6 Fun Ways To Exercise

I am fairly good at making myself exercise. It is drudgery sometimes, but it usually gets done, sooner or later. When it comes to getting my boyfriend to exercise, however, it takes some creativity. We both have a tendency to sit at home, wanting to go do something fun but not really being able to think of anything that sounds good to do. It is an especially hard thing, too, when depression gets in the way and sucks out all of the motivation, creativity, and sense of fun. However, I have managed to come up with some consistently fun things that we can do together that get us up and moving without feeling like a chore.

Even if you don’t particularly like some of the items on the list, I suggest that you make your own list of fun, active things to do. I know I am a lot more inclined to go do something fun if I have the idea already prepared and staring me right in the face.

1. Basketball
We don’t have a team or even play by any strict rules, but it is fun sometimes to play a game or two of Horse, just the two of us. It helps that we are astonishingly bad, because we get plenty of exercise constantly chasing after a runaway ball.

2. Swimming
We splash around in the water, chase each other, have races, and generally try to stay underwater as much as possible so nobody can see us in our bathing suits. Playing around in the pool is always a refreshing reminder of childhood, too, and usually puts us in a really good mood for the rest of the day. As bonus exercise / fun, we take pool toys and waterproof balls and toss them around, play catch, dive for things, etc. Fantastic way to pass an afternoon.

3. Volleyball
We just did this for the first time today. I remembered, somewhere in the back of my mind, that our local rec center has sand volleyball courts out back. So we put on our shorts, went out and bought a $15 waterproof volleyball, and proceeded to have an awesome time. It is surprising how much of a workout it is to run around and fall down in the sand, but it really gets my heartbeat up.

4. Toss a baseball around
We found his old baseball in a box one day and decided to go out and but a couple of cheap gloves so we could toss the baseball around in a field. It turned out to be great fun. Similarly to basketball, we are both horrendous, and burn plenty of calories chasing balls around the field.

5. Set up sprinklers in the yard and run through them!
I used to do this all the time as a kid, and I loved it. You get to run around and get dirty and play outside as hard as you want, without having to worry about feeling gross and sweaty.

6. Exercise bike and video games / TV / books, etc
I have already written about this one, in my Exercise Tip #1 post, but it definitely merits another mention. It is the best thing ever for rainy or lazy days where you just want to sit at home and relax, but feel guilty for not exercising.

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