Exercise is important for both our physical and mental health, but many people struggle with the idea and reality of going to the gym several times a week. Many people end up forgoing structured exercise altogether. Ditching the gym is fine, but getting regular exercise is vital, so you really should consider making exercise part of your routine. Working out doesn’t need to be boring or repetitive. Try some of these activities and learn to love exercise again rather than seeing it as a chore.

Dancing

Dancing is wonderful cardiovascular exercise and, let’s face it – it’s fun. All mediums of dance are good for you, but to get the most out of it, dancing to fast music or learning particular dances such as the salsa will get you fitter, faster. There is any number of dance classes or dance exercise programmes out there, such as Zumba, or you can choose an entirely unstructured approach and make a regular appointment to dance crazily around your house to any tune you like. This is also a great stress buster.

Cycling

Cycling is also good for your cardiovascular health and will help to strengthen and tone muscles. Being low impact, it is a great choice for people with knee or ankle problems and best of all, it can be done anywhere. If you haven’t cycled in a while, check out a site such as Reebok Fitness as you will be amazed at the type of equipment available now. Get yourself fitted for a bike to ensure that you have the right tool for your body and head out to your local parks and enjoy the feeling of freedom that you used to have as a child cycling around.

kettle bells. 4

Team Sports

Building exercise into your routine can be difficult and we all know the research that suggests that we are more likely to stick to a regime if we have a ‘workout buddy’. Take this one step further and make it more fun by signing up with a team. Team dynamics will help you to stay on track and make exercise feel less like an obligation. Look around your local health centre or in the paper for advertisements or clubs; you will be surprised at the number of choices available.

Walk It Off

You will probably have heard this advice many times before, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Many people have some difficulty with walking as exercise, finding the aimlessness of it difficult to enjoy. Address this easily by choosing an aim or destination each day and head for there. Multitask and fetch the shopping on your walk instead of driving and you will feel much better about the whole thing.

Alternatively, get a little bit competitive with yourself and make walking a kind of sport. Challenge yourself to ‘beat your best time’, or just make a game out of investigating the area in which you live. You will be astonished by the things you start to notice on your walking route if you do it regularly and this really helps to make it more interesting and fun.

The important thing isn’t really what you do; it’s that you do something. Regular exercise isn’t just about keeping you fit in the short term. It is also about longevity and better health in your old age. Studies show that those who take regular exercise are less likely to suffer from heart attacks, strokes and diseases such as diabetes, so think of something you would enjoy and treat your future self to a longer, healthier life.

This post was written by Zoe, a freelance writer and fitness enthusiast who is currently writing on behalf of Reebok Fitness.Click here to visit their website.