I like group aerobics classes too, and the Y (at least the ones here. I assume it’s the same everywhere, though) has a bunch of them for free. Which is great because I can try out all kinds of different classes and find the ones I like and the ones I don’t. And if I miss a week, no big deal. And I can basically go every night except weekends and take a class. They’re engaging and more fun than doing cardio machines or running. Plus they have a beginning and an end, so you’re in for the hour. No giving up after ten minutes and no pushing til your legs go numb.
I also like ice skating. I’m terrible at it and it does end up just kind of being round and round and round after a while. But being terrible at it means I have to focus to keep from falling and the time goes quickly and when I enter it into myfitnesspal, it’s never disappointing. You can burn a LOT of calories ice skating.
This too. For a good aerobic fitness work-out, there is nothing better. This, remember, was one of Frylock’s goals. You can adjust your walking rate continuously to your liking. Learn what your optimal pulse rate is. Then pause to check your pulse every few minutes, and adjust your walking speed accordingly. You can infinitely fine-tune the intensity of your workout.
After a while, I found that I could tell when I was at about the right rate just by how my body felt. I could adjust (according to the steepness of the trail at each point) to keep the workout intensity near-constant, mostly, without having to check my pulse very often any more. I felt like I was getting much more “in touch” with my body.
According to the charts, my “optimal” pulse rate should have been 132. But I found that I could comfortably maintain 140 for sustained times, with occasional bursts up to 160.
That was then. Today, walking from my apartment to the mailbox room is a strenuous hike, and if I’m not careful, I get winded just tying my shoes.
Do you wear a hard hat when you hike there? I’d worry about getting conked on the head by falling anvils.
No anvils…but, seriously, the place used to be a military firing range, and people have stumbled over unexploded ordnance. There’s something rather “Warner Brothers” about old mortar shells, wouldn’t you say?
(Thinking about Bugs Bunny and the Gremlin, smacking the nose of a bomb with a mallet…)
Mountain biking. I do mainly road cycling, but it is basically a physical workout which allows you to operate on auto-pilot; I have some of my most creative moments whilst on my bike. If you want something more involving I would think mountain/off-road cycling would be better. You need a higher level of motor skills and concentration to cover difficult terrain but you still get an excellent workout.
Indianer, er? Mostly flat, but rugged agriculture land, from my EU perception.
Go find a decent terrain bike. Go, find a route of 50 or so miles once a week. Plan it ahead on Google maps or so. But map it in your head. Do not use your smart phone or GPS or regular maps. Just go. Fetch an apple or young corn on the way (watch for angry farmers - they, I believe, own guns in your lands) and count cats. Or crows, or Ohio cars. Fun.
I’m one of those people who are afraid to get bored. Whenever I do anything manual and monotonous, I usually wear a bluetooth earpiece and listen to podcasts or audiobooks.
Cycling, however, doesn’t bore me - no need for a headphone/earpice. I think because the scenery moves fast enough.
Kick scooters are fun too, especially the ones with decent pneumatic tires (e.g. Kickbike).
Check with some of your boxing and mma gyms in your area to see if they have programs for guys who are only interested in sparring. Great excersize and the chance of getting really hurt are pretty slim. 5 min sparring and 30 min training can make for a good workout and not boring at all when you know you are preparing for a sparring match.
