The Beauty Of Transforming Your Fitness Journey Into An Adventure

It’s not always easy to “get in shape,” particularly if this is the first time you’ve done such a thing. Perhaps you’ve had some time away from exercise and super healthy eating, be that due to a stressful job, going through the maternity process, or simply focusing on other priorities. Either way, it’s important to note that no matter your age, you can always return to healthy living and benefit from doing so.

That said, it’s true that you might feel a sense of worry, anxiety or even dread about getting out there and becoming fit again. It’s not easy to take that morning run before work, to head straight to the gym after a long shift, to do away with the overindulgent desserts in your home and to opt for the healthy option. Doing so can help you feel fantastic of course, but there’s an adjustment period that takes place before then which can put people off the whole life change.

But what if you were to think of this process differently? In this post, we’ll argue that there’s a real beauty in transforming your entire fitness journey into a wonderful adventure. Let’s discuss what that might look like in the long run:

1. Embracing A New Perspective

Mindset is everything, but you don’t have to be gung-ho about jumping into a fitness journey with full fervor either, as if you had been enlisted into the special forces. Many people often get the mindset wrong, they think that they need to make fitness their entire identity to enjoy it correctly, or they should begrudgingly “do it because I have to,” which only leads to burnout and eventually giving up on your path.

A new perspective involves having fun and being social. Joining your local rowing club to learn a new skill and spend some time on the water, enjoy hiking with a friend, furnishing yourself with new hiking boots, a clear hydration pack, and the will to explore your beautiful natural environment. 

Spend some more time gardening! No matter what your preference is, the more you try and overwhelm yourself with a new activity or fail to see the fun in it, the sooner you will drop the act. It’s okay to start slow, build your appreciation, and truly fall in love with your craft. This is how the best athletes in the world are made, after all, and so the method is likely good enough for you and I.

2. Setting Fitness Goals & Milestones

You can certainly get in shape without making robust plans for progression – perhaps you have an exercise bike and spend forty minutes on that three times a week. Yes, this certainly counts, and yes, it will absolutely help you on your journey.

That said, it’s also true that fitness goals and milestones can help you employ something to look forward to. So for example, with a graded “Couch to 5K” system, you progressively increase the time you run and walk in intervals each session. This means you can train, not just exercise, towards a goal that matters to you.

Every adventure is a story, after all, and stories are built up of constituent beginnings, middles, and ends, allowing a final relaxation in the best possible context. You may be surprised just how well that works out if you give yourself the space to enjoy it.

3. Outdoor Adventure Activities

Of course, a fitness adventure really can be an adventure. We’ve mentioned hiking, and that’s a great way to explore your local nature trails. Just make sure you start simple, research the area, buy the correct equipment such as good footwear and weather-appropriate clothing, and take an afternoon out to enjoy yourself at that pace.

Outdoor adventure activities can also include cycling; who knows the distance you could travel with excellent road bikes? Getting involved in a local sports team in an amateur capacity can be fun, even if it’s just people from your office. Playing off against other teams, enjoying a kick around like you did when you were younger, all of this can get you in shape and allow you to make memories in the healthiest way.

4. Fitness Challenges & Competitions

Like goal-setting and planning milestones, training for an event can offer a great deal of excitement, and also gives you a deadline to feel disciplined about. For example, perhaps there’s a half-marathon that takes place in your local city. You might hope to get involved and put your mind to doing this, but it takes a little training to get there.

It’s okay if you skip this year and try next year of course, what matters is holding to your goal and enjoying the entire process. Then, when you finally complete your challenge, you can feel majorly proud of the certificate, photographs, and memories you have of your proactive effort. This way, fitness becomes less of a tiresome “I need to go to the gym today,” and more of a “great, one step further towards my goal” perspective. You’ll be able to access greater reserves of motivation in the second camp.

5. Documenting Your Fitness Adventure

Share your journey if you feel like it! You can keep this whole affair entirely private of course, but there’s no shame in sharing progress pics on Instagram, updating your running routes online (be careful about your privacy settings here though, don’t make personal information like this too public), and even hosting a YouTube channel about your weight loss journey.

You’d be amazed at the progress you’ve made when looking back on yourself thanks to this. On those tired, demotivated days, it’s amazing how reminding yourself how far you’ve come can help you get back out there with an intact frame of mind.

With this advice, you’re sure to transform your fitness journey into a magical adventure, as opposed to feeling obligated to knuckle down and suffer. After all, fitness is a great boon to our lives, and helps us feel so much better than we would otherwise. Using the above insight, you can also make that into a wonderful story to experience.