29 Feb Ideas for people who don’t like to exercise: Part I

Most of us have seen exercise fanatics who are totally decked out in matching gear from head to toe and look like there’s nothing else in the world they’d rather be doing.
For many others, though, exercise is not very enjoyable.
However, it is a necessity for all who want better health.
But what’s a person to do if they really don’t like exercise? Maybe even despise working out?
Here are five ideas to make exercise more fun in the first of a three-part series:
1. Dance – Maybe you just don’t want to exercise at all in traditional ways. If that’s the case, then start doing an active activity that you enjoy more regularly, such as dancing.
Believe it or not, if you eat right and dance regularly that can help you get more toned and lose weight..
2. Set up a home gym – If you really don’t like the local gym club scene, think about setting up a workout room in your house. That might be much more enjoyable because you can exercise when and how you want and put on your own music or movie.
3. Take part in fun aerobic activities – In addition to dancing, there are many other fun activities that will give you a good aerobic workout.
Consider things like skating, sports such as tennis or basketball, playing with the kids, or running or walking with your friend while enjoying a good conversation.
4. Set up a comfortable environment to exercise in – Not only is it important to set aside time in your busy schedule to exercise, but you should start by setting up a successful environment in your home to work out.
Put your fitness equipment in a comfortable room, one where you’ll enjoy putting in lots of hours of exercise. If you set up a treadmill in a crowded, cluttered garage, do you really think you’ll use it a lot there?
Now that could be different if it’s a big garage and set up nicely for exercising, or a basement that’s big enough and cleared out enough for fitness equipment.
Wherever you set up your fitness area, make sure it’s conducive to working out. Try to make it as fun a room as possible to be in. Set up a stereo and/or TV. Put up pictures or posters that motivate you. It’s hard enough to stay motivated for fitness the older we get, but if it’s a boring room to be in that certainly won’t make it any easier.
Make your fitness room a source of pride. Add equipment along the way. Maybe even give it a name. And keep working out!
5. Find practical reasons to exercise – Some people don’t like to exercise if there’s no purpose to it, like running on a treadmill for 20 minutes and not going anywhere. For others, that’s perfectly fine.
But if you’re in the first category, combine exercise with things such as yard work projects, walking or jogging to the store for light shopping trips, or riding your bike to a store.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com