Find the Fun in Fitness

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias is one of the world's most accomplished woman athletes. She played basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball and bowling; was a diver, skater and cyclist; won 3 Olympic medals for track and was a leader in women's golf in the 1940s and 1950s. She said this about her outlook on sports: "Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised."

Practice activity for life

How do you feel about "practice"? You already know that incorporating activity into your life can add to your overall health and weight-loss success. You know that regular exercise can burn calories, strengthen and tone muscles, improve posture and boost your health. But knowing the benefits of activity doesn't necessarily mean that you find it fun or, as Zaharias put it, "the most pleasant recreation ever devised."

Occasionally, past experiences can keep you from thoroughly enjoying an activity that you might otherwise like. For example, maybe you have felt uncomfortable swimming in the past because you didn't like being seen in a bathing suit. But the past is just that, and a prior bad experience is no reason to keep yourself from trying something that you really might enjoy. Would your outlook change if you were in a water aerobics class with others who are also trying to lose weight? Would a more positive experience like that change your outlook on swimming? Is it possible that you might love swimming if you give it another chance?

Remember when you were a kid and you would play games like jump-rope, hopscotch, hide-and-seek and Red Rover until the sun went down. You weren't self-conscious then, you were just enjoying yourself. Do you think you could re-discover that carefree attitude in order to get into some grown-up activities that you might really learn to enjoy?

Being new at an activity and feeling out of your element is just par for the course. Everyone was new at their favorite activity at one point. The only way they learned to be good at a sport or pastime was through – you guessed it – practice. So get out there, find an activity that you want to enjoy and embrace it. Practice makes perfect! As Zaharias once said about her 150-yard golf drives: "It's not enough to swing at the ball, you've got to loosen your girdle and let 'er fly."