Can fitness be fun? I started reading this article by Jim Mitchell with a little frown, because who smiles while they’re exercising?
Me.
Not because it’s “fun” exactly, but because sometimes it’s kinda funny, when you’re working and your body starts to fail and you’re saying, “Just lift your arm, body, it’s simple!” and your body is like, “Nope, we’re done.” And also because smiling sends a signal to the rest of my exhausted self that it’s not all so bad.
There is joy in movement, but most of the fun of exercise comes afterward: the rewarding feeling of a hard job well done, the increased ability to move with ease throughout your life. People rock climb, dance, play sports, or hike because it’s fun…and it’s also great exercise.
Movement shouldn’t be punishing. We shouldn’t always associate physical activity with discomfort.
But!
As I kept reading, I really appreciated his point. If we’re working hard to lose weight, build muscle, get stronger, exercise is uncomfortable. It’s hard work. I don’t go do my HIIT workouts because they’re inherently fun. I do them because I enjoy the people in my class, I find it interesting to see how my body works and responds, I like the feeling of pushing my limits, and I love the results: a strong, agile, lean body.
There’s such a positive vibe around those workouts, I do think of them as fun…even though the actual work isn’t that much fun.
I recently wrote an article for a client about finding balance between fun and effective when it comes to fitness, and I brought up the point that some fitness brands push the fun so far, they’ve lost sight of the fitness; Mitchell brings that up in his post, as well.
And sometimes it’s just pushing too far, period. It gets gimmicky. It attracts people for the novelty of it, but it’s not a sustainable program. (Goat yoga comes to mind. Sure, that’s fun once or twice. But it’s not where you want to get your exercise or your yoga practice.)
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have fun with movement. I champion that idea, because our bodies are incredible, and it is truly fun to be able to move well.
But there’s something powerful about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. That willingness to work through some discomfort gives us mental strength that serves us well in other areas of our lives. Joyful movement is good. Challenging physical work is good, too. I hope we all seek out a little bit of both.