How to Find Exercise You Enjoy...and STICK WITH IT!

I used to sincerely enjoy exercising. I made it to a circuit gym three to four times a week for several years, then tackled P90X alongside my brothers, then took up jogging and ran three half marathons.

It made me feel fan-freaking-tastic about myself! Engaging in regular exercise meant I was enjoying loads of physical and mental health benefits, had the strength and energy to tackle anything I wanted, and could wear anything I liked.

But then...you guessed it...life happened. I got married. My job got more demanding. I became a parent. My husband and I ran into some challenging diagnoses. And suddenly, getting regular physical activity just felt like another box to check off my to-do list.

I'll be honest, I floundered for the first several years of my daughter's life. But with a little determination, and a lot of trial and error, I found my way back to sincerely enjoying regular exercise again!

Wondering how to find exercise you enjoy? Let's talk about exactly how to find your workout soulmate, and then how to stick with it to reach your fitness goals!

How to Find Exercise You Enjoy

The secret to finding exercise you enjoy comes down to one fundamental mindset shift: stop forcing yourself to do what you think you should do, and start exploring what you actually want to do.

Start With Activities You Already Like

Think about what you already enjoy doing. Do you like dancing, walking your dog, or playing with your kids in the yard? These count as physical activity!

If you love video games, look into active gaming options that get you moving. If yard work makes you happy, that's a good choice for burning calories and staying active.

The good news is that almost any activity can become exercise if it gets your body moving. Start by listing three things you already enjoy. Then think about how to do them more often or with more effort.

Identify Your "Movement Personality"

Ask yourself what environment and mental state make you happiest:

• The Socializer: Do you thrive on community and energy?
  • Try: Group fitness classes, adult rec team sport leagues (volleyball, kickball, ultimate frisbee), dance class, or group cycling or spin class.
• The Gamer/Competitor: Do you need a goal, score, or skill to master to stay engaged?
  • Try: Pickleball, rock climbing, martial arts, tennis, or active video games (like Beat Saber or Just Dance).
• The Solitary Refresher: Do you use movement to clear your head, decompress from people, and drum up some feel-good endorphins? (Raising my hand here!)
  • Try: Solo trail running, swimming, listening to audiobooks while walking, or home weight training.
• The Nature Lover: Do you get bored indoors?
  • Try: Hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, paddleboarding, or outdoor yoga.
• The Mindful Mover: Do you prefer the slow, intentional, body-focused kind of movement?
  • Try: Pilates, Mat or Vinyasa Yoga, Tai Chi, or mobility stretching.

Look Back to Your Childhood

What did you love doing when you were 8 to 12 years old? There are loads of adult versions of your childhood favorites out there, just waiting to be enjoyed!

• If you loved riding your bike around the neighborhood, try road cycling, spinning, or mountain biking.
• If you loved swimming all summer, look into adult lap swimming or water aerobics.
• If you loved jumping on trampolines, look into rebounder workouts or gymnastics gyms.
• If you loved dancing in your living room, try Zumba, hip-hop, or a salsa dance class.
• If you loved climbing trees or jungle gyms, try indoor rock climbing, parkour, or aerial silks.

Explore Different Types Of Exercise

There are many different types of exercise, and each type of physical activity will benefit your health in different ways. Aerobic activity strengthens your heart and blood vessel health. Strength training builds muscle. Mixing types helps to keep things interesting and work different parts of your body.

Here are some categories you'll want to explore:

• Aerobic exercise: walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling
• Strength training: weight training with free weights or resistance bands
• Flexibility and balance: tai chi or stretching routines
• Team sport: basketball, soccer, or volleyball with friends
• Water exercise: swimming laps or water aerobics classes
• Rock climbing: indoor climbing gyms for a fun way to build strength

Experimenting with different types of exercise can help you find what clicks.

Use "Temptation Bundling"

Some (very rare!) people have never loved physical activities, no matter what type of physical activity they've tried. If, after experimenting with the above ideas, you think that may be you, then temptation bundling might be your thing!

In temptation bundling, you pair a fitness routine with an activity you already love so that your brain merges the two into one experience. That will make physical activities fun by association. (Hey, we'll take it!)

• Podcast/Audiobook Rule: Only allow yourself to listen to your favorite juicy podcast or engaging audiobook while you are walking, cycling, or doing cardio.
• TV Workouts: Save your favorite binge-worthy show for when you’re walking on a walking pad, riding a stationary bike, or doing mobility stretching on the floor.
• Social Catch-ups: Instead of grabbing coffee or drinks sitting down, invite your friend out for a walk. I see this every Saturday morning, when hundreds of bicyclists meet up on my favorite walking trail to catch up over a ride.

Use Small Experiments To Identify What Sticks

You won't know what you love until you try it. Give yourself permission to test different things without pressure to commit right away.

Try a new class every week for a month. Test out different times of day to see when you have the most energy. Notice how you feel after each type of workout, both physically and mentally.

Some activities will feel like a lot of fun, while others might feel like a chore. That's normal. Pay attention to what makes you want to come back for more.

Keep a simple log of what you try and how it felt. This could be a note on your phone, a fresh journal commited to your health journey, or a simple piece of paper. Writing it down will help you spot patterns and find the best exercises for your unique needs.

Give Yourself Permission to Change Things Up

You don't have to pick one type of exercise and do it for the rest of your life. In fact, variety is the key to many people's consistent physical activity.

It's completely normal for your interests to change with the weather:

• Swim and hike in the summer.
• Do indoor weightlifting or hot yoga in the winter.
• Run in the spring and autumn when the weather is mild.

And your needs and preferences will change with your life circumstances, too! I used to absolutely adore running half marathons in my twenties. But I just ran my first half marathon in over a decade last year and while it still felt like an incredible accomplishment, it just didn't scratch that itch for me anymore. Jogs aren't as enjoyable as they used to be, and my 40-year-old body now responds better to strength training than cardio.

Seasons change. Don't be afraid to change your exercise routine with them.

*Choose Options That ARE APPRoPRIATE AND SAFE FOR Your Body

Of course, if you have medical conditions or health problems like heart disease, be sure to talk to your doctor before launching a new exercise routine, no matter how enjoyable or harmless it might seem. Working around joint pain or past injuries? A physical therapist can suggest safe options for regular physical activitiy.

Are you brand new to exercise, or have a challenging health journey ahead of you? A personal trainer can help you design a plan that matches your fitness level and goals. They can also teach you how to check your heart rate during exercise to make sure you're working at a safe level.

How to Stick With Exercise You Enjoy: 5 Questions to Ask

Unfortunately, finding types of exercise you enjoy doesn't automatically mean you'll stick with them. We're all human, and humans are suseptible to burnout, boredom, and loss of interest, no matter how much they initially enjoy something.

For me, sticking with a workout routine all boiled down to one word—realism. Merriam-Webster defines realism as “the quality of a person who understands what is real and possible in a particular situation and is able to deal with problems in an effective and practical way."

The more realistic you are when considering any new workout routine—a traditional gym, at-home workouts, running, dance class, anything—the more likely you’ll be able to stick with and actually enjoy it. When gauging any type of exercise, it’s important that you can answer yes to at least three to four of five realistic questions.

#1 Most importantly, do I like it?

There are a lot of workout plans out there that produce amazing results...that I hate. P90X - have you seen the commercials? Yes, I want crazy before-and-after pics! Oh yeah, the infomercial pumps me up! Yes, the videos are way cheaper than a gym membership!

But…the exercise routine can be over an hour long, is led by a drill sergeant-like personal trainer, and leaves some people puking by the end. That didn’t sound like my style or something I would look forward to every day, but I pushed on anyway…and quit a few weeks in.

It doesn’t matter how effective an exercise program is for others. If you don’t like it, you’ll have a really difficult time sticking with it. You have to find exercise you enjoy.

#2 Is it conveniently located?

I really enjoyed attending a circuit training gym when I lived in Philly. It was an efficient and effective exercise routine…and within walking distance of my apartment. It was so close that it took more time to start my car, wait at the traffic light, find a parking space, and get inside, than it took to just walk from my front door to theirs.

When I moved to Austin, the nearest circuit training gym was a 20-minute drive from my house. That’s not terrible, but it didn’t make sense to me to make a 40-minute round-trip drive to complete a 30-minute workout.

I used that excuse to skip the gym for several months. You have to find a workout with a location that is practical enough to kill your excuses.

(Home is pretty darn close! Here's a free at-home no-equipment workout program you can download and start today!)

#3 Is it affordable?

When I was younger with no kids, and my husband and I were both making great money, we didn’t think twice about dropping $100+ a month on a gym membership. We said things like, “We’ll definitely use those amenities all the time!” and “We’re worth it!” Now that I’m older (and poorer), it’s hard for me to stomach taking on that size of monthly bill.

Luckily, we live in an age where gyms like Planet Fitness offer $10 monthly memberships, and you can buy fitness videos (if you’re into that kind of thing) for a one-time fee. Online workout plans can offer an even better deal, like personal trainer Betty Rocker's free 30-day challenge!

Don’t wanna spend any money at all? Walking and running are free, and the internet is full of workouts you can do from your home using your own body weight as resistance, no equipment needed!

If you have the extra money and want to spend it on a fitness routine, go for it! But choosing an exercise that fits your budget is a great way to eliminate one more excuse for not working out—“It’s too expensive!”

#4 Is it a reasonable time commitment?

When I was in college, there were some days I would jog for 2-3 hours non-stop. Nowadays, I would rather spend that time writing or working on home projects or heck…watching some TV that doesn’t include cartoon characters or singing.

So I focus my efforts on 20-minute online workouts (via Betty Rocker). It’s tough to make a convincing argument that I can’t find 20 minutes somewhere within my daily routine to exercise.

When I started exercising, I made it my goal to work out twice a week for the first month. The second month, I bumped it up to three workouts a week.

Don’t commit to a boot camp that requires 2 hours every day if you know that's not practical for you. The more practical the commitment, the more likely you’ll be to stick to it. You can always take it to the next level once you’re meeting your initial goal.

#5 Is it effective?

If you’re prancercizing daily and not seeing results after a few weeks or months, it’ll be tough to stay motivated. So take an assessment before you start an exercise program, then take another one a month after you’ve been working out.

And take into account things other than your weight (although that’s one indicator of change). People often lose inches before they lose pounds, so take some measurements!

Write down how you’re feeling, rate your energy levels, your stress, your level of optimism, whatever you’re looking to improve through regular exercise. Here’s a simple wellness chart to get you started, and a link for some measuring guidelines.

When you remeasure yourself a month later, you’ll either be super encouraged by the results or you’ll know that you might need to bump it up a level or try a different exercise program that will get you where you want to be. In fact, one workout routine might give you great results for months, then plateau. In those cases, you'll need to try something different to keep seeing progress.

You Can Find Exercise You Enjoy...and Stick With It!

When my daughter started preschool, I loved driving her there and picking her up after. Her school sat at the end of the "old town" district of our small city, littered with antique stores (in antique buildings! swoon!), mom-and-pop coffee shops, enormous heritage oaks, and loads of historical markers, and just driving through the area shifted my entire mood. And so...I started walking that strip!

Since I was working from 3pm-12am at that time, I'd drop my daughter off at preschool, walk the strip for several hours, go home to shower, then pick her up again. When she changed schools and my job shifted to 5am-3pm, I learned that the strip was even more beautiful on weekend mornings, just as the sun was coming up.

And for nearly ten years now, that walk has been the highlight of my entire week! I walk, jog, think, plan, pray, talk to friends on the phone, listen to audiobooks, play my favorite songs on repeat, take in the sights, and enjoy 10-12 miles of glorious time to myself every single weekend. Sure, I do other regular exercise throughout the week, but because I sincerely enjoy that strip, I don't view my walks as just another item to check off my to-do list; I view them as a treat!

You can view regular physical activity as a treat too!...once you figure out what physical activities you sincerely enjoy and make a plan to stick to them. You've got this, friend!

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I find exercise boring?

Boredom often means your current routine needs a change. Try swapping your usual gym session for something outdoors, like a walk in a new park or a bike ride on a different trail.

You can also add variety by changing the order of your workout or trying a new fitness app. Some apps offer game-like challenges that make moving your body feel less like a chore (huge shoutout to Conqueror challenges!).

Working out with a friend can also break up the boredom. Having someone to talk to and share the experience with makes the time go by faster.

How can I make working out more fun at home?

Turn on music you love and create a playlist just for your workouts. Upbeat songs can make even simple exercises feel more enjoyable.

Try following along with online workout videos that match your interests, like dance cardio or yoga. Many of these are free and let you explore different styles without leaving your house.

Another greaat way to make working out more fun is to turn exercise into a game by setting small challenges for yourself. For example, see how many jumping jacks you can do during one song.

How can I enjoy exercise if I hate working out?

Focus on finding activities that don't feel like traditional workouts. Gardening, playing with your kids or pets, or taking a long walk while listening to a podcast can all count as movement.

Try shifting your mindset from "I have to exercise" to "I get to move my body." This small change can make a big difference in how you feel about it.

Give yourself permission to stop doing activities you don't like. There are hundreds of ways to move, so you don't need to force yourself into one you dread.