By CATHERINE RODIE-BLAGG
Michelle Bridges is a firm advocate for leading a healthy lifestyle. Her #12WBT program is both popular and successful and I’ve seen friends signing up in droves.
The premise that you can transform your body (and mind) in just 12 weeks is incredibly compelling, there is no ‘quick fix’ or gimmick – just hard work and commitment. I’m very tempted to sign up… or at least I was…
Now Michelle Bridges, the poster girl for a ‘no excuses’ regime is claiming that exercise is not fun. “If I hear one more health club or personal trainer tell me that fitness should be fun I’m going to vomit,” she says, and boy does she mean it.
I’m not going to argue with her technique, anyone that knows me will know that Michelle could run rings round me in the fitness department, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible. But I do have an issue with the idea that exercise isn’t fun.
I echo the sentiments of Mary Poppins when I say this, but I truly believe that in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun! Human beings are amazingly talented creatures, we can use our bodies in all sorts of ways, we can run, skip and dance. We can build strength and endurance. We can bend and flex and stretch. The human body is capable of some truly amazing feats.
But let’s not forget the biggest muscle of all… our brains. Because while we’re busy giving our bodies a good work out we can use our mind too… we can make our own fun!
It could be a case of picking the right music and moving along to the beat. Or by finding a way to turn it into a game. One of my favourites is to pull faces at the people I pass as I jog along the footpath – I know it’s childish but it’s also fun.
There are so many possibilities.
Listen to a podcast.
Pay more attention to the scenery.
Get creative!
Different people are motivated by different things. For some the challenge of exercise is motivating, for others its improving on a personal best or competing in a competition. For others, it’s merely the joy of it.
Declaring that exercise isn’t fun is actually discouraging a whole group of people to whom having fun is a great motivator.
I believe that our approach to exercise is a metaphor for the way that we approach life. If we’re ‘too busy’ for exercise then perhaps we need to reassess our priorities and value ourselves a little more.
If we ‘can’t be bothered’ then we should look at the other areas of our lives that we’ve neglected. And if it’s ‘not fun’ then it might be worth taking a step back and asking why. Because life is short, and if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.
How do you combat the ‘boring’ bits of exercise? What’s your favourite song to exercise to?
Catherine Rodie Blagg lives in Sydney with her husband and two small daughters. In her free time she writes a humorous and honest blog about the challenges of modern motherhood. She drinks an alarming amount of tea. Find her Twitter here, her Facebook here and her blog here.
Top Comments
I am just doing a Michelle Bridges Super Shredder Circuit DVD, and in it she says "have fun" before doing one of the circuits. But all that silly nonsense aside (I mean, 'have fun', or 'don't have fun', when you are exercising, I think that misses the point... the point is DO THE EXERCISE), she is motivating and the system (12WBT) although I have had to customise it to my circumstances... it gives you a kick in the bum, a time frame, and best of all, helps your mindset and awareness.
Old article I know but I've just found it and wanted to comment. I'm in the exercise should be fun camp because if it's not fun for me, I won't do it. So zero gains to be had if I don't do anything at all. My big point is though it depends on your goals. If you want to be a muscle rippling beefcake then sure get to the gym and just grit your teeth and bear it. However for general weight loss and a little bit of tone, you don't need to go anywhere near a gym or get up at the crack of dawn and run, which for me would be suffering all the way and I would last maybe one session and give it away. It's what you can and want to do forever that will make all the difference. Dancing anyone?