Keeping things Fun

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to expand my horizons and attempt to make exercise fun. My goal to try lots of new things or maybe attempt to do things that I used to do many moons ago. The weather hasn’t been extremely cooperative in Southwestern PA but that is a challenge everyone has to face.

So my first venture into something new...the hula hoop. I decided to join my 6 year old daughter in one of her favorite activities. We decided we would have a hula hoop challenge! So for about an hour, we took turns with the hula hoop. Of course, she won and did a victory dance to show it! But, I won too. I definitely felt it the next day. When I looked up the health benefits of using a hula hoop, I found that it was recently featured on Dr. Oz as a fun form of physical activity. To my surprise a hula hoop workout can burn approximately 600 calories an hour. There is also an increase in libido after a hula hoop workout so I am sure my husband will be encouraging this activity. The most important part of the workout was that it was fun and I was able to spend time with my kids instead of having to carve out time for a workout. I think adding hula hooping will become a permanent activity for this summer.

On to my next trial activity. I have been a big fan of Just Dance 2 as a workout for quite some time. Its another fun way to get some activity with my girls. This past weekend, I hosted a “girls night” for some family and we experimented with Country Dance for Wii. It was fun but it was pretty tough. Even though I had been doing Just Dance, the next morning I knew immediately that I used muscles that I haven’t used in quite some time. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Just Dance, the music and moves were a nice change of pace and many of the songs were really quite a challenge. The game was definitely a great way to get some activity with a group of people. Plus, it is perfect for a rainy day.

My last try at something new was a Kettlebell workout. I got a new kettlebell with a Bob Harper training DVD. If you don’t know Bob Harper, he is one of the trainers of the Biggest Loser. Well with this workout I felt like I could be on the show (minus a few pounds of course). It was definitely a challenge. I would give it 4 ½ stars out of 5. Maybe that is just because I felt like if the people on the show can do this workout, I can too. Regardless, it felt great, I didn’t get bored, and I can definitely tell that I used different muscles because I am sore today.

At least you can’t say, I am in a rut. All 3 workouts were very different and they all have their place. Now to find something else to try. Let me know if you find anything that you enjoy. Maybe I’ll try it too!