I do not like to exercise. I am not athletic. I do not like to sweat. I was the girl in gym class who tried her best to get out of participating, who would walk instead of run and hope to get “out” at dogeball so I wouldn’t have to try to get someone else out.
Then, in high school, I was required to take a PE class to graduate. Of all the options, weight lifting seemed the least difficult, so I chose that one. I was only one of a few girls in the class, and we still did have to run occasionally (apparently you still need cardio once in a while) but I loved it. I was probably the weakest in the class, but the only competition was with myself. Even though it was an individual sport, we had to help spot each other and encourage everyone to try a little more weight. It was actually kind of fun and didn’t feel like work!
I realized that there are other ways out there to get exercise that I actually enjoyed.
I was dancing for theater, which is very aerobic. I’ve taken tap as an adult, and I still like to dance around my house. I tried long-distance running so I could run a half marathon. (The race was fun, the training not so much.) I used to roller skate as a kid, so a couple of years ago, I bought some skates and re-learned how to not fall down. Hiking in the mountains, riding my bike, kick scootering, yoga and pilates….there are so many fun ways to get exercise that don’t involve grueling workouts.
Here are a few of my recommendations, for any fitness level:
- Skating: Whether you choose ice skates, quad skates, or inline, it’s fun and a good workout for your core. Try watching Dirty Deborah Harry’s Dirty School of Skate on YouTube for some great skating lessons!
- Skate board or kick scooter: like skating, you’ll work on your balance and get some cardio at the same time. For a skateboarding tutorial, check this one out from Braille Skateboarding.
- Bicycling: get from point A to point B or just ride around for fun. Great to do with the kids.
- Dance or Aerobic Dance: you can just dance around your living room, take a class, or find a video on YouTube. No actual talent required. PopSugar Fitness has a variety of videos to try.
- Yoga or Pilates: like dance, can be easily done at home and YouTube has a ton of videos. I especially like Blogilates and Yoga with Adriene.
- Weight Lifting: not just for those Mr. Universe guys, even light weights with a lot of repetitions will change your body. Try ankle weights, kettle bells, medicine balls, resistance bands, water bottles, gallon jugs, soup cans… anything that has some weight and is easy to pick up and move.
- Hiking: if you have a nice place with a good view, or somewhere with hills, try a good hike. It’s more fun than walking around your neighborhood for the thousandth time, and you might see some actual nature!
Quirky and Crabby 