To begin, what do we mean by “fun”? First, the activity itself can be fun, whether it’s feeling good about climbing the stairs to the office every day, going out for a bike ride on a Sunday morning, getting out in the fresh air on a walk, or spending time at the gym doing exercises that are enjoyable in one way or another (and not doing the ones that are not). Second, adding “externals,” as we detail below in “settings, surroundings, and companions,” can be fun. Third, certain outcomes of becoming and being a regular exerciser, like travel that focuses on exercise (walking, cycling, and hiking tours) or exercising in different settings while traveling (which we discuss later in this chapter) can make exercise fun. Finally, for many regular exercisers the mental and physical outcomes they experience once they are into it are fun in and of themselves.

For many people who are thinking about regular exercise, “will it be fun?” or, conversely, “won’t it be not fun?” are questions that early come to mind. Many people don’t want to start because they are afraid that it just won’t be fun, that it will be work. Some think: “This is going to be terrible. I’m going to hate it, every step of the way. But I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to get into shape.” However, if it does not eventually become fun in one way or another, most people will not continue with it, whether it is through lifestyle exercise (LE) or leisure-time scheduled exercise (LTSE), or some combination of both.

It happens that for many people who start one program or another, even with a negative attitude, exercising at some level eventually turns out to be fun of one kind or another anyway. Sometimes even in just a few weeks, they find that they are enjoying themselves at the physical or mental level or both. However, if your patient can get started with a positive attitude, they will improve their chances of having fun, which of course improves their chances of staying with it and then having fun in one or more of the ways listed above and discussed further below. You can help by helping them to attend to one or more of the details discussed below. For your convenience in dealing with your patients on this subject, the voicing for the balance of this chapter is addressed directly to your patient.

If you can manage it, positive anticipation is a very important element in having fun while exercising regularly. It can be fun if you can find the way(s) to let it be fun.

That process begins with all of the mental preparation that is a principal focus of this book. First, of course, is carefully setting goals for the exercise that are appropriate for you. If at the outset they appear to be too tough, trying to get there won’t be fun. Neither will it be if they are too easy. Second, as we have stressed repeatedly, it is essential to not do too much, too soon, whether in LE or LTSE. Third, it is essential to focus first on the regular, then on the exercise. Fourth is the importance of understanding that it is gradual change that leads to permanent changes. Fifth, it is recognizing the fact that for many, the exercise they choose can indeed become fun itself, as well as being fun for the results it will produce. (See Three-Minute Drill 15-1.)

For some, the most fun of the regular exercise experience happens when they learn how to use their training sessions for thinking. You can plan your day if you work out in the morning, or review your day if you work out in the evening. You can think about projects you are working on. Some regular exercisers have experienced some of their most creative moments when out on a workout (the only problem being to try to remember the inspiration so that you can write it down when you get home!). If you have particularly nice thoughts that you want to revel in (or possibly personal problems that you need to deal with) concerning spouse, “significant other,” children, or parents, your exercise time will provide you with some privacy just to do that thinking. No phone, no interruptions from family or co-workers; just you, alone with your thoughts.

Finally, you can give yourself rewards for performance in terms of weeks of exercise, total time, distance, increased speed in LTSE (if that’s for you), and the like. The rewards can be clothing, special experiences such as deferred travel or going to a show, or a new piece of equipment. Self-rewarding does take a special
kind of discipline, because there is nothing to stop you from engaging in those behaviors, anyway. However, if you can exert the self-discipline and then get the self-reward after getting to a certain self-selected point either in LE or LTSE, the behaviors are not only good for their own sakes, but they will also help make exercising regularly fun.

One way to have fun is to set non-exercise-related goals for the exercise session itself, like getting an errand or two done in the course of it. Perhaps you will pick up your newspaper or a container of milk and a loaf of bread while you are out. Perhaps you will go to the Post Office. Perhaps your car needs to be dropped off for servicing. You can drive to the service station, leave the car, and bike, run, or PaceWalk™ home. When the car is ready to be picked up, you can reverse the sequence. For those who live in areas where there are other regular exercisers with whom you can work out out-of-doors (walkers, runners, cyclists) or go to a gym, doing so is a very good way to meet new friends. Other than gyms, city parks offer good opportunities of this type.

Especially for the LTSE approach, setting up your training program in minutes, not miles, is very helpful (and LE sessions are most often defined in minutes, anyway). Doing so will help you avoid the stress that can be created by worrying about either speed or distance. If you become a cyclist or a runner or a PaceWalker, you can add fun to your program and keep it there by learning and using different routes. Variety helps maintain interest for many people. Different routes can also present different challenges. If you are a cyclist, you could develop a hilly ride, one that is mostly flat, and one longer, combination route. On the other hand, you may find one favorite course that you will do over and over again, with slight variations to accommodate the changes in workout times laid out by TSTEP.

Doing your training sessions with a companion is one of the best ways to deal with boredom. There is nothing like good conversation (or even not-so-good conversation) to make a workout just fly by. (Of course, you will be giving up

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