We don’t give ourselves a fighting chance of success with fitness.
You hear it all the time:
“It’s hard to get in shape and be healthy.”
“I don’t have time or energy to commit to exercise.”
Of course it’s hard, and of course we don’t. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
We need and crave a certain amount of lightheartedness and fun. Having squeezed it out of every part of adult life, we force it back in through an ever-growing parade of time, money, and energy-wasting trends.
With no time (or money or energy) to get in shape, we nevertheless now make time (and money and energy) for an ever-expanding list of things like the following:
- Prom-posals: because our teen years aren’t terrifying enough without finding new ways to raise the stakes even higher.
- Gender reveal parties: how are these still (or ever were) a thing?
- Smash cakes for 1-year old birthday parties: shameful waste of food and money. Just give the kid a single slice of the real cake and you’ll get the same result.
- Golden birthdays: when the numerical day of the month you were born on matches the age you are turning (Finally, something to get us to start throwing extravagant birthday celebrations for ourselves. #sarcasm)
- Pet birthday parties: spoiler alert – they don’t know it’s their birthday
- Destination bachelor(ette) parties: because destination weddings weren’t enough of a burden on time and finances
- “Graduations” for every grade: Just stop.
If time is money, no wonder we often hear complaints that people have neither. The above list of nonsense indicates that we are so desperately in need of fun that we have a fierce commitment to over-complicate and overdo every mini-milestone in life.
At the same time, for too many people, the notion that fitness is a chore and must be a terrible experience if we want it to work persists. And as a result, it’s always “hard to find the time.”
Of course, whatever we do needs to be challenging enough to create physical change. However, think back to a time when you were having so much fun you didn’t want to stop even though you were tired. If you can’t remember for yourself, think of a time when you saw this in action. Perhaps with kids playing tag at a playground.
Funtensity is 10 years old. To celebrate, here’s a chance to find one fun example you want to try. Check out these videos, and just pick one to try that interests you. Perhaps the “earthquake plank,” the “human lily pad workout,” or the “12-hour squat” (very much not what you think) will be the spark that lights the fun in fitness for you.
Let it be a new start on a new mindset of infusing fitness with fun.