Fun Activities That Also Happen To Be Good Workouts

Confession: I don't particularly enjoy trundling along on the stair climber at the Y or grunting my way through lunges while avoiding eye contact with frat boys. However. I also don't particularly enjoy grunting my way through zipping up my pants. You don't either? Weird!

Now that it's summer I enjoy a good frolic much more than an aerobics class. There are heaps of things to do that are fun and - what luck! - a good work out.

Tree climbing
How long has it been since you've done this? Too long, I reckon. It's a great upper body workout, oddly calming and fun and you can drop pine cones at passers-by-if you're a jerk like me.

Dancing

Of course. Of course! Current (terrible, embarrassing, irresistible) dance favorites of mine include: Break Your Heart, Your Love is My Drug, Sexy Chick. It's so, so easy to create a playlist and engage in a one-person dance party for twenty minutes. Bonus points if you try to incorporate The Roger Rabbit, The Cabbage Patch or, um, marching.

If you're feeling reeeeaaally kicky, why not try to learn the Thriller dance?

Hula Hooping
This probably falls under the heading of 'old news,' but hula hooping is great for your abs and butt and, I suspect, it generally makes you a sexier person. See? It's cheap to get started and you can do it in your living room. Much to the amusement of your cat.

Roller Skating
No, not roller blading, roller skating. I find old-fashioned, slightly clunky roller skates so undeniably cute I want to smother every skater I see in hugs. Roller skating is fun, easy and a great work out for your legs and butt.

And again? Oddly sexy.

Tag
No props required, no complicated rules, lots of great cardio. Yes!

Doin' it
Apparently you can burn about 150 calories from a 30 minute roll in the hay. Significantly more fun that half on hour on the elliptical next to that sweaty guy who always sings along with his Ipod, eh?

Playing with kiddos
Picking them up, swinging them around, wrestling them into their jeans? All of that activity adds up. I also imagine that hunting for special blankies, wiping snotty noses and breaking up hair-pulling-matches burns a lot of calories, too.

Sledding
I envy those of you in the southern hemisphere who can still find a hill to slide down. The sliding part isn't much exercise, but trundling back up in all your boots and gear certainly is, isn't it? Also? Yelling your head off as you careen down the hill probably burns calories, too.

Picking fruit
Climbing ladders, yoinking apples off branches, bending over in strawberry bushes - all a good work out. And isn't it lovely to get outside, meet new people, and say hello to your food before you eat it?

What are you doing to stay active this summer? What are your favorite fun workouts?