Ways to Workout Without Realizing It

As a former D1 athlete, working out wasn’t just a hobby, it was part of my job. If I wasn’t in shape or couldn’t keep up with the rest of my team, my scholarship was in jeopardy and so was the 10+ years I spent preparing for this level of athleticism.

But by the time my senior year rolled around, the idea of working out for fun after my season was done was light-years away for me. I was tired and needed a break. And that’s exactly what I did.

That was almost eight years ago and I’m happy and proud of myself that I found a happy medium between health, wellness, and fitness. There are fun ways to workout without feeling the pressures of working out. After all, if you’re dreading working out, you’re probably not going to get the most out of your workout.

The secret is finding ways to exercise without even realizing it. You’ll have fun while staying active, which will make you want to do it more!

Hiking

You don’t need to live in Denver to go for a sweaty hike. The world is filled with gorgeous parks, trails, and ridges that are just begging to be explored. Getting outside is an easy way to get your day’s worth of vitamin D, it’s a fun way to get those steps in, and the fresh air can instantly improve your mood. Not to mention hiking is rigorous enough to make you sore the next day. Hiking will work your hamstrings, quads, hips, and if you’re carrying a backpack you can work on stability and core. And who knows, you can even add some yoga poses throughout your hike to break it up.

Climbing Stairs

Stairs are a fantastic way to accomplish that cardio goal while also gaining muscle and being nicer on your joints. Whether it’s the stairwell in your apartment building, place of work, or the bleachers at the local high school, walking up and down stairs can burn calories and get your heart pumping nice and strong. Step Jockey even notes that you burn .17 calories for every step you climb.

There are multiple ways you can add stairs to your workout regimen. You can walk up and down, you can jog up and walk down, you can do bunny hops up the steps and walk down — have some fun with it! If you put on your favorite playlist or podcast, you won’t even realize you’re working out.

Bike Riding

As fantastic as spin classes and studios are, we don’t always have the extra funds to pay for a  membership, and that’s quite alright. You can easily buy a street bike and create your own route for a workout. The world is your oyster and you have the ability to make your ride as tranquil or heart-pumping as you want. Better Health notes that riding for an hour can burn 300 calories!

Hop in the bike lane stat off with an extended loop that comes naturally to you. You can ride through your town or head to the park and hit the dirt-trails! The main thing is to have fun and enjoy what you’re doing while being active.

Swimming

Is there anything more calming than floating in water? You feel totally connected to your highest self and breath.

While it can be difficult to swim year-round if you’re on the East Coast or the Midwest, there are plenty of gyms that have indoor pools. These pools have swimming lanes for swimmers to log some laps but if that doesn’t appeal to you, take a look to see if there are any water aerobic classes! Swimming works your lats, triceps, pecs, core — it’s a full body workout You’ll have so much fun feeling weightless (and not sweating profusely) that you won’t even realize that you’re getting stronger and healthier drip by drip.

Plogging

Coming from Sweden, plogging has slowly made its way to the States. It’s an act of giving back to our earth while also staying in shape. The next time you’re heading out for a long walk, jog, or hike, grab a trash bag (and probably some gloves) and pick up loose litter wherever your route is. The whole point is to give back while staying active. And truthfully, you’ll be so focused on making your area the cleanest that you won’t even realize the amount of miles you’ve logged.

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