Ways to Make Exercise More Enjoyable

Exercise is often challenging, sometimes entertaining, but for almost half of you who try to get sweaty regularly the overwhelming feeling you have about it is … boredom. One poll even found that 34% of exercisers said they would wash every dirty dish by hand for the rest of their life if it meant they didn’t have to work out anymore. 

Yikes! Sounds like it’s time to spice up your routine so that you’re never bored with exercise again. 

Animal Flow

Grin and bear it! Also crab, lizard, and kangaroo it! Quadrupedal movement training or QMT has you getting down on all fours to imitate the motion of a wide variety of amazingly flexible creatures.  Whether it is called Animal Flow, which uses the Ape, Beast, and Crab as the core exercises, or Animal Movement Routine, which adds a zoo full of options, it can make your sweatin’ to the oldies brand new. 

The basic principle is that you are using your body weight to gain strength, but you’ll be surprised by how aerobic these exercises are and how they improve your agility and coordination. 

• Bear Crawls: Get on to all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Move forward by extending your right hand as you move your left knee forward. Contract your core as you move, keep your shoulders and back flat.  
• Crab Walks: Sit on the floor, bend your knees, and put your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Place your hands flat on the floor, arms straight, behind you.  Lift your hips off the ground and walk forward and backward using your hands and feet. Don’t sag. Feel it in your triceps and core? 
• Kangaroo Jumps: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, shoulders down, gaze straight ahead.  Squat down and jump up as high as possible, reaching your arms overhead. Land (softly) and repeat. Great for your glutes and balance.

For more help with exercises that use your body weight for resistance, check out this article: A Strength Coach Shares Tips to Optimize Bodyweight Workouts. 

To build as much lean muscle mass as possible with these exercises, add Creatine Monohydrate to your daily supplement program. This helps your muscles quickly regenerate ATP, the primary energy carrier during any intense exercise, such as the animal movements above. 

Yoga and Pilates

While QMT is entertaining and energizing, I keep my workouts interesting by mixing up my routine, some days doing cardio, strength-building, flexibility, balance, and/or meditation, depending on my mood, my body, and my schedule.  So, here are some other unusual routines you can try to give your weekly workouts new texture and excitement.

If you meld Pilates and yoga, you will find the strength and flexibility you gain from both are enhanced—and you’ll also manage your stress and mood. I suggest you start out the routine using yoga for warm-up, stretching, and breathing control. Try a downward-facing dog or a full sun salutation.

Move into core-strengthening Pilates with exercises like the leg circles and the roll-up. Then back to yoga for balance exercises like the tree pose or the extended triangle pose.

Next, it’s back to Pilates to work on your lower body using side leg lifts and plank variations.  Finally, conclude with yoga’s mindful meditation and breathing routine. 

For additional info on yoga’s benefits check out “How to Enhance the Benefits of Your Yoga Practice.” 

Having a Ball! 

Using stability balls to build strength and balance is a lot of fun. If you’re 5’ to 5’5” tall, choose a ~21-inch diameter ball. For 5’6” to 5’ 11”, you need a ~25-inch ball. Six feet or taller, use a ~29-incher. 

Great exercise options include doing a plank with your forearms on the ball and your core tight, and body straight. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat. 

Then, facing the floor, put your hands on the ground and your feet on the ball and do push-ups by lowering your chest to the floor while keeping your body straight. You can also try bridges and squats. 

There are inventive routines like Aqua Zumba and Retro Walking (that’s walking backward very carefully) that also may help you stay interested in working out most days. 

How Much Exercise Do I Need?

If you can find joy in almost daily exercise you will see improvements in your todays and tomorrows. Research shows that regular exercise immediately helps fight off depression, improves your sex life, sleep, and cognition, and enhances and protects mobility. 

In the long term, folks who get 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity weekly, or 75–150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity—reduced their risk of early death by as much as 21%. Double or quadruple that time spent working out and your risk drops by 31%.   

To help you get all those rewards, check out this article on “The Best Workout Supplements.”

References: 

1. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (lww.com)
2. Buxton, Jeffrey D.; Prins, Philp J.; Miller, Michael G.; Moreno, Anthony; Welton, Gary L.; Atwell, Adam D.; Talampas, Tirzah R.; Elsey, Gretchen E. The Effects of a Novel Quadrupedal Movement Training Program on Functional Movement, Range of Motion, Muscular Strength, and Endurance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 36(8):p 2186-2193, August 2022. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003818 
3. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/exercising-more-than-recommended-could-lengthen-life-study-suggests/
4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/exercising-more-than-recommended-could-lengthen-life-study-suggests/https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/exercise-advice-for-people-with-heart-problems
5. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/massive-study-uncovers-how-much-exercise-needed-live-longer