Exercising may not be everyone’s favorite activity. However, everyone is capable of working out. All they need is to find the right workout for them.
The word “exercise” can have a negative connotation and even bring up feelings of dread in some people. However, exercise does not have to be hard or draining. In fact, it can produce high levels of energy and help your brain to function at its best level.
If you haven’t adopted the habit of exercising on a daily basis, then starting a workout regimen may seem a bit intimidating. Luckily, you can still burn calories and exercise your muscles without it feeling like you’re exercising. There are so many fun activities that will engage you both mentally and physically, allowing you to reach peak fitness without it feeling like exercise. The following are 5 workouts that don’t feel like exercise:
1. Hiking
Hiking is something you can do almost anywhere. It’s all about the adventure and discovering new locations. Plus, hiking is often as easy as researching some local parks nearby and taking a walk.
Depending on your preference, you can choose to hike mountains, nature trails and more. In fact, river walking is one great way to spend your hiking trip. If you can’t travel to the mountains or trek too long distances, then you can look into riverwalks in your city. This is an easy way to spend your day out and burn off a few calories.
Many riverwalks in the U.S. even have boutiques and eateries along the way, allowing you to treat yourself a bit in addition to your “workout.” If the city scenery isn’t your thing and you prefer to enjoy the beauty of nature, then you can download different applications. The following hiking apps will help you find new trails, parks, “places to walk near me” and routes for an ideal hiking trip:
- AllTrails
- MapMyHike
- ViewRanger
- Yonder
- BackCountry Navigator
2. Dancing
Everyone loves music. The combination of instruments and vocals is truly something to get lost in. Not surprisingly, therefore, dancing is something many people do just for fun without any consideration that they’re actually burning calories.
An hour of dancing a day shows to be very beneficial both psychologically and physically.
Music increases dopamine levels. Dopamine is also released as a result of spontaneous physical movement such as dancing. Thus, dancing to good music does in fact make us feel better as there’s a bigger release of endorphins when dancing compared to other forms of exercise.
You can create your own hour-long playlist with all of your favorite songs and dance freely. If you’d like, you can invite friends or dance in a social setting. For example, Zumba classes are available online as well as offered at dance studios all over. These classes offer a variety of dance genres like modern dancing, burlesque dance, salsa dance, contemporary dance, aerial dance and more.
Another amazing option to incorporate dancing into your daily workout regimen is through playing video games. You can get good exercise by playing video games like Just Dance, which is available on a variety of gaming consoles. With Just Dance, you and your friends can dance to popular music from all genres and try to nail all the moves. You’ll be able to see a playback video of you and your friends dancing to see how well you did.
3. Parkour
If you are more of an acrobat, then parkour is something you’d definitely enjoy. Parkour was developed from a military obstacle course where a person interacts with the obstacles in their environment. Parkour is also sometimes regarded as an “extreme sport.” It’s about getting from one location to the next in a fast period of time.
In parkour, you’ll see people swinging, jumping and climbing the obstacles in their environment. There are even parkour gyms you can go running through a pre-made obstacle course and set your own personal records to beat. However, free running is more inclusive when it comes to the stylistic approach, fancy flips, gymnastics, etc.
Most free runners enjoy being able to do parkour with different landscapes and creating their own parkour moves. Many individuals are attracted to parkour because it gives them a freeing feeling of immense confidence, flexibility, and adaptability.
4. Climbing
Another sport that some people regard as an “extreme sport” is climbing. Like parkour, there is the option of practicing in a rock climbing gym environment or on “natural” landscapes in your environment.
Indoor rock climbing is a fun recreational activity that will help you burn calories and also offers the element of weight training. So, you will also be toning your muscles while you are doing this activity.
Indoor rock climbing is typically less intense as there are usually procedures done to ensure your safety. You’ll have a harness, a helmet and other protective gear just as you would with real rock climbing. However, with indoor rock climbing, there are markers on the climbing wall indicating where you place your hands and feet to climb up and climb down.
5. Swimming
If you have joint issues or limited mobility, you may be hesitant to exercise for fear of injury. Fortunately, water-based exercise can be a great, safe alternative to regular exercise in this case.
Water aerobics takes a lot of the weight off of your knees and ankles, allowing you to move about more freely. Joint pain and muscle soreness are both common reasons why many people don’t feel comfortable working out. Swimming offers an alternative to intense cardio routines that may put a lot of pressure on the bones. Also, there are several variations of swimming styles, including:
- Freestyle Stroke
- Backstroke
- Breaststroke
- Sidestroke
- Butterfly Stroke
Many people also enjoy doing calisthenics in a pool, as the water increases resistance.
Exercise does not need to be difficult, boring or a drag. You can exercise with ease without putting pressure on your body or adding stress to your daily routines. Very often, you can find a way to get in shape by incorporating the activities that you already enjoy doing.
By taking this new approach to exercise, you’ll be able to maintain a consistent routine and exercise won’t be something you view as exhausting and arduous. Instead, you’ll look forward to your workouts as they will provide you with even more energy and invigoration.
By Admin –
