Have a Fun Workout

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

One of the things I would like to change about the fitness industry is this notion that every workout has to leave you exhausted, fatigued, and crawling out of the gym in a pool of your own sweat, blood, and tears.

If the workout wasn’t brutal, then it wasn’t effective. Or so many people think.

Not every workout or training session has to be tough. In fact, not every training session has to take place inside of a gym. And that’s what I want to talk about today.

I love training.

I’m addicted to it.

I love lifting heavy weights. But there are days when I get bored with my current training, and I just want something fun that gets me excited and motivated to train again. Hell, we have all been there.

As I shared recently in This Journey Called Strength, I told you that I have a main goal to reach in my training. I also mentioned that there will be a few detours along the way.

The spring is a great time to explore some of those detours.

My primary training goal is simple – get stronger. But there are times when I just want to do something different, and even fun.

For example: this past Sunday was absolutely beautiful. The sky was bright blue, the temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees, and there was a nice, steady breeze. This was a perfect day to train outside.

My training partner and I did an unscheduled, simple, effective, and even enjoyable outdoor workout with a single kettlebell. We did a ladder with kettlebell swings.

It looked like this – 10-10-15-15-20-20-15-15-10-10

I did a set of 10 swings, and then she did a set of 10 swings once I was finished. And then after she finished her set, I did the next set of 10. She rested while I did swings, and then I rested while she did a set of swings. This was an “I go, you go” workout idea that I got from Dan John.

We started at 10 reps and worked our way up to 20, and then back down again. The end result was 140 swings in a matter of minutes. We were out of breath, our hands were sore, and we had a great time. And her hamstrings were talking to her the next day.

There is just something about being outside, getting some fresh air and sunshine, and getting out of breath that really makes the whole session fun.

I plan to do more of these random outdoor workouts as the weather allows.

And don’t think you need a kettlebell to do an outdoor workout. Hell, you could do something as simple and effective as hill sprints.

I do have a few tools that I will use next time – a 40 pound weight vest, a 50 pound homemade sandbag, and 3 kettlebells.

The fun thing about these random workouts is that I don’t have a plan. This is completely opposite of how I normally train – when I’m lifting heavy weights I always know what exercises and generally the sets and reps I’m going to use. But with these random outdoor workouts, I just make it up as I go along.

That’s what makes it so fun.

With a few kettlebells and a sandbag, I could do dozens and dozens of different things. I’ll shoot a video next time we have one of these fun, outdoor workouts to give you some examples.

Bottom Line Here

Change things up from time to time. Do something different. Get a friend and go outside and train. Following a plan is very smart and will definitely help you achieve your goals, but sometimes you just need to have some fun.

Use whatever tools you have, or combine some hill sprints will some push-ups, bear crawls, and other bodyweight exercises.

Use your imagination, and start to enjoy training again.

So what do you think? What new workout are you going to try? Tell me below!

Be sure to check out Have a Fun Workout Part 2.