Exercise is Meant to be Fun!

When we feel fantatsic every day with boundless energy and enthusiasm for life, we naturally want to move our bodies and find joy in the expression of physical activity. But when we are tired, unmotivated, apathetic, and feeling down, exercise becomes an insurmountable challenge and drops to the bottom of our to-do list.

This then becomes a viscious cycle where the longer we don’t exercise for, the more difficult it is to get started again. The wonderful benefits we gain from exercise, such as the increase in energy, the anti-depressant effect, the support it gives our adrenals and the benefits to our cardiovascular system and muscles, all fall by the way-side.

I have gone through stages of exercising by doing activities that are done purely for the physical benefit they confer – however I know that I am much more likely to stick to an activity program if I actually enjoy what I am doing 🙂

I have been reminded of that this week while I am on holidays. The weather is very warm, and the beautiful ocean is only a minute’s drive away. I have been going to the beach twice a day and swimming in the gentle swell for over an hour each time. I don’t even notice that I’m exercising, I’m just enjoying the water, body surfing when a big wave comes in and generally relaxing and enjoying the experience. However when I finally get out, I notice that I’m breathing pretty heavily, as if I’ve just gone for a good solid run.

Now if anyone asked you to exercise twice a day for an hour doing something you don’t really like, you would probably laugh at them – but when you are having pure enjoyment out of moving your body, then that is the ideal exercise for you.

Now of course, not all of us have a year round warm climate, a beautiful beach a minute away and two hours a day to luxuriate in the ocean – but there are plenty of ways to move your body and find an activity that is fun and keeps you fit too. Find yours and get to it!

Leisa