Way back when not too long ago, people still took Sunday off from work, mainly for rest but also for fun- games, walks, a trip to the park, bike riding, naps on the couch, playing with the kids, maybe a hike, or heck, just sitting on the porch.  Maybe it was the Internet, which I thought was a fad, or the smartphone, which I never realized would be what it is, but whatever it was, somewhere along the way we lost our way. We lost touch of what’s important, we lost touch of Sunday, and we lost touch of each other. We quit having fun, and everything became goal-oriented, task focused, and utilitarian. 

It seems like we are now caught in a trap. Even when we aren’t working, we’re working. Even when we want to rest, we can’t rest. Even when we should be unplugged, we’re plugged.  Even when we want to have fun, we can’t. Some days and some things should be just for fun, and nothing else. And every workout can be and should be fun.  Even if just a little bit.  If you’re not having fun when you’re exercising, why not? Don’t take yourself too seriously. 

Have fun while you work out and you’ll stay motivated.  I once saw two people arguing over a space in a Yoga class. I thought it was pretty comical. Imagine the irony of two women, decked out in expensive “yoga lifestyle” clothing, arguing about who will get what spot on the exercise Yoga floor, in a class that’s supposed to be about relaxation and mindfulness !

Here are some good ways to make your workouts more fun:

•    Get your friends to work out with you.
•    Build camaraderie in the gym.
•    Make games out of your workouts.
•    Turn off the phones, unplug and take out the ear phones so you’ll make more friends.
•    Try new things. Learn new things.
•    Have random workouts where you just go to the gym and do whatever you feel like doing, with no plan.
•    Learn some jokes to share. People in the gym love jokes. 
•    Play a sport.
•    Music can be a good motivator, although sometimes it’s nice when it’s quiet. 
•    Sometimes forget your goals and just do it for fun, and to feel good. 
•    Achieve your fitness goals, because it’s always fun to see progress. 

For most of us, the bottom line up front is just to live an active lifestyle and be healthy.  Even if you’re a serious athlete, you should still make time for fun.  It’s good to have goals and to work hard. I do plenty of that and think you should too. There’s nothing like focusing and working hard to achieve something. When you train hard for something and then do it, you’ll have fun at the finish line. But nerve forget the fun factor. Enjoy the process, enjoy the ride.  Today is the day to enjoy, just like every day !

Read next:  Intensity

​One major principle of fitness is to Just Move.

We can analyze things indefinitely. We can talk about floor exercises versus free weights, interval training, personal training, the Peleton, the Ellyptical, Tai Chi. We can consider 10ks 5ks or even marathons. Or if not that we could think about doing martial arts, Kung fu, Tae Kwon Do, or kickboxing. We might roll on mats and throw each other around like in Judo. 
 
We could even do Barre, CycleBurn or Yogalates, a combination of Yoga and Pilates, or just plain old Yoga. We could take tennis lessons, golf lessons, or riding lessons. We could buy a horse to ride, or a bike, or go hiking. We can hire trainers, coaches, massage therapists, Thai massage stretch therapists, or do hot partner yoga. 
 
We can climb mountains, climb stairs, or walk the dog. We can consider riding our bikes to work. We could hire someone to go on a walk with us. We can look at all the gyms in town, consider the amenities, and then pick the best one. We could think about a gym just for women or one just for hardcore fitness fanatics or weightlifters. 
 
We can do water aerobics, or swim. We can do triathlons. We can play softball, basketball, or pickle ball. We can even bring headphones to listen to CNN, Fox News, or CNBC , so we can reinforce our own views while we exercise. We can even hire someone to yell at us as we pretend we’re in boot camp at 5:30 in the morning.  There are so many things we coulddo and mightdo.
 
We might even decide to buy the right workout gear.  The best shoes, the best gym bag, or the best workout clothes.  We might give all of our Champion workout gear away and upgrade to Under Armor.  Or we might really go all the way, and buy some Lulu Lemon.   

The options are limitless. The techniques are plentiful. The experts are available.  
 
The sky is the limit as to what we could do.  The question is, what will we do?

We need to get back to first principles comrades, amigos, and friends. If we don’t move, then we will not achieve fitness. Keep this principle in mind above all others: Just move and do it daily.

It’s not that it doesn’t matter what we do. It does matter and some things are better specifically for you and your goals and limitations. But the most important thing is to just move. Taking action is the most important thing.
 
P.S.:  If you’re just getting started tracking steps or are older or sedentary aim for 5000 and optimally 10,000 if you can one day. This pictured watch tracks it which makes it easy. The big differences for most people with weight is diet and activity level NOT some magical intense workout. 10,000 steps and counting, but not including 90 minutes of martial arts. I’m fortunate in that I stand up a lot at work. If you even stand up for 2 hours per day you could lose 10 pounds in a year. Most smart phones track it now. Use technology when you can to be healthier without obsessing over it. If you walk 2 miles a day you’ll live 10 years longer on average. 

​Read Next: Life is Like a Dojo

Life is Like a Dojo
 
“Freedom is not required for virtue.  Virtue is required for freedom.”  -Anthony Esolen
 
Life is like a dojo. If you show up, and humble yourself, and learn and follow the rules, and try to get better then you will do well. You may not be a world champion, but you will improve and like what you see in the mirror.  Understand, the dojo is a metaphor for submitting yourself to something bigger than yourself so that you can become who you were meant to be. You may or may not do martial arts, but the analogy holds.  

Our backwards culture teaches us to never show up.  It teaches a false freedom.  It says you are the dojo teacher before you even accomplish anything.  In order to grow in virtue, and thus freedom, you have to first show up.  We have everything backwards.  Starting off, you don't know anything and you aren't anyone.  
 
As I’ve gotten older and wiser I see this all around me everywhere I go.   Many people never get much "dojo" in their life, and end up not having much of a life.  I happened to get some “dojo” here and there although I could have used more.  My parents guided me, my teachers guided me.  Church was good for me as was sports and I had some really good mentors. My other family members like my grandparents set a good example.  School and college were a guiding force for molding me in to something more, as was starting a business.  

Against the backdrop of this though, was a culture that pushed “individualism” and “freedom.”  It was always easy to have one foot in both worlds. One foot in the American delusional world of narcissism and one foot in the classical world of getting better.  The rhetoric about individualism and “freedom”, are even stronger now than they were as I was coming into my own in my 30s and 40s.  It’s even harder now for young people to “enter the dojo.”  Millennials are completely lost.  We live in an anti-culture, which is an anti-dojo.  
 
Is a person who never shows up really free?

• Trades are dojos, they teach people to do productive work.
• Work can be a dojo. 
• Marriages are dojos, they teach people to love, and create the next generation.
• Religious institutions are dojos, they form people into pursuit of ultimate values.
• Citizenship, real citizenship, of rights AND responsibilities is a dojo.
• Hobbies are dojos. 
• Other organizations like the military are dojos.  

 
Our culture makers want consumers, not citizens.  Consumers are not "martial artists", heck they aren't even artists at all.  Consumers are easy to control.  The "manipulators" as CS Lewis called them in "The Abolition of Man", want atomized, infantilized, pseudo-men and pseudo-women, who have no virtue and who cannot control themselves, subsisting on a life of hedonism, distraction, and stimulation, a masturbatory life of social media likes, pornography, junk food, drugs, alcohol, and hypnotizing but vulgar and nihilistic entertainment.  

This is what the famous book "A Brave New World" was about.  We are living in this "Brave New World" where hardly anyone shows up at the dojo in the first place.  This reversal of dojo values affects the poor the most.  You could even see the great shift towards anti-dojo values, which is towards anti-piety as a war on the poor.  I certainly do, because it strips them of their dignity.  A return to the dojo is a return to dignity and the least advantaged need it the most. 

When I look around at young people, I can easily see how they are lacking a positive structure like a “dojo” in their lives.  I have never been married, but I can see how a good marriage can be an excellent dojo, molding you into a better person.  As institutions (dojos) continue to decline, the ones that mold Americans into adults, ask yourself what you can do to support the revitalization of the “dojos” and what you can do to enter the “dojo” too.  Help others and urge them to "enter the dojo." So that way at the end of your life, you don’t look back with regrets at what might have been. The ship might sink but at least you can hold onto your honor.  
 
Life is like a dojo, if you enter and try, and keep showing up, you will at the very least know you did your best.  This type of peace of mind is priceless.  

Read Next: 10 Workouts You Can do For Free with No Equipment