14 Ways to Actually Enjoy Working Out, According to Experts

There have been times in my life where I’ve loved working out. Before you roll your eyes and groan, thinking, “Oh, she’s one of those people,” just know that it’s been such a long time since I’ve felt that way that the concept is now as unrelatable to me as it might be to you.

Back during my love affair with fitness, I was in a different place in my life—just out of college and living as a new NYC transplant, where everything in my life felt unduly exciting. And, when I truly think about it, my workout routine was optimized to be enjoyable. My week was peppered with a swath of hip workout classes, spanning the gamut from boot camps to Spin, Pilates to deep water running. I trained for a triathlon with a friend, rode engaging virtual reality bikes at my gym, and lifted weights with a coworker after work. On top of their normal health benefits, workouts were social time, adventure time, and stress-busting time all in one.

Since exercising has become much more of a chore in recent years, and is now simply something that I feel like I need to do rather than want to do, I decided to seek out advice on rekindling my fondness for working out. So, I turned to two experts for all the best strategies for actually enjoying workouts, so that I’m more motivated and committed to my health and fitness goals.

Want to look forward to your workouts instead of counting down the minutes for them to be over? Read on for 14 expert tips on how to enjoy working out.