Are you Exercising for FUN?
Article written by Daniel Healy.
It mightn’t surprise you that doing 7 or 8 google searches (including google scholar) on fun/exercise revealed very little worthwhile reading. It seems that even the vast pool of knowledge on the net cannot find much association between exercise and fun. And that’s the fundamental mistake most of us make with exercise.
Our motivation for exercise as kids is enjoyment.1 All you need to do is watch a group of kids play to see them laughing, jumping, chasing completely focused on the activity at hand. As we get older our focus changes from play to health, fitness and weight loss. We are less focused on the exercise itself rather the pleasurable pay off of feeling healthy and looking good. The implication of this subtle shift in motivation is quite profound.
As humans we go to great lengths to pursue pleasure. We drink alcohol even though we know it can be dangerous and expensive. We spend billions on entertainment. We even spend significant amounts on health and fitness as an investment in the pleasure of looking and feeling good. Exercise however, particularly in the conventional sense, does not give many of us much pleasure at all. Let’s face it, early mornings and lactic acid aren’t exactly the stuff dreams are made of!
Our obsession with exercise comes with our fixation on efficiency. So often faster is the criteria for better. So push ups, dips, laps, tread mill and weight machines, because they take us to looking good, feeling healthy more quickly than say... golf - we limit our thinking of exercise to these more efficient but often more painful exercises. The result? A short lived exercise program and often the disappointment of falling short of our goals. Our fixation with efficient exercise can ultimately rob us of the enjoyment of movement and can lead to early burnout.
For the best results plug in FUN!
I’m going to list a bunch of exercises that I want you to look through. If one intrigues you slightly or looks interesting write it down. Don’t worry about the logistics of it or how silly you might feel doing it, as we’re not that far down the line yet. Once you’ve jotted a couple down it’s time to research. Get on the net and look for equipment, more information, local clubs etc. A Google search can give you plenty of options. Once again don’t over analyse. Just do it. Often you don’t need a personal trainer or gym membership for motivation and great results. Just an activity to play and a group to enjoy it with. Why not consider some of the following?
- Baseball or Soft ball
- Boxing
- Circus performing
- Cycling or Mountain biking
- Dance or aerobics to music
- Fencing
- Gymnastics
- Hiking
- Kayaking or Rowing
- Orienteering
- Parkour
- Roller blading
- Rock climbing
- Snorkelling
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Surfing
- Tennis
- Walking, Jogging or Running
- Wrestling
- Yoga
The bottom line
Change your focus from exercise to play. If the gym isn’t your thing don’t think you can’t get great results somewhere else. Follow the fun don’t be in so much of a rush! Great results will come your way.
Remember if losing weight is your goal, a balanced diet is critical. You can never out train a poor diet. See a dietition or speak to a Tony Ferguson Counselor for further dietary advice.
In the next article i’m going to give you a “how to” guide on one of the above activities. I’ll discuss the pro’s and con’s which might take you that one step closer to getting involved and having some fun!
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, February 2007. 4177.0 - Participation in Sports and Physical recreation, Australia 2005-06 [Online]. Available athttp://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4177.0Main%20Features22005-06?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4177.0&issue=2005-06&n [Accessed May 11th 2009].
Last updated 02 July 2009
