Ask Lemmy

Hiking, for me. There's a variety of trail difficulties, so you can do something more casual if you want to, and aside from the great cardio, you're out in the beautiful outdoors.

Sex

Running. I do it 4 times a week, and my last time was yesterday. I took it up late in life, and found that I love it. Imagine my surprise, given that I'd spent my life telling myself I don't like doing physical activity

Jiu Jitsu. Really fun to grapple hard against an opponent. Unlike striking sports, you can practice pretty hard and mostly avoid injuries. There is a thinking component and a mental strength component making it much more fun than other workouts I do.

Stationary rowing, 5 days/week. It's a good whole-body exercise, heavy on cardiovascular & low impact, but not particularly strengthening. Can sit in front of a movie and just go. Got a tracker to record performance & heart rate, and I really like seeing new bouts appear in the graph. That may be more motivating than the nebulous protection from future cardiovascular disease.

I like climbing and biking. Biking because I love how far a pretty simple exercise can take me and I love that it's practical, I don't need a car as long as I can bike there. Climbing because I like an exercise that feels like a fun game but is truly a challenge for the human body, I've gained a ton of muscle in my body without trying.

Climbing. Go three times a week and it's just fun and challenging. Gives me a chance to get off my phone and just enjoy the activity.

Swimming laps

Cycling. I don't (yet) have all the fensi equipment nor an expensive bike and don't do long, exercise-like laps. It is much more incorporated into my daily life. I have an oldschool road bike which I use for my commute and then every day after work go around the city with it for some hours (with small breaks for say shopping/eating; ca. 25-30 km per day). Longer rides on the weekends (average ca 100-120 km per weekend). Never was keen on sports but was always into little daily adventures and this combines the two. Last time: yesterday.

Long distance walking. I usually pick a direction, put on a podcast or some music, and just vibe as I walk and listen.

I do it because it's not overly complicated, allows me to relax and enjoy something to listen to as I walk, gets me out of the house and maybe towards another activity I'd like to do, and it helps me sleep better at night.

On a light day, I might do it for 30 minutes. I might go for 2 hours if I'm in good condition. I think my record was over 5 hours.

Climbing.

It became an instant obsession when I tried it 3 months ago and have been going 3 times a week for a couple hours ever since. Such an amazing sport and after 3 months has me stronger and fitter than at any point in my life (I'm in my mid 30s).

Playing Switch games while walking on a treadmill. I always found exercise boring before, but the split controller of the Switch makes it easy to play while walking.

I have found I don't even notice I'm walking and look forward to it since I'm actually looking forward to gaming.

Dark Souls while walking is the best. I've walked about 140 miles in the last month.

God bless all you people who have time to exercise.

Roller skating

I take Hippocrates' "walking is man's best medicine" advice when it comes to physical activity. It's good for the body and mind and also good for interacting with people.

Walking the dog is all I’m capable of at the moment. Trying to walk an hour at a time, twice a day. Some days it works.

A good game of football/soccer with friends

I go to the gym three times a week. I started working out to lose weight and improve muscle mass and tone, and because I fell out of love with running. Last time was yesterday - bench press, overhead press and chin-ups. There's something primal about lifting heavy weights that makes it enjoyable (much like the other poster said about boxing).

Running. My brain struggles to start with anything that requires a lot of actions to get started. Going to the gym, for instance, requires me to grab my stuff, bike to the gym, change clothes, and then keep switching exercises. Any of these actions require me to get over a mental "bridge", and can thus cause me to stop.

With running I change clothes, put on shoes, and just start running. I can be outside very quickly, before my brain realizes what's really going on. And once I'm going it seem to cost me more mental energy to stop than to keep going. So for my brain it's perfect. Barely any setup and almost no "bridges" to cross.

People enjoy exercise?

I love aquafit -- guided aerobics in the pool. Easy to modify for whatever physical issues you have. It's social, low pressure, and a great instructor makes it surprisingly fun. It looks really easy, and then the 80 year old ladies kick your ass at the exercises.

Pickup sports. I can run all day playing football or basketball.

Since that isn't an actual option I have anymore, I mostly actually use an exercise bike. It's low impact and I can do it while my brain is occupied elsewhere. I'd like a rowing machine because it's a big full body power workout, but I have no room for one.

Pickleball.

Cycling. I love to just go out and discover the countryside on a bicycle and climbing mountains to descend them again.

Social dance, followed by swimming and biking, then distance cycling. Cycling is the most common one I do, followed by swimming in the summer.

To explain the distinction I'm making between biking and cycling: When I say "biking", I'm talking about lower-speed, exploratory riding; usually a very dense saturation of a smaller area, often on trails set aside for recreation. When I say "cycling", I mean high-speed, linear riding, focused on covering distance or getting from one point to another; typically on through streets, dedicated bicycle infrastructure, or highways.

For social dance, my favorite is Ceilli, then various mosh pit styles, followed by square and contra, but in terms of how ofen I do them the order is reversed.

Weightlifting.

I don't particularly enjoy physical activity and so I try to maximize my time spent exercising. I use a couple of those adjustable dumbbells and spend a few minutes every day just doing some reps. If I'm feeling more motivated I will also mix in some calisthenics.

If you want more data, my wife enjoys walking and insists on walking 10k steps every day since she got her Fitbit 2 months ago. She hasn't missed a day yet.

CrossFit. Lots of varied movements and love throwing around some good sized weights.

I enjoy boxing immensely. Not only is it a full body workout, but there is something deeply, instinctually satisfying about punching a bag really hard. Ive fallen off the wagon recently, I should really get back to doing it.

I do multiple forms of exercise, but probably enjoy tennis more than the others.

I think that's because I'm learning a new activity and the exercise is just a side effect.

Weight lifting 3x per week. It feels good, and I’m too lazy for cardio.

Les Mills metabolic strength conditioning and, machine-wise, nothing beats the Jacob's ladder

Swimming, but no time for that :(

When it's not hot AF I quite enjoy trail riding. I haven't been in two years though because it's quite hard to find that much free time (~4 hrs) when I have two kids under 6. I enjoy feeling the breeze as I ride, the constantly changing scenery, and the random challenges of rough terrain and steep hills. It's also quite fun to use GPS and map your ride and see the stats.

I joined the gym last October, I usually road cycle 100-150 miles a week, come winter I'd hook my bike up to a turbo and spend winter indoor training, but by God it was dull, this past winter was amazing, 3 times a week strength training, yoga twice a weekend, pilates once a week, spin classes a couple of times a week, winter has never passed so quickly. Come summer the weather has been shit, barely done 1000 miles outdoors, usually would have done that in the first two months, carried on with strength training, yoga and pilates, but not so much the spin classes.

Dancing, Aerobics, Jazzercise is my favorite. Because it is exactly complicated enough that I can turn my brain off and just dance. Running is so monotonous I can't stop thinking.

What I do now is yoga and lifting and walking, because that's what I have available here.

I'm mid 50-s and have never not worked out. Last time was yesterday, first time when I was maybe 7? Did different sorts of dance practice for a long time, then ran when that was the only possible workout, have to move physically or I get anxious.

I enjoy things when I have a sense of progression I think. So I most enjoy lifting because of that, and when I could, the novelty of strongman was great to mix in.

I used to swim all the time but I burned out on it. I was just adding mileage and I think the only thing that kept me going was the whole body exhaustion/relaxation afterwards. As well as buying myself some bone conducting earphones so I had something to listen to instead of my own thoughts!

Alongside lifting I walk and run around with my dog for nearly an hour a day. I love my dog but we go on the same tracks around the property all the time, so it would be even more monotonous without all the podcast I listen to. Right now she's a bit puppy-crazy, so training new things isn't as effective, which could make it more interesting. Plus there's no heel/agility training I can work on until she literally grows her joints.

I also kayak once or twice a month for a few days. I like it for both the adventure and the people I paddle with, even if it can feel a bit tiring being in a social situation for an extended amount of time. It's probably my most enjoyed activity quite easily.

Rowing. Whole body, no impact 👌

I skateboard lol. It's quite fun just zooming through the streets.

Running and swimming.