The Power of Fun:
Celebrate Enjoyable Ways To Be Active!
Make FUN your
focus & forget you're exercising.
When you think of
the word “exercise”—What usually comes to mind? For many people the reaction
is immediate, and negative. Words like leotards, aerobics classes, sweating,
embarrassment, and pain come up. Physical activity is simply moving your body.
When you think of
children playing, what images come to mind? Do they worry about their
“target heart rate”? Aerobic zone? Frequency/intensity/time-duration?
NO! You can’t get them to stop. Do they just have ONE fun activity, or several
planned? Remember back: tag games, tether ball, monkey bars, jump rope, skate
boards, scooter with wheels, bikes, skipping and hop scotch, making mud pies,
damming up water flowing down the sides of a street, and many other creative
ways to MOVE!
To help change our
attitude about "being active" it is helpful to focus on what we ENJOY doing.
Now,
thinking back to your childhood—What activities did you enjoy? How about now?
Do you ever wonder what has changed?
First, to help us out, we might want to EXERCISE OUR IMAGINATION! MAKING FUN
YOUR FOCUS—AND FORGETTING THAT YOU’RE EXERCISING!
Take
your kids (or your dog!) for a nature walk.
Compete in a sport you enjoy.
Play
Frisbee or hide-and-seek with your kids.
Show
off your dog and delight him with a walk.
Grow
your own delicious vegetable or beautiful flower garden, or participate in a
community garden.
Go to
the malls before they open in the morning and window shop (leave your credit
cards at home!).
Plan
a walk to visit with a friend. You could bring along healthy snacks and
water to drink!
Participate in a hiking or biking club or find your own path.
Try
in-line skating, a romantic walk, or dancing for a date.