Fitness For The Fun of It

What if I told you that fitness is supposed to be fun? What if I told you that taking care of your body, getting regular activity and sweating is actually supposed to be enjoyable? Many people think that idea is crazy. But it's not.

I love fitness. But there are some fitness activities that you won't ever catch me doing. It's not because they're ineffective, it's simply because I do not LIKE them. They're not fun for me. They're not even remotely enjoyable. And I don't force myself to do them. I don't want to get into a place where I'm forcing myself to do something I hate and dread. There are plenty of options that will give me the same results that I don't have to force myself to do something I can't stand.

Last night I had a dream I was doing some group class (classes is also something I really do not like, so that was the first strike) and the instructor had everybody get down on a mat and start doing crunches. Everybody but me. I stood there in protest. When the instructor confronted me I said, "Sorry, I don't do crunches." I also don't do planks. I don't do burpees. Just to name a few. I don't like them and if I was forced to do them, I am stubborn enough to walk out in protest.

I've seen a lot of people posting on social media lately about how "not fun" fitness is or even the current FitFluential campaign of #dowhatyouhate. What the what? I get that in life we have to do many things that we don't like and don't want to do, but fitness is not and should never be one of them. You might be able to buy into that mentality for a time but it will only be temporary. Trust me on that. If you don't at least like it a little, forget about it!

On my client intake form two of my most important questions that I take into consideration when I build custom training plans is:

• What exercises will you absolutely not do or cannot do due to injury?
• What exercises would you like to make sure I include in your program?

There is so much diversity in fitness that the possibilities of things a person can do are almost endless. There is enough out there that you should never be doing something you really hate (I'm not talking about competitive athletes-sometimes they have to suck it up "for love of the game.")

Taking care of our bodies is a privilege. Every day that I get to move my body however I want to is a day I am grateful. As I get older I realize how important it is to take care of my body and I'm glad that I've been this way all of my adult life. Sure, there are many a morning when  I really would rather stay in bed than go hit the gym. But I know that if I didn't get up and get it done, I would regret it the rest of the day. I wouldn't have as much energy, my joints would be creaky (it's called 40) and I wouldn't feel as invigorated and focused to do what needs to be done. Yes, it takes time to make that a habit and the dedication to persevere through the transition phase.

If you hate it, if you don't have any fun doing it...you haven't found the right fitness activity for YOU! Keep looking, it's out there.