What's the most fun way to exercise?

Funny enough, I’ve always worked out alone. Sometimes I go to group classes such as boxing or Pilates, but for most of the time, I work out alone. And you know what? It has been more fun than lonely or boring.

Try to think of exercise in this way, rather than seeing it as a grueling task or a challenge, why not picture it as your quality “Me Time?” We are always with others in everyday life, whether it’s on the subway, or in the office. But the workout is the time you can truly be alone with yourself without thinking about anything else.

Here are some of the exercises that may be better for doing it alone:

Boxing

I know it sounds hard if you are a beginner. But once you take some intro classes to understand the six punches and some basic combos, you are completely capable of practicing it alone. The best part? You don’t need any equipment if you know how to shadow boxing (Google it if you don’t know what it means.) You can do it without gloves, wraps, and bags. I find it truly interesting when I do shadow boxing because I’m so focused in my world and I can throw whatever ridiculous punches without anybody judging me.

Swimming

The feeling of immersing yourself deep in the water and excluding any noise from the outside can bring a “you versus you” moment. Even if you are tired or less motivated to workout on someday, being in the water will make you less conscious of your tiredness. And food tastes so much better after you swim. If the total silence bores you, maybe you could buy a pair of water-proof earphones, but I doubt anybody would want to be disrupted by anything but the sound of water.

HIIT

If boxing or swimming is too hard for you (they both need you to master a skill), do a quick HIIT workout instead! I would suggest Shaun T’s T25 series because it has different levels and only takes 30 minutes of your day. And technically you won’t be alone because you’ve got Shaun T and the people behind him working out with you! I did this while I was trying to lose weight several years ago and the result is fantastic even if I just did it twice a week. Once you know some of the moves such as jumping jacks and burpees, you could design your own HIIT routine. To me, being able to create my routine and experiment with it is the best part!

Yoga

Maybe you are a yoga person; maybe you are not. But yoga can be an excellent exercise for you to do on your own. To me, I usually use it as a recovery session when I’m too tired or sore from previous workouts. Try to give yourself a few minutes of meditation time. It could be hard at first to enter the patient status, especially if you are someone like me who is always thinking about some assignments to finish or some place to be. But that’s exactly why it would be a great chance for you to force yourself to calm down and be with yourself. Even if it’s just some simple stretching movements could make a difference.

Enjoy your self-care time with you, the workout, and nothing else!click to see more