#FunningOut... not WORKING out! Make Fitness Fun

Personal Trainer and Expert Fitness Coach, Dom Spain

I get this ALL the time! How do you stay so fit? How can you workout EVERYDAY? The key is NOT "working out" everyday! I have found a way to make fitness playtime for me and my clients! People are more likely to stick to a program that doesn't feel like work. All you have to do is identify what activities are fun for you. It will differ for every person. Once you figure out what your "funning out"
program is you can identify others on your same game plan and join in the fun! The focus of this blog is to give you MY story of how I find a way to make my job as a personal trainer/ fitness lifestyle coach and my personal workout program fun. I don't wake up in the morning and say, "Ugh, I HAVE to go to work"or "Gawd, I HAVE to workout". I am actually REALLY excited that I GET to go to work and that I GET to workout! Hopefully, after reading this you will find your own way to put the FUN back in fitness!

Make Your Workout A Game! 

Who doesn't love games, right? I know I can't turn down a good game ever. Find out what kind of gamer you are.  Do you like trivia or boardgames or video games? You can incorporate certain qualities of each of those types of game into your workout. For example, I love stategy games. So Battleship is my go to game. I see the gym floor as a battle field. While I am doing my cardio or warm up I look out across the "battle field" and I scope out my opponents. I see who is using what machine I need and I size them up. How many sets are they doing? How many reps? Are they the camping type that sits in that SAME machine for an hour or are they skilled enough to move around and do a circuit? Once I get a handle on "who" they are as a gymponent I get ready for battle. I wait until the perfect moment and I TAKE command of that machine. Stealth and precision. I get in I do my set and I get out before they ever even knew I was there. I walk away feeling like James Bond. DOM FOR THE WIN! I know it may sound silly but I tell you what, I am so focused on the game that I lose sight of the fact that I am working out! I just feel like I am playing around. Give it a go. It may or may not work for you but how can you know if you haven't tried it? 

Make a WAGER! I BET you can't....

Put something on the line for yourself. If you set a high goal and you HIT it then you reward yourself with something else that is fitness related. For me it is apparel. I love to buy new workout clothes. If I hit my goal then I leave the gym and go to the store of my choice and buy a new shirt or bottoms. If I blow my goal out of the water then I buy a new pair of workout/running shoes. What I did was I set myself up with a challenge that was ALMOST impossible. Being a highly competitive person...even I jump on and just DO IT...only then did I find out that 10 mph was TOO SLOW!! I would never have known if I didn't challenge myself. That goal that seemed impossible (especially if you ever hear a treadmill picking up speed to 10 mph... it sounds like a plane taking off!) was suddenly a piece of cake. I pushed it up to 12 mph and found my next goal. I created a new challenge for myself by simply challenging myself in the first place. Now, I am aiming for 13mph. Just like any other bet there has to be something to lose. So, If I don't hit my goal I have to do another 15 minutes of my least favorite cardio. Let's be honest....I HATE running so I will do whatever it takes to not have to run for 15 minutes. Bottom line, set a goal that seems impossible and work your tail off to get the prize!
with myself....I HAVE to beat the system. I HAVE to win. So set your eyes on a goal...a challenge. I told myself, "You are not very good at running. I bet you can't sprint at 10 mph for 45 seconds. I get the treadmill running at 10mph and (link to my video of this moment >)  

Challenge a Friend by Calling Them Out

People love being called out because we are so competitive and honestly....quite an arrogant people.

OH, no she DIDN'T!"comes to mind as I am writing this. I get it all the time. A workout friend will post themselves doing something and say something like, "Ohhhh, Dom Spain! Look what I just lifted! Isn' t that MORE than you in this exercise?" Uhmmmm.... oh HELL NO! I get to the gym and lift more and send it right back and say, "Hmmmm valiant effort but NO, I GOT this!" It just goes back and forth. We are playing a game of who is better, who is stronger, who can do more of whatever but really what we are doing is holding the other person accountable and making one another better. Try it with your closest fitness friends and see what happens.

Wear Funky Shirts! (not the smelly funky kind, please)

Wear something that pushes you every time you look in the mirror. I love when I am teaching my classes or training a client if I am not wearing my company DomSpainFitness apparel seeing one of my signature altered graphic tees looking back at me reminding me that I am stronger than yesterday or skilled in every position or whatever it might say. It pushes me to do that statement proud. No matter where I go, I am representing that statement and myself. It is really hard to make ridiculous decisions wearing a shirt that says, "Make Muscles Not excuses!"

Have a Signature Victory Dance

Mine is an old school running man! Every time I do something that makes me proud I will bust out my signature ( and quite amazing if I may say so myself) MC Hammer Running Man and a Hammer Style dance! If you have ever workout with me you have seen this! No compliments necessary on my mean dance moves. I literally LOVE working out because it is MY TIME. All about me and nobody else. If you are a mom like me, or a wife or a boss or whatever....we spend our whole day focused on other people. The gym or home, wherever you workout, is YOUR time to just PLAY and give your body and yourself a little love. If we don't care of ourselves, how effective can we be at taking care of others? It is ok to self love. As a matter of fact, I CHALLENGE you to a game of SELF LOVE! I BET you can't love yourself more than I can love me! Are you up for the challenge. Post pictures and tag me and I will accept your challenge too! As always, this is a journey that we are on TOGETHER. I am right here with you. It's us against ourselves. Let's go out there and make ourselves PROUD today! GAME ON!

Until, next time.....