Call it nostalgia, call it throwback fitness, but by any name you’ll find out that it works. Get some tools together and assemble an exercise kit that can make working out feel a whole lot less like work.
Your Natural Instincts
Think back to the games you played as a child. You didn’t realize it back then, but you and the friends you played with naturally gravitated toward calorie-burning activities. Did you spend time riding your bike around the neighborhood? Jumping rope? Skipping and hopping around on the driveway? Kicking balls and running imaginary bases?
When you’re a kid, you don’t realize that you’re exercising all the time. It’s only through adulthood that many people stop naturally gravitating toward fitness activities that burn calories and fat. Your time gets filled up with work, chores, running errands and making sure everyone gets home from school safe. And now, your days have an appalling lack of running, biking, walking, skipping and jumping. Put together a nostalgic exercise kit, and tap into your inner child.
Because let’s face it, your inner child is probably capable of some serious exercise. Luckily, that workout is going to feel more like playing around if you’ve got the right tools.
Assemble Your Kit
What did you like to play with as a kid? Anything that you used to get up and moving back then can be part of your adult fitness kit right now. Get started with a few basic items that you’re probably at least a little bit familiar with.
- Rope. An oldie but a goodie, jump rope has been used as a fitness tool by just about everybody, from the trendiest fitness gurus to special forces soldiers going through the most elite training. Using a jump rope will give you an excellent cardio workout, and it’s fun. Play a little game with yourself to see how long you can jump without missing. As your skills come back to you, start playing around with tempo to get an even more intense workout.
- Chalk. Basic sidewalk chalk may not immediately jump to mind when you’re thinking of fitness tools, but it’s highly useful. Remember hopscotch? Play an adult version of the game by drawing a box on your driveway, front walk or any other paved area. If you’re standing in the center of the box, it should extend out to about shoulder-width on either side of you. Practice jumping in and out of the box to work your thighs, calves, hips and buttocks. You can also put your feet outside the box to practice squats. A visual aid is a good way to perfect your form, and form is everything when it comes to toning.
- Ball. If you had a simple rubber ball and a few friends, you had all the makings of a kickball game when you were a kid. That same rubber ball can be used as a great exercise tool now that you’re a grown-up. Practice kicking it up in the air and bouncing it up and down with your knees to give your legs and abdomen a great workout. If you accidentally kick the ball away, go jogging after it. You’ll feel like you’re playing, but you’ll be getting a really effective cardio workout.
Throwback Fitness
Tap into your childhood memories, and try some throwback fitness to make your workout feel a lot more fun. If you’re doing it the right way, you might even smile a few times while you’re burning calories. Doesn’t that sound like the kind of workout that can work for you?