I need ideas about how to have fun exercising so it's not a chore and i can actually motivate myself to do it

That's all.  How can I make it fun?  What are fun ways to exercise?

What do you like? What results do you want? Do you like dancing? Walking in the woods? Playing a competitive sport?  Bicycling? Exercising in a group? Working out by yourself? What's fun for you depends on what you find enjoyable.

pick something you like to do and listen to music while you do it.

music is great. it makes it fun. :]

hmm..Actually, once you start exercising,you may not even worry about it being fun,because it just gives you such a good feeling, even running on the spot makes me happy.

but to start, i suggest maybe just walking in the park, taking a run... even dance dance revolution? lots of people on this site get angry when i suggest it, but ive researched and on the more advanced levels, you do get a vigorous workout. I used to play at the expert level for 1hr20mins a day, and i definatley got results.

also,you can join a raquet club or something.squash&tennis are very hard, lots of work involved,but very fun.

why do people get angry when you mention ddr?

I'm trying to buy it on CL, so I can get it cheaply, but I just pissed off the seller by trying to be a cheapskate and haggle the price way down.  I don't know if I'll like it or not; I am afraid the music will defeat the fun for me, but I had this bright idea I'd make tapes of music I love and play them on my hand-held tape player with adjustable speed and turn the dial to adjust the speed to the correct tempo.

Tennis is a great idea.  I know I like tennis.  I will look into where to play tennis around here for free, and getting a cheap raquet CL.

Mountain biking is a lot of fun, assuming you like the outdoors and live in a suitable area.  The only downside is that it can get very expensive very quickly.

walking and running in scenic areas always does it for me, whether it's nature or city. i don't know what's available to you. adding music makes it much more fun. you can get a cheap mp3 player that's tiny and make your favorite mix. i always find no matter how much i don't want to get going, once i get started i ALWAYS end up going for longer than intended, sometimes twice as long. just make sure not to play your music too loud so that you are aware of your surroundings!

i also like parks that have running trails with fitness courses -- stations with bars and benches and instructions on how to do different exercises and challenges and levels. it breaks up the monotony of running and provides good, varied conditioning.

sometimes when i walk or run, i break into a skip -- that's a lot of fun! depends on how much you care about looking silly to others.  :-) 

I've heard DDR is a great workout and seen news reports that pediatricians are recommending more kids do it since they only play video games anyway and this way they get a good workout in the mix.  I also saw a news article on nursing homes getting Wii's for their patients for the bowling and other games so they get in some exercise in a safer enviroment.

Anyway back to the original question - I say find something you enjoy.  I started out just walking -- that was all I could do - would listen to the radio or tunes I liked and just walk.  After losing weight and walking became too easy and not being able to run I purchased a cheap elliptical I used it for over a year and then I signed up for weight lifting classes at the local community college then the next semester started doing a cardio class at the comm college -- its now been over a year and I stil do the classes at the comm college - I like the friends I've made and found I like working out with others. 

I am now trying to save up some $$ to get a nice bike and start biking to work or short errands - especially in the fall and spring when the weather isn't so hot here in AZ.

 

Find a pleasant walk of about an hour, then when you have done the circuit for a couple of days, try jogging 5 minutes of it and build up from there.  When the circuit takes less than 30 minutes you can extend it or add in another exercise. Of course, if you don't enjoy the outdoors or it is dangerous or difficult to access, this would not be suitable.  Don't put yourself at risk. 

If you like videos games get a wii, somewhere on these boards is a link to the wii fitness experiment the long and short of it is that a guy played wii everyday for 30 min and nothing else changed (same eating habits and so on) He lost 10 punds at the end of the month. There's also the sony playstation2 kinetic which incorporates martial arts style workouts with a game atmosphere.

 

Aaron 

You gotta try belly dancing.  I just got back from an hour long class and it was fabulous.

Make a CD or playlist of all your favourite songs, it works for me when I'm cleaning or going to the gym : )  Or, if you can, watch a movie while on the treadmill/elliptical, it makes the time fly!

*just got on her ddr (well pump it up really) due to all of the posts on this thread, thanks all, it felt great!*

I play DDR.  It's the only thing I will actually do frequently.

working out to music really helps make exercise fun for me. i do lots of workout videos at home, most of which have really crappy music and annoying instructors, so i just mute, blast my own music, and exercise away. i'll even do yoga my own music.

other than that, team sports are pretty fun. i play squash and volleyball with my friends every once in a while. everyone's so busy these days, it's hard to get multiple people together for a game though (bribing them with drinks afterward is remarkably effective!).

i had to try a lot of different activities before i found some that were tolerable. mixing up your routine really helps keep things interesting too.

Wow.  I forgot that I posted this.  This is great.

Okay.  I got DDR of Craigslist for 40 bucks.  The music sucks and I'm not good enough at it to break a sweat - I just miss a lot, unless it's really slow.  Does it get better?!  Do you always suck at it when you first get it, then when you gain skills, you can get a good workout?  I was thinking I could syncronize a tape of my own music with adjustable tape speed, but the damn thing keeps changing tempos.  I HATE IT!!  Maybe I can sell it for a hundred bucks.  

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to bike.  I live in San Francisco and I am terrified of getting killed.  Truly.  This country has no infrastructure for bikes!  I have no car, and I'm not near any trails.

I love to walk.  It's been so cold and rainy lately.  (I'm so full of excuses tonight!)

I enrolled in an exercise class at the city college.  That was a brilliant suggestion!

Watching a movie is a brilliant suggestion, too.  I have a small trampoline in my room, and I could use it while I watch TV or a movie.  I'll watch something on You Tube, actually, and jump.  Thanks for that suggestion!

You could join a latin dance class, like Zumba, it is a lot of fun and there is no pressure to get the moves right as long as you keep moving.

Milfred,  there are some excellent trails in the San Francisco area.  There are a few guides to places to ride, including offroad trails; the one I have is a book called "Bay Area Bike Rides." You can get it online, and I've seen it in bookstores. 

You can get to trails on public transit, and you can take your bike on most public transit (I do this often).  You probably know this already, but to figure out how to get someplace on public transit, check 511.org.  

And, if you'd like to gain more confidence on riding on the roads, the San Francisco Bike Coalition has regular classes on street cycling skills. https://www.sfbike.org/?edu ;

Original Post by milfred:

Wow. I forgot that I posted this. This is great.

Okay. I got DDR of Craigslist for 40 bucks. The music sucks and I'm not good enough at it to break a sweat - I just miss a lot, unless it's really slow. Does it get better?! Do you always suck at it when you first get it, then when you gain skills, you can get a good workout?

Yes, it gets better. I usually am sweating by the end of the 2nd song. When first staring out you will feel like an idiot but after a while you get to recognize patterns and get used to how to move your feet. A lot of the steps are like walking, you can alternate feet and keep up. Don't put your feet back in the center after each step. Also depending on the version you may be able to do training mode and do a harder song at a slower speed to work on it till you get better then catch up.