Exercise Without Knowing You Are

Exercise can be fun, who says it can’t.  You just have to mix it up a bit! We have some exercise tips for you today, ideas to make your workout fun.  Ideas to get you exercising without even knowing you are working out.  A lot of these fun exercises are ones you can do as a family, with your spouse, with a friend, or a group.  You won’t believe that staying healthy and getting exercise could be so much fun.

1. Ballroom dancing.  I know you want to do it!  Quit watching dances with the stars and sign up for a class.  Drag your spouse with you, he will love it once he gets there, plus it is something he can do for you.  Ballroom dancing is like having a date with your spouse.  It is good for your relationship and you burn 300-500 calories an hour doing ballroom dance.  Put on your dancing shoes and add a dance class to your exercise routing for some workout fun.

2. Kayaking:  Living in the Pacific Northwest we have a lot of places to kayak.  I know the entire world does not have as much access to water as we do.  However, even Arizona has some amazing lakes and incredible scenery.  Kayaking is a low impact exercise that is so much fun.  It provides a great upper body workout and is a fantastic way to get some resistance training in the arms, shoulders and back muscles. There is so much to see in a Kayak and it is a great way to get back to nature.  The city of Seattle sits both on Puget Sound and on Lake Union.  Both of these bodies of water are a great way to see the city. You can paddle right up to a dock and get out for some shopping or a healthy lunch along the way.  Kayaking is a great adventure, a wonderful sport to do as a family or with a friend and you burn 300-600 calories per hour.  Many areas will rent Kayaks by the hour.

3. Swimming:  Swimming is fun all year around.  Doc swims several days per week with with a group of like-minded friends.  They have been swimming together for years and have formed a tight-knit friendship.  They support each other, advocate for each other, and encourage each other to get the best workout possible.  Swimming is both fun and a fantastic full body low impact aerobic exercise.  How many calories you burn is a vast array based on the intensity of your chosen workout but it can exceed 1000 calories an hour.  Swimming is one of the most fun and the most effective exercise routines easily available to anyone. For those of you who don’t want to get your hair wet, put on a swim cap and join a water aerobics group to burn 250-400 calories an hour or go water jogging to burn 400-800 calories per hour.

4. Hiking: Hiking is a perfect sport to do with the entire family or a group.  Hiking encourages family togetherness and everyone gets intense exercise and has fun doing it.  Hiking is an opportunity to provide an education to your kids, see nature up close and personal, and get some workout fun without even knowing it.  Exercise by hiking is really not exercise at all, it is just a super fun day with people that you enjoy.  Hiking creates memories, is a feast for the eyes, builds relationships, and burns 300-500 calories per hour.

Enjoying exercise just takes a bit of planning and ingenuity.  Combining what you love with getting exercise is a sure-fire way to get exercise without even knowing it.  If these ideas are new to you, try them to see if you like them.  Adding a fun  activity to your exercise routing makes exercise easy and your workout fun!   What ideas do you have to get exercise and, at the same time, make your workout fun?