Is exercise a chore?

Do you remember when you were little and couldn’t wait to go out and play? When you could lose yourself in what you were doing and running, jumping, skipping, swimming was so exciting and pure joy? So what happened to that child? If the thought of exercise to you now produces the same feelings as a hard days work, where did the joy go?

Humans we are designed to be active, to feel happy when in recreational physical activity. It’s only as adults that we have to be disciplined to do the things we loved as children. So is it possible to get back to those feelings we had as children and make exercise a happy occasion rather than a chore?

Here’s some tips that may help toward this:

• Find things you enjoy doing physically e.g. walking in nature, walking with friends, swimming at the beach, cycling to somewhere pleasant.

• Start to reprogram your brain to associate enjoyment when you think about physical activity, with a ‘can’t wait to get at it’ feeling

• Try to avoid too much stress (or burn) when exercising, great benefits can still be achieved without approaching it like a competitive athlete

• Avoid competition in exercise, it has very little to do with enjoyment (yes I know this is contraversial, but just think about it)

The fitter you get, the more alive you will feel and the more your body will urge you to do more. So make the changes to your attitude now and you’ll reap the benefits for the rest of your life, with better health better fitness and much greater happiness. What are you waiting for?