| Posted in Food & Health on 18 Jun 2014 |
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To some people, the gym is a community. For other people, the grunting, the sweaty bodies, the unflattering mirrors and the lycra are a little off-putting – to say the least. The good news is there's loads of other ways to whip your body into shape without ever setting foot in a gym.
Salsa
There's nothing more social than heading to a local bar for a salsa night. You'll learn a skill, make friends and burn off a ton of calories. If you don't like salsa, there are tea dances, line-dancing groups, jazz or even ballroom dancing all held in bars, parks and community halls. Try to lay off the copious amounts of wine that tends to accompany these evenings… but it's not compulsory.
Get a dog
You might want to think this through carefully first, but getting a dog is guaranteeing a healthier life. The bigger the dog you get, the longer the walks you'll need to take it on and the more active you'll need to be. Dogs make the best personal trainer you'll ever have because no matter how you feel, you have to show up and workout – no excuses.
Get a bike
Save yourself cash, save the planet and get fit all at the same time. Investing in a bike for your commute to work or trips to the shops will quickly improve your cardio fitness and help shape up your legs, too. Nothing gives you more freedom than a new set of wheels.
Get competitive
For many people, there's nothing more motivating than being the absolute best at something. Most weekends you'll find runs held in local parks – whether it's a short 5k or a killer marathon. If you're a morning person, signing up for a few events a month will keep you motivated to train and introduce you to a new circle of like-minded friends.
Join the circus
If conventional methods of getting fit are too ‘blah' for you, scour your local area for a venue to learn circus tricks. At a beginner level, you can learn how to tightrope walk, use stilts, ride a unicycle and even spin fire sticks. Don't worry; there will be plenty of time to learn how to tame the lions later…
Not only will you pick up some cool party tricks, but you'll find they take a lot of core strength and muscular endurance to master, too.
Not wanting to fork out for a membership or wipe other people's sweat off weights is a good reason to not want to hit the gym, but it's not a good reason to avoid exercise.
They're in shape for a living… but how much exercise do they really do? For a personal trainer, their body is their most effective marketing tool. It's likely if they look great, they'll have a waiting list of clients clambering to know their secrets. For most people, the idea of looking great conjures up ideas of hours and hours spent in the gym. But, when your job is to teach others to workout, you'll have the knowledge to create the most efficient workouts.
We're brought up to believe that we should figure out what we want to study when we're kids, study it, and then become it for the rest of our lives. Seems a little insane really. Those who don't think that's a rational way to approach working life, or who've discovered new interests and talents later in life may be left feeling a little lost as to how they tackle a career change.
First of all, let us congratulate you – if you're reading this then you're considering a man cave, which puts you in the top percentile of lucky men. But how carefully are you considering your options? A man cave is not to be taken lightly.
