We promise you, physical activity can be entertaining. Staying fit isn’t all about deadlifts and bench presses, as much as we love to educate our audience about those exercises. Read on for 25 fun ways to get a great workout that you can get started on right away.
If you aren’t the type to go running just for kicks, outdoor activities and workout routines are unlikely to convert you. But a dance party with your favorite tunes is a great way to get your heart rate up and the blood flowing. Standing in the corner swaying won’t get the job done, though. If you’re shy about showing off your dance moves, we recommend investing in a quality pair of headphones or a powerful speaker system so you can shake it off to your favorite playlist in the privacy of your own home.
Some readers might be motivated by the social aspect of a dance class like Zumba or a night out. Just make sure your dance party or clubbing excursion doesn’t feature too many late-night grease bombs that can outweigh the health benefits of dancing.
It might sound like a bizarre recommendation for a guide to fun exercises, but video games are getting more active as augmented and virtual reality continue to improve. Now, are you gonna make your weight loss goal or get a full-body workout from a video game? Unlikely, but as long as you’re up and moving around, it’s worth it.
Not just a silly activity from gym class, hula hooping is a good workout for your core, glutes, calves, and hamstrings. You can leave one sitting behind a dresser or door and pull it out for a quick home workout while you watch TV or clandestinely mute yourself on your next conference call. Like dancing, hula hooping might be intimidating to start but it’s really fun once you start. And unlike other physical activities like sports or working out, keeping a hula hoop going is a simple task you don’t have to take seriously to enjoy.
There’s hardly a faster way to get a serious cardio workout than skipping rope. It’s easier than running and you can do it in a small fraction of the space. Aerobics programs focusing on jump rope as a fitness medium have been popping up in the past few decades although the jump rope itself has been popular since at least the 1950s. Done correctly, jumping rope will give your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, obliques, abs, deltoids, biceps, pecs, and forearms a workout. If you get serious about it, a HIIT jump rope workout can get you lean and fit.
You don’t have to live in a cold climate to ice skate. Indoor arenas are fairly widespread in the US and they typically offer skates for rent. Beginners might not fare so well out on the ice, but learning how to skate is surprisingly addicting once you get that first feeling of flying across the rink. It’s also family-friendly and a great activity to enjoy with a group of friends.
If you’re fortunate enough to live near the ocean or a large enough lake, investing in a stand-up paddleboard gives you a fun way to exercise your lats, biceps, triceps, deltoids, and abs. Go early and enjoy a peaceful hour on the water or bring friends and explore the shoreline together. Go fishing while you paddleboard if you’re feeling adventurous, just be aware that it is very literally a balancing act. If you wind up in the water, comfort yourself with the knowledge that swimming is also a very fun way to get some exercise.
Another activity for people who live near the water, kayaking is a good way to cover more ground than you could with a paddleboard and a better vessel for some light fishing. There are plenty of two-person kayaks so you could do this with a friend, partner, or family member. For a real workout, find somewhere to experience kayaking through white water rapids. Just make sure you won’t be in any real danger, especially if you’re a total beginner.
We’re fitness nuts here at Steel Supplements so we might be biased, but we think weightlifting is fun. Once you can get through that pull-up or bust out that huge squat, you might be hooked. In many cases, the community that crops up around the gym is enough to keep people coming back. You don’t have to compete. Many people at the gym just run through their lifts, mark progress for their own records, and that’s all. They’re back the next day and that’s the extent of it. When wellness is the goal and not just getting incredibly ripped muscles, weightlifting is a good way to challenge yourself. Add a scoop of CHARGED to your shaker cup and you might be surprised how much you can lift!
Team sports are tons of fun when you’re playing with friends and everyone is invested. As long as no one gets caught up in the game and no personal disputes arise, hanging out for long periods is more fun with a volleyball net. Volleyball is one of the better options for team sports because you don’t need much space and many public parks already have a court set up. The rules are easy to understand and you don’t have to mess with penalties like you would if everyone decided to play soccer or football instead. For the low price of the volleyball, you’re ready to play. It’s a solid upper body workout and a great excuse to spend the afternoon or evening outdoors.
Anybody who needs to vent should look into kickboxing. It’s sort of a mash-up between boxing and martial arts forms such as karate and Muay Thai. Most cities have kickboxing classes available, though you can also practice at home. Streaming sites like YouTube have tons of follow-along videos so you can try a kickboxing routine at home for free. If you like it, keep doing it - kickboxing is great for weight loss and overall wellness.
We like this one because it’s open-ended and you can use your imagination. Whether you find an established obstacle course at a gym, create one with the slide and monkey bars at a playground, or chart your path through the woods, setting a goal and getting there keeps your mind occupied and helps you keep track of your progress during the workout. You can change the difficulty and race your friends. These things can get surprisingly competitive when you’re trying to beat someone else’s fastest time.
Tossing a frisbee around is fun enough with a friend, but get a high-energy pup in on the action and you could be running around for hours if you want to. These furry pets are a great motivation to keep playing. If you want a more organized activity, you can try ultimate frisbee, which involves landing the disc into goals on a course. Otherwise, invent your own game or continuously move further away from your partners to see how far you can throw it.
The best part about a bike ride is that you can fit it into your daily routine really easily, especially if you live in a bike-friendly city with dedicated lanes for cyclists. Using your bike for commuting is good for the environment and cheaper for you. The improvement to your cardiovascular system will make the investment in a bike worthwhile. Getting out of the house and not having to find a parking spot are fringe benefits.
You might not be able to find a trampoline right away, but you can start the search. People sometimes try to get rid of their trampolines when they move and you could find a great deal on a used one. Improving your balance and agility is a lot more fun on a trampoline and you’ll also be building strength in your lower body in the process. Of the many types of exercise in this list, the trampoline is easily the most fun for families with young children. We challenge anyone to get double bounced on a trampoline (or see it happen to someone else) without smiling.
If you prefer bodyweight exercises that will boost your concentration, pilates might be what you’re looking for. You’re probably going to want to take some pilates fitness classes to get the basics down. After that, guided videos and self-organized routines can help you keep the pilates program running. Throw some yoga in for an even bigger impact on your mindfulness.
Not only can you have lots of fun at your local rock climbing gym, but you’ll also get the chance to target some muscles that rarely get a workout. The hands, forearms, legs, and shoulders have to exert tons of energy to keep you attached to that rock wall. Building up tons of grip strength is helpful in daily life and it appears to have some correlation to your overall health. Nothing will build it like rock climbing. There are also rock climbing clubs that meet at gyms or out in the wilderness for their climbs so you can have a social element to your exercise if you like.
Remember this game? Grab some chalk and draw your course. Better yet, include it in the obstacle course we were talking about back at fun activity #11. For the uninitiated, you draw hopscotch by drawing one square and then another above it. You can draw one or two squares at each level. You have to land on one square with one foot and a double square with both. Find a bean bag and toss it down the hopscotch. If it doesn’t land in a square, you miss a turn. Enter the hopscotch and progress according to its layout, making sure to skip the square with the beanbag in it. At the end of the hopscotch, you turn around and come back. Pick up the bean bag on the way back and hand it off to the next player.
If you’re looking for some cardio, joining a softball team is a fun way to do it without taking too much responsibility. If you’re not the strongest batter, try to be a good runner. You could also redeem yourself in the outfield or as a dependable baseman. Like most team sports, camaraderie is a big part of the appeal of softball. When you’re using the sport to stay fit, having all those teammates can keep you accountable. For a lower-body workout, try kickball instead.
It might not seem like a very physical activity, but if you go to a large enough museum, you could be walking around for hours. A few exhibits won’t be enough to turn your fitness program around single-handedly, but it is a good way to exercise your mind and body simultaneously. Committing to a group tour might be helpful if you can’t motivate yourself to go, although be prepared to make lots of stops. Try looking in the app store for new galleries and exhibits in your area.
For an even greater walking workout than a museum tour, look for hiking trails in your area and head that way with a tent. Not only will you be out in the great outdoors getting stellar views and communing with nature, but you’ll also be fitting in some great cardio and burning calories. Feel free to add any of the other outdoor activities in this list to your camping trip schedule. Best-case scenario, you have a lake you can camp at that has both hiking trails and space for kayaking and swimming.
Combine your fitness excursion with a charity event and you won’t be the only one benefiting. Pick a cause you’re passionate about or just head out on the next scheduled race. It’s usually pretty easy to sign up online. For a relaxed atmosphere, look for a community color run or a similar event with a twist. Odds are you’ll see plenty of people there just to get a bit of physical activity like you are.
Pedometer apps have many people taking the stairs, parking at the far end of the parking lot, and all manner of other things just to meet their step goal. Are the stakes that serious? Not really, but it’s still a neat way to turn your quest for fitness into a fun game.
With a small investment in a rope and some anchors, you’ll have a hobby you can practice in the park, on your balcony, in the office, or anywhere else you can find anchor points. Slacklining is like tightrope walking much lower to the ground. It still takes lots of concentration and balance, so make sure you’ve had a dose of our PRE formula before you get started.
Digging, watering, and pruning are all great ways to exercise. If you have to haul some fertilizer home from the hardware store, so much the better. And in the end, you’ll have beautiful plants and maybe even fresh vegetables to eat.
The threat of getting tagged with fresh paint should be enough to keep you and your friends running around a paintball course for a little while. It’s competitive but not that serious and you get to boost your concentration by learning to aim. Implementing strategies for sneak attacks and assaults makes paintball interesting every time you go.
We’re partial to weightlifting and learning new calisthenics moves to get our exercise, but we also like to branch out with some of the activities on this list. Use these fun ideas to make your exercise more fun so you’re more motivated to do it.
