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4 Ways To Make Fitness Fun

Exercise is the path to longevity. There are many benefits of exercise, ranging from heart benefits, weight reduction, improved sleep, better mood, to chronic illness management, such as reduction in arthritis symptoms, and much more. When you exercise, people tend to stay healthier and feel better.

There are several ways to make workouts and exercises fun and enjoyable!

1. Add friends or family members to your workout routine

While some people prefer to exercise alone, a lot of others who were not able to consider exercise as fun previously find that workouts with friends and family members can make it more enjoyable. According to one of the studies by Oxford University, when people exercised as team members, high amounts of endorphins (feel good hormone) were released from their bodies as compared to when they did the same workout alone.

2. Consider heading to the trails for a long hike

Exercising in the same place over and over again can become boring and unproductive. Therefore, finding new ways to exercise, such as hiking, can be an optimal way to adapt to a healthy lifestyle – plus it doesn’t cost anything! Not only does it help burn calories, but you can also see the world from a different angle. Hiking in nature is awesome if you can manage some time out of your routine. This is how you’ll discover new paths and meet new faces that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.

3. Shuffle things up

Even though you’ve found an enjoyable workout, it is important to regularly shuffle things up so that you keep enjoying your workouts. This could mean anything from a dance class to playing football or doing household chores. In a study conducted in 2014, it was concluded that out of 367 candidates who took part in a poll, those who did a range of activities as a part of their workouts were reported to enjoy their workouts much more.

4. Recall a positive exercise memory

A study in 2015 concluded that simply recalling a pleasant exercise memory can boost your mindset going into your next workout. You just have to make sure that the memory you recall belongs to the act of the exercise, such as a good feeling you may have felt while participating in sports back in school sport days.

References:

1.) 2010 Rowers’ high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholdsBiol. Lett.6106–108 http://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0670

2.) Sylvester BD, Standage M, Dowd AJ, Martin LJ, Sweet SN, Beauchamp MR. Perceived variety, psychological needs satisfaction and exercise-related well-being. Psychol Health. 2014;29(9):1044-61. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2014.907900. Epub 2014 Apr 22. Erratum in: Psychol Health. 2014;29(9):i. PMID: 24669787.

3.) Mathew J. Biondolillo & David B. Pillemer (2015) Using memories to motivate future behaviour: An experimental exercise intervention, Memory, 23:3, 390-402, DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2014.889709