Work Some Fun Into Your Workout! (Part II)

by Brent Hearn • 

In last month’s article, we discussed how choosing activities you enjoy could give you the “get up and go” to get up and get moving.  We offered up a couple of ideas to do just that and promised we’d be back with more options. So here we are, with our brains full of thoughts and our screens full of words to do just that! 

POUND® Rhythm Workouts

According to the POUND website, POUND “…combines cardio, conditioning, and strength training with yoga and pilates-inspired movements.” While many workout classes use music to motivate, set the workout pace, and guide choreography, POUND is a little different: you become part of the music!

In a POUND class, you’ll use lightly weighted drumsticks to add rhythm and extra difficulty to your workout. If you keep worse time than a broken watch, no worries—there’s no drumming knowledge necessary! The instructors will guide you through the movements and rhythms. POUND classes are available in person, virtually, and on demand, so you can release your inner rock star in whatever environment that suits your lifestyle.

Martial Arts

It should come as no surprise that something so sweat-inducing as an activity derived from and simulating combat can be a great workout. That said, it’s understandable that some of you might show trepidation about an activity often portrayed as violent. Let’s clear up a couple of misconceptions:

• The phrase “martial arts” encompasses a wide array of disciplines.
  If your idea of martial arts is muscle-bound folks pummeling one another senseless inside a cage, it’s understandable you’d be hesitant—or downright terrified. But there’s a lot more under the martial arts umbrella than mixed martial arts (more commonly known as MMA). There are striking arts (like karate or taekwondo) and grappling arts (think judo or Brazilian jiu-jitsu). There’s capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that doubles as dance. And there are “softer” martial arts like tai chi, which focuses on deep breathing and slow, deliberate movements. And if competition isn’t your thing, you can lean into the “arts” part of the martial arts with forms or kata training

• You’re never too old to start!
  Sure, kids’ classes are the bread and butter for many programs, but any martial arts school worth its salt has beginner adult classes. A good instructor will take any physical limitations under consideration and help you to become the best martial artist you can be, at a pace that makes sense for your age and fitness level. The martial arts are for everybody and every body, and they can be a heck of a lot of fun!

Gamify It!

Do you remember the Pokémon Go craze that swept the planet a few years ago? Unlike many of the distractions that keep us glued to our phones, this augmented reality mobile game did something a little different: it took people outside and got them moving. 

Whether fitness was a key motivator for its designers, Pokémon Go was a great example of the power of gamification, which uses games—or elements of games—to incentivize people to accomplish a task. It’s used to increase engagement and accessibility in the classroom, it’s used to teach foreign languages (gotta keep that streak on Duolingo!), and it can help motivate you to exercise.

Whether it’s a video game that gets you moving, an app that lets you compete with other users, or a fitness challenge you join or create with friends and family members, gamification can help motivate you to improve your fitness. You may just enjoy yourself so much that you forget you’re exercising! (Don’t worry; your sore hammies will be sure to remind you the next day.)

Sources

NPR Life Kit: 4 Ways to Make Your Workout Actually Fun, According to Behavioral Scientists

POUND: “About” Page

Smithsonian Science Education Center: 5 Benefits of Gamification