ESSENTIAL ELEMENT: Fun and Play
Critical Concept: Our modern culture is desperately deficient in Vitamin F – fun.
When was the last time you saw someone on a treadmill laughing? And I don’t mean because the TV looming above their head was featuring some outrageous guest on the Jerry Springer show. I mean that they were truly having fun?
A big reason that so many people have trouble sticking to their exercise routine or reaching their health and fitness goals is because they are trying to get themselves to stick to an activity that they hate! This will never work. You cannot expect to successfully maintain a regimen that you detest doing. You will always find a way to avoid, make excuses around, or straight out sabotage your fitness effort if you dread your program. So don’t do it.
Do what moves you. Choose the activities that you love to do and get to it.
Build your passions into your fitness program. If you love swimming – make it the anchor of your fitness program. If you hate running – don’t build your routine around running. Fill your activity calendar with the things that you love doing. If you love to be outside, don’t plan on spending every day on a stair climber in your basement. You should focus on outdoor activities. If you are very social, join a club or a team. Don’t go it alone.
Ultimately your health goals should include you achieving well-rounded, balanced fitness. This opens the door to a great variety of choices for activities. Don’t be narrow minded when designing your conditioning program. Open yourself to the possibility of trying a new sport or getting back to one that you loved, but lost years ago.
A Bonfire best practice is to join a club or team that engages you in an activity that you love to do. Committing to a team leverages a powerful source of social influence. If you have a group of people who are expecting you to show up and have fun with them, you are far more likely to make time for it.
A vital behavior is to schedule it. Your life is probably over-obligated, over-whelming and over-booked. Don’t expect that you’ll simply “find time” to have fun. You must schedule some “spontaneous time.” As paradoxical as that may sound, in today’s culture if you don’t write it into your day-timer, life will fill in the blanks. Schedule your playtime.
Ask yourself the most revealing question: What do I really love doing?
Our lives are so stressful and our schedules are over-booked. We should try to capitalize on every opportunity to have fun. If we get creative with our workouts, we can get two birds with one stone – get the movement that our bodies require and expect, while feeding our minds, hearts and spirits with the joy that comes from doing what we love.
Summary Checklist
- Add activity every day in every way
- Calculate Energy Balance
- Add Functional Training
- Use variety in your workouts
- Focus on the Intensity of your workouts
- Gradually progress to a higher intensity
- Adopt the Buddy System
- Get your Spine checked by a chiropractor
- Do what moves you – HAVE FUN!
