscles and not immediately feel the pain of the workout as much because you're focused on your goal of reaching the top of the wall. While rock climbing, you workout areas like your Abs, obliques, delts, traps, biceps, lats, quads, calves and more! A lot of colleges have rock climbing walls in their gym, and if yours does not, you are more than likely a short drive away from a rock climbing gym that has classes and other opportunities for you to learn and get involved with climbing.
5k/ running races - If you're looking for a way to have fun while running, I believe this is the best option that I've tried thus far. As someone who does not enjoy running but is competitive by nature, I have found that when I run in a race, I am more likely to have improved performance. I also am more likely to sign up to do the act of running if it is in a race or 5k because I relish the idea that I am striving to win something. The best part about running competitions is that they're everywhere and come in many different forms. They have races like The Color Run™(https://thecolorrun.com/), where people pour colored powder on participants who typically dress in all white, or the zombie run(http://www.zombierun.com/), where half of the races are zombies and the other half are not and you run to get away from the zombies. There are also obstacle races where you can run through a mass of obstacles. With endless options comes endless fun!
Group workouts - What I enjoy most about group workouts is that they are similar to intramural workouts in the sense that you are with a group of people that can give you moral support. The feeling of comradeship in activities where you workout is usually really positive and uplifting. I find that this type of environment helps motivate me to exercise. Having a gym buddy will help you to workout when you say you will and make those three reps of 30 squats more enjoyable because you have someone to talk about your fitness goals with! When I worked out 5-6 days a week, it was because I had a friend (my internship roommate at the time) who was willing to go with me to the gym at least four times a week. We would push each other to go to the gym even if we didn't want to and we kept each other active and motivated.
Overall, these are my favorite workouts to go to when I'm lacking motivation and want to stay on top of my fitness goals. I hope you enjoy! If you have any questions or comments - don't hesitate to respond down below.
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