I always enjoy reading blog comments from members and other followers, but one comment in particular caught my attention recently. Lori, a TOPS member from Oregon, shared how she won a recumbent bicycle from a raffle. Enjoying the novelty of the bike at first, she decided to get serious and now rides it every day to the end of her road and back, which is a little over a mile. Check out the picture she sent, which includes a bunny/coach that her chapter sometimes shares for inspiration. She happily let me know that she recently weighed in four pounds lighter at her last TOPS meeting. I loved hearing that, what started as a silly and fun idea for Lori, has become her go-to form of exercise.
What if we started thinking of exercise less as something we “have” to do and more as something we “get” to do? And what if we made it fun in the process?
My husband and I always like hitting the tennis courts for a game of “extreme” tennis, which is basically us just smacking the ball back and forth, wherever it ends up landing. Someone who plays actual tennis would probably be appalled, but we just have fun running around, gloating and excessively celebrating whenever the other person misses the ball. If the gym isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other ways to get out and get active. Try tossing a Frisbee, volleying a beach ball around with friends, or even “plogging,” which combines fitness with keeping your community beautiful.
With summer in its last stretch, take a page out of Lori’s book and think about ways to make exercise fun. You just may find your new favorite way to get moving. And if you’re participating in the 2019 #OneHundredMillionMinutesChallenge, don’t forget to track your activity!
Fresh air exercise is not only a natural way to enjoy the outdoors and the seasons and astronomical beauties it also provides a great use of nature and the human body working together to enjoy instead of destroying the earth and the nature of symbiosis.