Not an ‘exercise Person’? Try These Activities to Get Moving

If you hate exercise, don’t start with the gym.
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I’ve already spoken about how I don’t think there’s any such thing as an ‘exercise person’, so I won’t harp on about that again. That being said, there are naturally sporty people who seem to take to any sport like a duck takes to water.

I am not one of these people.

If you aren’t either – this blog post is for you.

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Do a Color Run

The Color Run, also known as ‘The Happiest 5k on the Planet’, is a 5k run (or walk, or jog), where you get colored powder and paint thrown at you. Yes, you read that right. It’s all about enjoying yourself with friends, rather than achieving a specific speed or mile per minute.

Why I recommend it: It’s still a run, yes, but it’s fun. you just jog or walk with your friends. There’s no pressure about having to finish in time, just enjoy getting paint thrown at you, and enjoy the music.

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Go Ape

If you aren’t naturally outdoorsy, Go Ape could be a little challenging, but I still think you’d love it. Go Ape is kind of outdoor adventure, you can abseil, zip line, tightrope walk, and more. It might not sound like a workout, but after a couple of hours with your heart rate up you’ll be ready for a rest.

Why I recommend it: It’s an activity that doesn’t feel like exercise, but it will get you outside and get you moving, which is the end goal. Plus, once you’ve done this, other outdoor activities will hardly be a struggle.

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Take a hike

This is walking you guys. Nobody has to be sporty in order to be able to walk. You could argue that it’s on an incline, but honestly that just makes it better. The further you go up the more you see, and it’s rarely a constant uphill battle, think more winding paths.

Why I recommend it: If you can walk, you can do this. It’s pretty straightforward.

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Learn to Ski or Snowboard

If you’re in a place where it snows for a large portion of the year and you have a lot of mountains, this should be an obvious choice for you. Skiing and snowboarding will get your heart rate up, and you’ll be so focused on technique you’ll forget your exercising.

Why I recommend it: It’s so much fun!

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Try White Water Rafting and SUPing

This is how you work your arms and your core without hitting the gym. Water sports, for some reason, seem less like exercise. I haven’t fully understood why yet, but I think it’s got something to do with how they feel like an adventure. They are anything but same-same, and you never know what might happen next. Adventure.

Why I recommend them: These activities will work your body. You will be sore the next day. But as you’re doing these activities you’ll be having the time of your life, you won’t even notice.

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The aim with all of these activities is to get you trying something new, something that’s on the boundary line of your comfort zone and will get you moving. The best part is, you can bring friends along for all of these. If you both enjoy them, great. If you both hate them, well you have a new memory and a great story to tell.

I definitely found the experimental approach to be the perfect way to get me moving and exercising. I just needed to get my body used to being active, and realise that exercise doesn’t have to mean working out at the gym (even if a lot of the stuff I do now is at the gym).

Would you do any of the activities I listed? Which ones?

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/Femi, The Girl Who Hates Working Out

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