Exercise vs. Enjoyable Body Movement

sugarandspice27
sugarandspice27 Posts: 521 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've changed my mind about what exercise actually is. I want to incorporate more movement into my daily life. They say that thin people naturally move more than overweight and sit about 2.5 hours LESS a day. It doesn't have to be a strict regime of punishment that only takes place at a gym. Dancing the night away at a club? Yup! Playing at the park with kids? Yup! Yoga & stretching? Belly Dancing? Doing squats while brushing my teeth? Indeed, it all counts. I just can't see myself on a treadmill. Even the sound of it is depressing. "Tread"... as in just treading water and getting nowhere... and "mill"... just milling around going in circles. OMG HORRIBLE lol Sorry to all those that enjoy it, but I'm going to go with Enjoyable Body Movement from now on.

How do you get your Enjoyable Body Movement on?

Replies

  • lmaxineb
    lmaxineb Posts: 1 Member
    Tennis for the first time today, just plaid lopsided doubles with my 3 year old and my husband. Running after the balls my son hit all willy nilly made me hustle, and made all of us laugh!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    18km run along the river this morning......it's a recreational path that meanders through some wetlands and wooded areas, for me it's mobile meditiation combined with communing with nature.
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    Running is mine - getting my favourite songs playing, and heading out in my neighbourhood. I also like Kinect (particularly Disneyland Adventures), though the opportunity is rare.

    It's the only exercise I've ever enjoyed. I don't yet have children to run around with, though that'll be a big thing in future, and I can't dance and don't go for nights out so dancing is a very, very rare thing for me.

    I also do like swimming, but not in a normal pool and we have no nice water-parks near us. I think I'm expecting a bit much, though - I'm searching the county for somewhere to swim that has the landscaping of Discovery Cove in Florida...and I live in North-West England. Until I find somewhere as beautiful again (and I won't), I'm never going to appreciate swimming the same as I used to.
  • Eccendentesiast
    Eccendentesiast Posts: 29
    I love to dance, so I spend a lot of my time when I'm on the computer swinging my upper body all back and forth, twisting, shaking, etc. just while I'm doing my normal stuff on the computer.
    And then my actual hip hop dancing I try to do for an hour every day. I don't do it specifically for the calorie burn, but it's definitely a bonus.
    Things like that, just moving and shaking around whenever possible on top of my daily workout routines.
  • ladyjoie
    ladyjoie Posts: 165 Member
    I am fully behind this. I work out about 5 times a week at the moment, something I started fairly recently - but if you don't enjoy exercise, you won't DO it. So many things have culminated with exercise being some kind of dirty word. People have a LOT of bad feelings about it, whether from being pushed to hard in gym class or using it as some sort of punishment or never learning what enjoyable movement is. You can learn to enjoy exercise of the traditional kind, but that still takes time. Getting a workout with dancing or swimming or even just walking for half an hour a day - all of these things are great. Even if you never call it exercise, it's movement - and movement is GOOD.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I started taking public transit to and from work 5 days per week. This means that I have to walk about a half mile to my bus stop from my house (one way) then another half mile to change buses, then another half mile to my work from that bus stop. This means I end up walking about a total of 3 miles per day (sometimes more if I have to travel during work hours to run errands). Plus it saves me a ton of money on gas and tolls. More importantly, it saves me a lot of stress of driving in a major city every day. I like being able to relax, enjoy the scenery, get some physical activity in, and just enjoy my commute.

    Win win!
  • sugarandspice27
    sugarandspice27 Posts: 521 Member
    @Elizabeth... that's a great way to automate your fitness into your daily routine.

    I should just put on music and dance around the house more. It always makes me feel great about myself.
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    Zumba and walking my dog.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    @Elizabeth... that's a great way to automate your fitness into your daily routine.

    I should just put on music and dance around the house more. It always makes me feel great about myself.

    I used to take public transit when I was an undergrad, but I stopped when I moved to grad school. That's when I really started putting on the pounds, so I kinda thought it might be good to reverse that and see what happens. I do feel a lot better at least.

    I still workout at the gym 3x per week, and I like to garden on the weekends also. My flowers and veggies haven't looked this good in a long time. It's very rewarding.

    P.S. I dance when I clean my floors to really loud music too. Of course, I only do this when hubby isn't home... :)
  • dizzmizliz
    dizzmizliz Posts: 10
    I've only recently really started to *enjoy* exercise, rather do it cause I have to. I've started to enjoy really pushing myself and feel my body change!
  • sugarandspice27
    sugarandspice27 Posts: 521 Member
    *ehem* BUMP!
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    this might be odd, but the two are one and the same for me. i don't like thinking that i need to trick myself into burning calories; on the other hand, i love trying to push out that last rep to show the weights who's boss.
  • ScubaAmyMN
    ScubaAmyMN Posts: 1,701 Member
    * Last summer I bought a cute "cruiser"-style bike, which was much more comfortable than my old bike (which I never rode because it was so uncomfortable!) I like cruising around trails on that, and it really feels FUN.
    * Going for walks in favorite parks, along water, etc.
    * Playing Wii
    * Going for short walks over lunchtime at work, which also helps clear my brain
    * Yoga
    * Coaching gymnastics
    * Planting flowers

    If you like dancing, I think that's a #1 - what a great calorie burn! You could even sign up for some adult dance classes to try different styles.

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