Creative Ways To Add Exercise Into Your Daily Life

“Exercise kind of sucks.”Is this something you find yourself saying on a regular basis?

I mean, does anyone like exercising?

We like how it makes us look, and how it makes us feel (sometimes), but do we honestly like spending hours sweating on the treadmill? Do we honestly like spending money on different fitness classes and gym memberships?

It’s the second biggest excuse for why people don’t exercise – because they don’t like it. The first excuse is that they don’t have time for  a workout regime.

So if we don’t like to exercise, how are we supposed to do it?

Well, there are a ton of different ways to workout. In fact, doing fun exercises can be just as beneficial to your health as working out and spending time in a gym.

The truth about exercise is this – no matter how many times you exercise in a day unless you’re running for 10 hours on a daily basis, you aren’t going to be able to get rid of a bad diet.

For some unknown reason, us humans are really good at making the most crazy, ridiculous things into solid justified reasons. And then we take this insane reasoning and apply it to our equally-horrible behavior, like eating junk food.

“Well, I had a cheat meal this morning, so there goes today. Guess I will just have to pick back up on my diet tomorrow.”

Sound familiar?

How To Change Your Mindset About Exercise?

Here’s what you need to understand – if you want to live a happy, healthy life, then you need to make sure you have the right mindset. And by getting the right mindset, you need to understand a couple of important facts.

First, if you exercise for an hour (no matter if it’s at the gym or at home exercises) and end up burning 400 calories, good job! Make sure you keep that mindset.  You can’t look at that bag of chips and think, Well, I did work out today. I probably earned this, it’ll cancel out.

No, it won’t. So we’re going to need to stop doing this.

Secondly, exercise doesn’t have to mean that you run and run and run and run on a treadmill for six hours and end up hating your life. There are tons of other ways to exercise.

Something else to remember –your diet is going to make up a huge part of your success – or your failure. In fact, by a huge part we mean up to 80 to 90%. If you had to pick between only exercising or only dieting in order to lose weight, the answer is going to be dieting, every single time. And remember there is no easy weight loss, it will take dedication.

Next, remember that each and every choice and decision matters. Because every choice and decision has a calorie count behind it, you can’t just assume that one bad meal qualifies you for an entire day of bad choices. Rather, if you have a bad decision for one day, don’t consider that day ruined.

One bad day doesn’t mean that your entire week is ruined. One week off doesn’t mean that a whole month is ruined. Know that every single decision that you make is going to either bring you closer to your goal or take you even further away from it. So stop focusing on the bad decision you just made today or the one you made yesterday. Instead, focus on making the right decisions from here on out.

And accept that you are going to have bad days, moments, weeks. It’s bound to happen – we’re human. And sometimes that means we’re going to fail. But that’s ok – what truly matters is how you bounce back from it.

So What Does This All Mean In Terms Of Exercise?

Exercise is going to be an added feature in your weight loss program. It’s going to help your heart beef up, as well as your muscles. Plus it’s going to get your butt off the couch and yourself out of the house, as you soak up the lovely benefits of vitamin D. There’s a huge array of health benefits from exercising we’re sure you know of.

And keep in mind, like we said earlier, that you shouldn’t use exercise as an excuse to eat like you’ve never eaten before. Get rid of that mindset now. Instead of thinking that you’ve earned that donut, think to yourself, Well I already worked out today. I don’t want to waste all that energy. I should make it worth it with the right food choices.

Finally, use your exercise as a refresher that you are bettering your life. And in order to continue this bettering, you need to finish the whole puzzle and make all the right choices. Or else you are just going to find that you are wasting your time.

So let’s circle back to that whole I don’t actually like exercising’ thing. Instead of thinking that, ask yourself what kind of exercise you don’t like doing, and what you do. If you really hate going to the gym and lifting weights, stop doing it. If you seriously hate running, don’t make yourself do it.

There are tons of fun fitness ideas you can use to make exercise a lot more enjoyable. What you need to do is find the type of exercise you like doing so that you do it every day. And then, as you continue to think healthy, it’s going to keep leading to good, healthy decisions throughout the entire day.

So we’ve got a few ideas for you – it is exercise, but not the traditional gym routine.

First, giving hiking a try. Added bonus if you get some friends to go with you. Odds are, with some friends there, you will have an even better time. You’ll get caught up in the beautiful surroundings, reminisce on old times, talk about what’s going on in your life, etc.

Not really interested in hiking? Ok, go for a walk instead. Even if you only walk at a brisk pace for 15 minutes it is going to get you pretty close to a mile. You can even apply this at work. If you’re dreading that 30 minute meeting, ask everyone if they would be OK doing a walking meeting instead. It’s an awesome way to mix things up – and just an FYI, Steve Jobs used to do this all the time. So there may be some hidden success behind it.

How Can I Switch Up My Exercise Routine?

Want a little adventure? Try rock climbing. It’s going to give your back, forearms and arms a killer exercise. Plus, you’re going to feel awesome when you get to the top. And there’s plenty of room to move up – there are so many different levels and grades, you can just keep climbing.

Are you a fan of dancing? Think about how you feel while you’re dancing and right after. During, you’re sweating and out of breath. Afterwards, you may feel like you need to recover and, depending on the dance, you may even be sore the next time. So think about some dance classes. Swing dancing might not sound like an insane workout but we promise you will be drenched in sweat and out of breath within a short couple of minutes. There are tons of dance classes, ranging from the ever-popular Zumba to hip hop, tango, flamenco and more. You will be pleasantly surprised at what a workout you get – and how sweaty you get.

For all the parents out there, you will appreciate this one – when was the last time you roughhoused with your kids? There’s a reason why kids are in good shape – they’re always going going going. Try to keep up with them for an hour and see how much it kills you.

Much like dance lessons, you can also take some kind of marital arts class. It’s a killer workout and you’re going to feel badass telling people you know Kung Fu. Plus, you have a ton of classes to pick from, like Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung Fu, or Capoeria. Pick the one that makes you feel the best.

How many hours a day do you think you spend sitting at your desk? For most people, this is around 7 or more hours a day. That’s a lot, especially over long periods of time! This kills your legs and your posture – so build yourself a standing desk. You’ll feel your legs getting stronger, your posture getting straighter and possibly yourself getting a lot more productive.

Do you and your friends like to meet for coffee often? Well, you’re taking in calories and you’re just sitting around. Suggest something new, something exciting. Ask them if they’d rather go for a hike (or just a walk), want to throw a baseball around or even just toss a Frisbee in the local park.

For all the cleaning freaks out there, you will love this. Cleaning is a seriously good workout. Make it a fun challenge – blast some music and try to get an entire room vacuumed and wiped down by the time the song is over.

Have you ever tried Parkour? Have you ever wanted to? Well, now is the time. Go for it – it doesn’t matter how old you are. You can vault yourself over tables and jump up 5 steps in one leap with no issues.

There’s a reason why so many people enjoy taking yoga. It has so many benefits, like teaching you to relax and how to be more flexible, while also building your strength up. With so many different kinds available, there’s definitely a choice for you. Hot yoga is yet another growing trend. If you’re just starting out, you may want to try regular yoga and see where it takes you.

You may not expect this one, but interactive video games can help you be more active. They have so many video games nowadays that require you to get up and moving. Think about it – Wii Fit has tennis and bowling, there’s Just Dance for Xbox, etc. These games actually get you up and moving – and sweating. I mean, have you ever tried Dance Dance Revolution? It’s a killer workout!

Time to reach into that closet and brush off that dusty violin. It might be hard to believe but playing the violin for an hour actually burns just as many calories as walking for an hour! Shocking, huh? You may enjoy playing the violin more than walking, so go for it.

If you live close to your work, try mixing up your commute – ride your bike to work. Not only are you cutting back on your carbon footprint, but you are also going to get an awesome exercise and burn a ton of calories. You can bike to work, you can bike to a friend’s house or just jump up on your bike and get going.

Conclusion

Finally, reach back to your roots.

What kind of games did you used to play when you were a kid?

Capture the flag? Flashlight tag? Tag in general? Kick the can?

Whatever games you used to play, try playing it again. It’s fun and it’ll bring out the child in you.

All of these serve as awesome ways to get your butt exercising. Stop making excuses and realize that you do have time to exercise, and you can afford it, and you can force yourself to get off of the copy.

You can also help yourself by committing in advance. For example, instead of paying for a dance class one lesson at a time, pay for a month’s worth. When it comes to money, odds are you don’t want to waste any of that. Since it’s already paid for, you might as well get up and go. So get out there and have some fun!

-Terry Asher