I may be in the minority, but I absolutely love working out. Even better than coffee, a good workout provides a buzz that lasts for many hours afterwards. It can help me to feel more awake and alert, be more confident during interactions with others, and generally feel better about myself.
Working out also allows me to play with my kids and to avoid “Feats of Middle Age,” as are depicted in these hilarious advertisements.
The bottom line is that being in shape helps me to live a long, full, and happy life. Since working out and being in shape are so beneficial to everything that we do in life, I thought that I would share a few tips to help us get in better shape.
1. Sign up for a race
One thing that many people love to do is to compete against each other. We competed in physical education class or by playing Sorry or Candyland when we were younger. Even now, many of us still compete against each other in business or other pursuits.
The cool thing about signing up for a race is that we don’t just have to compete against others. We can also compete against ourselves! For instance, no matter how slowly you run your first 5-kilometer race, you will get a personal best. Then, in your next 5-k race, you can compete against yourself as well as the others in the race.
The other great thing about signing up for a race is that it will force us to start working out. If we know that we are running a race in 2 months, then we will have more incentive to go out for a run, even if we would rather sleep in or skip the workout.
There are probably a lot of running events in your area to sign up for, but you can also find many other ways to compete against others. Biking, kayaking, weight-lifting, or stand-up-paddleboarding are all great options for those whose sport is not running.
2. Buy a bike
Not only is having a bike a great way to get into shape, but it also can positively impact our finances. This is because it can take the place of our car when we run errands and go on shorter trips.
For instance, I could drive two miles to a store that is near my house or I could ride my bike there. The bike ride to the store may take 3-4 minutes longer, but I will get so many great benefits from it.
I will:
- Be happier because I just exercised and got a chance to go outside.
- Save some money on gas.
- Get in better shape by being active.
Bikes are awesome because of all the positive things that they can do for us. As Mr. Money Mustache says, “A bike is really an automatic life balancing machine.”
If you don’t have a bike, you don’t have to run out and buy a $500-1,000 bike right now or even a $150 bike. Instead, just get on Craigslist or go to your neighbor’s garage sale and buy an inexpensive used bike. I did exactly that when I was a bit younger and my $30 bike lasted me for over 6 years. After you realize how much you love riding, then you can save some money and get a nicer bike.
3. Don’t be limited by the season
As a runner, some of the best runs that I’ve had were on frigidly cold days. I remember one 12-mile run in particular when it was -22 degrees Fahrenheit, with an even lower windchill. While I was running by the river near my house, I saw hundreds of bird and even a fox out on the ice. It was a magical experience!
Unfortunately, many people miss out on experiences like this because they don’t like to be outside if it is raining, hot, cold, or anything else that isn’t perfect. Living in the midwest, I know that the weather usually won’t be perfect. But I also know that I’ll probably be happier if I get outside no matter what the weather is.
In order to get outside in imperfect weather, we may have to adapt the activity that we do to our season. It may not be advisable to go biking through snow drifts or kayaking on a partially frozen lake (although I have done both), but we can definitely put some boots and snow pants on and go for a hike through the woods.
If it is really hot out, we may need to adapt our outside workouts to include plenty of rest and hydration. We may also need to look for another sport such as swimming or something indoors so that we can still stay active.
No matter what, we can’t let the season keep us from being active.
4. Try high-intensity interval training
One of the most common excuses to avoid working out is that we don’t have time to do a workout. I make this excuse all of the time and you probably do as well. However, high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, gets rid of this excuse.
We could spend over an hour doing 3 sets of 10 repetitions over and over again. Or … we could practice HIIT, which involves just a few minutes of very high-intensity exercises. There have been many times that I have spent just 10 minutes doing a HIIT workout that leaves me more exhausted then workouts that are 5 times as long.
Often, the most time consuming part of a HIIT workout is lying on the floor afterwards, just trying to recover.
Some of my favorite HIIT type workouts are:
- Tabata workouts. They involve 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. Choose 4 different exercises like pushups, situps, squats, and burpees for a great 20 minute workout.
- Crossfit. This program provides daily workouts that utilize Olympic-style lifts and short, intense exercises.
- Fartleks. Mainly designed and used as a running workout, a Fartlek provides short bursts of sprinting or fast running followed by periods of jogging or running at regular speed.
No matter how you do HIIT, make sure that you start slowly. Just as the name tells us, this type of workout is very intense. Since it is so intense, it is not a great type of exercise for those who are just starting out.
5. Change it up
Even if we love a certain type of exercise, it can get boring if we do it day after day, year after year.
For instance, I love to run, but I couldn’t just go outside and run 5 miles a day, every single day. After just a few days, I would get very sick of running and would start to find any excuse to avoid my workout.
Instead of doing this, I can find other sports that complement running such as biking, cross-country skiing, or weight-lifting. I can even continue to run, but change the way I run by training for a shorter or a longer race, running on trails instead of through the city, or finding a great running club to train with.
Changing my workouts allows me to be excited about the workouts that I do instead of dreading them.
Get out there!
Remember that working out will not only get us in great shape, but it will help us to lead a happier, more-fulfilled life. So, get out there! Run around with your kids, chase your dog through the park, or go for a hike through the woods. No matter what you do, get moving and have fun with your workouts!
I hope that you enjoyed reading this. I certainly loved writing it! If you liked the article please leave a comment or use the form at the top of this page to get new posts sent directly to your email.
And thanks for reading!
~Nathan
Let’s keep living a great life … with the help of money. So what’s next?
- You can travel for free by using rewards credit cards.
- You can get motivated and get out of debt.
- You can check out the next post or the previous post and continue to learn.
But no matter what you decide to do, let’s leave the ordinary behind and take action today!
