I really don't like going to the gym. Yet it seems that most people I know get most or all of their exercise in a gym. Multiple times I have bought a month pass to a gym and gone once even though my money was wasted. Being there felt a little too similar to the cubicle or concrete office I had been sitting in before clocking out of work. I felt like it was a chore to get through with the goal of improving my physical fitness. I was paying to be there, I wanted to enjoy the activities I was doing also.
My longest running and most cherished alternative to going to the gym is my yoga practice. I started yoga when I was young. It was a nice tool to quiet my overactive mind that would keep me up all night. When I was a little older, I realized the injuries I had from running and playing soccer felt better after holding a certain yoga pose. I began to enjoy the physical stability I was earning through my practice. Some mornings I practice yoga asana under the rising sun and I thank my body carrying me through each day. It feels so good to release thoughts and emotions that have been troubling my mind and to gain strength in my body. Even on a day that is feels like a chore to arrive, I leave feeling gratitude.
I feel the need to move in nature and also use this time to observe the cycles of weather, plants, and animals around me. Running on a treadmill feels torturous every time I have used one. Plus I have dogs, so they are very happy when I choose this alternative. I love to feel the joy they experience when we go down a new trail. I don't run often, but sometimes I have a strong urge to move quickly, work my muscles strongly and efficiently, and strengthen my lungs. I've always loved to run on hot summer nights when there is a cool breeze that breaks through the heat and the electricity of a storm in the air. I don't think the joy I feel from these experiences could be found without being outside in the elements.
I recently read that lifting weights was found to increase the human lifespan and that does not surprise me. When I worked in an office, I was interested in the gym because I needed more physical activity in my life. Outside of those years, I have worked quite a few different jobs that did require me to lift heavy things. I've dug holes, stretched fence wire, cleared rocks out of a pasture, used heavy kitchen and laboratory equipment, and a number of other tasks which have made me fairly capable of lifting a heavy object without injuring myself. Ultimately, I prefer to live and work in a way where I use my hands often.
This is all to say that I am happy with these alternatives to the gym. A gym just doesn't provide the benefits I need. I exercise to spend an hour with the sun on my face and the wind at my back, to bond with my dogs, to build myself a more beautiful home.
Is there something I am missing out on by not going to the gym? What are your alternatives?