There are many reasons why people don’t exercise on a regular basis, but two of them are very common.
- Exercise isn’t fun
- Exercise is hard
Between both of those things, there seems to be very little room to enjoy exercise. Some even believe it’s impossible to enjoy exercise.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it is most certainly possible to make your workouts more enjoyable. But before I tell you how, I’d like to shed some light on some of the realities and misconceptions of exercise.
There seems to be this idea that at some point, exercise begins to be a walk in the park (pun intended). As if, the more you exercise, the less you have to try, the easier it becomes, and therefore the more you enjoy it. This could not be further from the truth.
Let me clarify. When you expose yourself to a certain stimulus over a period of time, your body does adapt, and that specific stimulus does become easier. Imagine that you’re injured, and walking is difficult, as you practice walking, walking becomes, well, a walk in the park. But say you got used to your walk in the park, so you wanted to try something new, and that something new is a hill. That hill will be challenging, until you expose yourself to it consistently over time.
With exercise, the same thing applies. As you consistently lift 10 pounds over your head, lifting 10 pounds over your head begins to be a little easier. The thing is, though, if you truly want to progress in your health and fitness, you won’t always do what is easy for you. You will progressively challenge yourself trying to lift 12, 15, and 20 pounds over your head. And those new stimuli will not be easy.
If it’s not easy, then why do people enjoy it? Those that exercise regularly may not particularly enjoy feeling tired, sore, or fatigued. They may not particularly enjoy that burning feeling in their muscles like they enjoy eating pizza. But what they do enjoy is the challenge that exercise brings. They enjoy the opportunity to challenge themselves, giving them the chance to literally change their body’s capabilities. That is what they enjoy.
Also, stepping up to a challenge begins to be easier over time. You become more resilient, you become more comfortable with being uncomfortable. So just know that you’ll never get to a place where exercising is just like eating ice cream. But you will get to a point where you enjoy the challenge and opportunity to improve yourself for the better.
Now, though exercise may never always be a walk in the park, there are some things you can do to make the workouts more enjoyable.
Below are three simple tips that can help you enjoy exercise a whole lot more.
1. Do something different. Many of you out there don’t enjoy exercise that much anymore because you’ve done the same exact thing for years. Not only is that going to keep you from mentally engaging, but it can also keep you from progressing towards your goals.
You should already be changing elements of your training routine (such as rest between sets, reps, and sets) every 3-6 weeks. That alone should help give you mental and physical stimulation.
Aside from that, I recommend completely changing your ultimate goal from time to time. Have you only pursued fat loss for the last 5 years? Set a strength goal for yourself and tackle it. Have you only tried to build muscle for the past while? Try improving an element of your mobility. Not only will you find new mental stimulation that can lead you to a newfound love for movement, but I’m also willing to bet that the shift in goals will help you with your original goal you had in the first place.
2. Select exercises that you enjoy. When I was a young trainer, I would put exercises in that I thought were extremely beneficial, even if the client hated them. As I’ve gained experience I’ve found that meeting the client where they’re at, and slowly introducing them to the skill of the exercises they previously didn’t like is a much better way to approach things.
Do the same for yourself. If you absolutely hate barbell squats right now, that’s ok. Nobody is saying your life depends on doing them. But because squats of all sorts are beneficial, find a version you enjoy. Maybe that’s a goblet squat, or a dumbbell sumo squat. As you do the version that you enjoy, slowly expose yourself to movements you didn’t previously like, and practice them like a skill.
3. Learn to appreciate it for what it is. That brings me to my last point. One way to hate exercise is to only treat it as a means to an end. Learning to appreciate exercise for what it is will help you enjoy your workouts so much more.
Don’t think of squats that are things you have to do to build your glutes, or deadlifts as things you have to do to get stronger. Look at them as skills, and practice getting better at those skills. Similar to a sport. Find mentally stimulating ways to practice your squats and deadlifts for the sake of practicing squats and deadlifts. When you set your intention to the present moment, and think about getting better right here, right now, in this rep, as opposed to going through the motions just to burn calories, you’ll open yourself up to a whole new world of enjoyment with your workouts.
Remember, exercise is not going to be something that’s a piece of cake all the time. But what will become easier and more enjoyable is your willingness to step up to a challenge for the sake of becoming a better version of yourself. You got this.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Worth, TX. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an experienced certified coach that is always expanding his horizons, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.