For many people walking through the doors of a gym on a regular basis is just not going to happen. In fact, gyms count on this. When a gym establishes its capacity, it does so accounting for a given percentage of its paying membership not coming! You don't have to spend your money on a gym membership that you know you will never use. There are other ways to get your exercise.
When I was in school for Chiropractic, I already had years of personal training experience. Some of my friends at school had similar experiences. We designed the ultimate out door workout. In fact, it was so intense, that we could only do it once a week. We started this workout in a group of 4 guys and it turned into an unofficial group fitness routine that weekly saw up to as many as 25 people come down to participate! Why? Because it was fun. For you, what I was doing might not be fun, or even possible. We were flipping 500 pound tractor tires, dragging over 100 pounds of kettle bells, swinging sledgehammers, doing pull ups in trees, and running sprints across the two acre yard. There are modifications for all skill levels. You can exercise outside, have fun, and challenge yourself at the same time.
The easiest exercise we can all do outside is going for a walk, or a run. The biggest hurdle people encounter when going for a walk or a run is lack of progression. Put simply, most people just don't push themselves hard enough to garner the results they want. For these types of people, fartlek runs can be extremely effective. I know, "fartlek" sounds silly, but it's a real word. An example of a fartlek run goes as follows; when you go outside, pay attention to the telephone poles on the block. Walk from the first one to the second one. Jog from the second pole to the third pole, and sprint from the third pole to the fourth. From the fifth pole to the sixth pole, the pattern resets, and you walk. Fartlek runs are runs in which there is a set interval dictated by a given time or distance.
Maybe the most fun way to exercise is to go to a park. Don't think playing in the swings is a workout? Think again. Sure, if you just sit there and allow momentum to do its thing, you aren't getting much of a calorie burn, but do some work and you are looking at a core strengthening, calorie burning fun time. Each time you kick your feet out in front of you, the quadriceps (leg muscles) and abdominal muscles contract. Bringing your feet in for the back swings works the hamstrings and the muscles of the lower back. Do you bring your kids to the park and watch them play tag? Why not play with them? It is great aerobics, and it is a fun, free way to bond with your child. If you walk or jog to the park, it just adds some bonus time to your enjoyable workout.
For the challenge seeker, parks can be a great place for exercise too. Monkey bars are pull up bars, and pushups on swinging plank bridges are much harder than pushups on solid ground. Running to the park is of course always an option as well.
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