Playing with Exercise.

Can we learn from a small child to make our exercise routine better? More than you might imagine. As early as chapter two of the book entitled Become the Boss of You, we introduce the idea of treating things like planting a seed. If we can wrap our heads around thinking of habit as a tool to improve our health, we can gain more conscious control over said habit and our health. The book discusses treating new behaviors like planting seeds, starting small, and pushing harder as they grow stronger.

Much like a tiny sapling, your new exercise routine can be fragile, and you need to nurture it. However, once it becomes fully grown, you will find that you no longer need to treat it like a baby. It will become strong, and you will be healthier as a result. The book stresses celebrating the minor victories and breaking your goal into smaller pieces to celebrate early on. This positive reinforcement trick helps from losing interest. It helps form the habit you desire when it is the most fragile. We also suggest journalling your successes early on to become more aware of your progress.

Another idea the book presents is that when we start something new, progress may not look promising initially, but growth is there. It’s just very small, like a seed starting its new stage of life. This is another reason to be aware of improvement and celebrate the smallest successes. Another additive that can strengthen your purpose when starting a workout routine is play. Believe it or not, play.

Have you ever taken the time to observe a child at play? I mean, really watch. Well, the experts in child development theory have. As children, we develop very rapidly and almost effortlessly at times from the ages of 2 to 7. Some refer to this stage of development as the pre-operational stage of development based on Jean Piaget’s brilliant work on child development.

We can use play to make our new seedling-like habits more fun. Just like children having fun, we too can make our new goals more joyful. Who thought a four-year-old could coach us on working out?

Engaging our inner child –

In a previous blog article, we talked about Dr. Keneth Cooper, the father of aerobics. He and his team gave us great guidance on how to measure our workouts and how often we might work out. I would suggest you read that article if you have not already so you can get some guidance on how much to do and how much to refrain from doing. You want to do enough but not hurt yourself.

We can look to the simplicity of the concepts in the book “Become the Boss of You” and the imagination of minor children to help motivate our new habit of becoming fit. The more out of shape you have become, the more of these hacks you may need to motivate yourself in the beginning.

How Often?

Let’s face it: if you are horribly out of shape and start to work out for an hour a day, five days a week, you will most likely quit. Once you quit, your self-image might take a huge hit as well. Not have the energy to live optimally because you are out of shape is terrible. Adding the feeling that you are a loser and can’t get anything going only adds salt to the wound.

You may be able to handle 20 minutes 3 times a week as a start. That can be the beginning of healthy. Your self-image might get a boost, and that seldom hurts. Let’s look at some techniques to try in your workout routine inspired by the wonder of children.

Use Social Play when forming your routine —

When children start playing with each other, they do not have strict rules. Only later in their development do the rules of play become more rigid. Ask a friend or two to join you on a walk or at the gym. Keep things light. Make the experience social in addition to raising the heart rate or working on your squats. Work out in parallel. The conversation of how you both struggled or how sore you were the next day is part of the social engagement. You keep each other on track.

Add variety –

Try to mix in a little variety in the beginning. The person who started working out with you in the gym may also be the pal you plan a hiking trip with months later. Various activities also build different muscle groups and help build overall health. The treadmill is an excellent piece of equipment and convenient, but pickleball may be more fun now and then.

Adding new gym activities or equipment types also keeps things fresh. Doing these new activities with your workout partners adds variety. If one person in your group likes to kayak, and the rest have never tried it, an adventure and a workout may be waiting. Who knows? You may find a new passion. You may get the benefits of the outdoors. That is always a plus.

Try mixing things up, from cardio to yoga or weight training. Adding variety to our routines can add a little spice to life. Make a playlist to have on your phone while you work out. The music you like makes everything a little better. Technology like your smartwatch or a Fitbit for tracking keeps things interesting. These tools allow you to set goals and make your workout more satisfying. They also give you continuous wins to celebrate. Spoiler Alert! If you have read “Become the Boss of You,” you already know one of our central themes. Never stop celebrating your progress, no matter how small. Gratitude works. Use it. Have fun with it.

Going at it alone; imaginative play –

If you are committing to an ongoing exercise routine, you will eventually have to go at it alone. Friends get busy, and as your time commitment becomes larger, others will most likely not join you all the time. This is where we get more inspiration from children. I remember working out on a treadmill for 30 minutes and that can be boring. I imagine I was running along a path in a Game of Thrones setting. I had to avoid the journey’s perils as I was taking an important message to my kingdom. When my level was increased to the highest intensity, I would imagine I was outrunning arrows or some other form of danger for my kingdom not to be overthrown.

Now, making the treadmill activity an imaginative game may seem silly, but watch a small child playing alone with their toys in their room. Don’t let them know you are watching; you will see the wonder of the human imagination. You can employ this same ability to improve your workout.

As you learn to tune into yourself and your inner child of imagination, you will discover many more possibilities for becoming more childlike and having more fun with your workout. It can be helpful to think of yourself as being a child again. Allow yourself to play in your internal world. Use your imagination to evoke a mind-body connection when you are alone, stretching, or doing yoga. Pretend play should not be off the table in these activities. See yourself achieving your new goal as you stretch. Envision your blood pressure lower as you are in your downward dog position. This is not only fun; it can be another form of positive reinforcement.

Make and break your rules –

Establishing a routine or system for things as you improve upon them is essential. Routines and systems give us order and progress. However, don’t be so rigid that you will never break from your mold. Remember to have fun, imagine, and play. It’s ok to be a child again at times. In some opinions, mine being one of them, It’s preferable.

I encourage you to Google Jean Piaget and his theory of child development. It is exciting and maybe the trick to improving your workout routine.

Peace, Ishall Dogood

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