Fun Exercise Routines

The idea of fun exercise routines may sound like something of an oxymoron. Plodding away at the treadmill for miles and miles while staring at the sweaty back of some yahoo a few feet in front of you rarely generate that many laughs. Still, there are steps you can take to alleviate the tedium and inject a little bit of fun into your workouts.

Some forms of exercise are more fun right from the get-go, while others can be tweaked. Here are some examples of both.

You can use technology to create an artificial challenge or just distraction from the dullness. For example, a virtual exercise bike lets you race others or bring the variety of nature excursions in the dead of winter or in the middle a big city. Meanwhile, you reap the full benefits of a controlled environment with comfortable temperature, no bugs, traffic, risk of accidents and so forth. A substitute is not the real thing, of course, but if you're unable to do the latter, you can make the most fun of the former.

Another option is game console add-ons like the Nintendo Wii Fit or one of the many dance pads. These plug in directly to the main game console, offering a variety of exercise options with calorie counting, increasing skill levels, etc. while providing quite a bit of fun in the process.

If you have a training partner and don't mind going a bit hardcore, use friendly competition to mix things up and make the workout more interesting. For example, don't just do bench presses every week -- challenge your partner to a push-up face-off where the loser buys the winner a protein drink in the sports bar, for example. Don't go so far as to alienate a good friend, but just enough to up the ante and keep boredom at bay.

Believe it or not, some of the more active forms of dancing burn well over 500 calories an hour. If this is your thing, swoop your significant other off his or her feet once a week for an alternative and fun cardio session. As a bonus, it might work wonders for your relationship to boot.

Outdoor exercise doesn't have to be limited to the same old jogging trail in the park. Try inline skating or join a game of three-on-three at the basketball court. You may not get the same nice, even resistance or predictable calorie burn curve, but odds are considerably better for cracking a few grins out there than on the Stairmaster.

If you already have an established jogging routine, you may get a boost by changing scenery. Drive a couple miles to a different neighborhood or trail and see what things are like on the other side. Just remember to bring a towel to place behind you as you drive back to avoid messing up the car seat.

Many of the wrist-mounted, higher-end heart rate monitor/athletic computer combos come with an assortment of add-ons to spice up your workouts. Most let you track your progress in terms of calorie burn, heart rate, distance, etc. and some also have virtual opponents to "beat" and similar challenges that can help create an artificial challenge of sorts.

As a rule, most forms of exercise are -- quite frankly -- not all that fun in and of themselves. To combat this, you can either exert yourself to the point where you overdose on endorphins and drop with a silly grin on your face (not recommended) or get creative with your regular routines. These were but a few ideas for how to spice things up and keep boredom at bay, but there are plenty more tricks to discover. Have some tips of your own? Submit your suggestions in the comments-box below and share your knowledge of fun exercise routines!

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