Working out effectively doesn’t have to be boring. There are many unique and creative ways to get in shape. Here are some out-of-the-box workout tips to boost your fitness, burn calories, and have fun in the process.
Explore New Activities
Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new challenges your mind and body in fresh ways.
Learn a Dance Style
From hip-hop to ballroom, learning choreography is a blast while improving coordination, flexibility, and stamina. Classes provide structure and social interaction.
Take Up Martial Arts
Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Jiu Jitsu, and other martial arts crush calories while building strength and self-defense skills. The mental focus required is also great for reducing stress.
Play a Sport
Joining a recreational sports league for soccer, beach volleyball, kickball, or basketball is a great way to exercise and bond with friends. Competition motivates you to elevate your game.
Try Circus Classes
flying trapeze, silks, hoops and other circus apparatus classes simultaneously develop grip strength, flexibility, and fearlessness. Just hanging around gets your heart pumping.
Jump on a Trampoline
Rebounding is an efficient calorie burner that’s gentle on joints. Do jumps, twists, and bounces for cardio and lymph drainage without the impact of running. It feels like play!
Take It Outside
Exercising outdoors provides both mental and physical boosts over indoor training.
Go Trail Running
Running on uneven terrain engages your core, stability muscles and coordination in new ways compared to road running. Moving through nature is meditative.
Do Beach Workouts
The soft sand makes bodyweight moves like lunges even more challenging. Swim in the ocean for intervals then do sand sprints and agility drills.
Try Paddleboarding
This floating board sport works your core intensely as you balance and paddle through the water. Yoga and pilates paddleboard classes are also popular.
Climb a Rock Wall
Scale an indoor or outdoor rock wall to burn calories while confronting fears and literally rising to new heights. It promotes problem-solving skills too.
Hike with Weight
Strap on a weighted vest or backpack and hit the trails. The extra load intensifies the calorie burn while working stabilizer muscles as you maneuver over uneven terrain.
DIY Equipment
Everyday household items can transform into fitness gear for quirky workouts.
Cans for Strength
Canned food makes excellent improvised weights for bicep curls, shoulder presses, squats and more. Cans are portable too.
Furniture for Steps
Use the stairs, bleachers, or a sturdy sofa, bench or chair for step-ups, modified burpees, tricep dips and loads of other exercises.
Towels for Sliders
Place towels under feet or hands when doing mountain climbers, pushups, lunges or pikes. The smooth fabric reduces friction so you work harder.
Backpack for Loading
Fill a backpack with random objects to create a homemade weight vest or kettlebell for squats, good mornings and weighted walking. Books, water bottles and cans work great.
Pool Noodles for Agility
Jump over, squat under, and run around pool noodles arranged on the floor like mini hurdles. The soft foam is unlikely to cause injury if hit.
Workout Gambits
Employing certain strategical “gambits” can help maximize workout effectiveness and performance.
Timed Sets
For pushes and high-effort intervals, time the set rather than counting reps. See how many reps you can do in 30, 45 or 60 seconds, then beat your record.
21s
For focused muscle burns, do 7 partial reps at the bottom of the movement, 7 at the top, then 7 full range reps. Great for biceps, shoulders and calves.
Drop Sets
After completing a heavy lift to failure, immediately reduce the weight substantially and pump out more reps. This extends the set with metabolic stress.
Rest-Pause Sets
After repping to failure, take 5-15 seconds of rest then squeeze out a few more reps with the same weight. Repeat for 3-5 mini bursts.
Isometric Holds
Add time under tension by holding a static contraction at the peak of exercises like planks, squats or bicep curls. This increases strength and stability.
Occlusion Training
Restrict bloodflow with wraps or bands during light sets of arm/leg exercises. 20% effort feels like 100% when oxygen is limited, spurring growth.
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Fun Ways to Pair Exercises
Get creative with how you combine movements for more engaging routines.
Supersets
Pair exercises that work opposing muscles to save time. Combine a push like bench press with a pull like bent over rows with no rest between.
Hybrid Lifts
Merge two exercises into one seamless move. Examples are a thruster (squat to press) or renegade row (pushup to row).
Complexes
Do a sequence of 5+ lifts using the same weight with no rest, like barbell rows to cleans to presses to front squats. Heart rate skyrockets!
Partner Passoffs
Using the same weight, partners tradeoff exercises seamlessly. For example, one does a squat while the other does a lunge then switch.
Relays
In teams, run across the gym while passing a medicine ball. Perform exercises like slams, pushups or burpees before passing it off then sprint back.
Tabata Style
Choose 2 exercises and go hard for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds only, then repeat for 8 rounds. Work/rest intervals incinerate calories fast.
5 Unique Workout FAQs
What unusual exercise classes burn the most calories?
Aerial arts like silks, pole, or trapeze, martial arts classes, SUP paddleboard workouts, and competitive team sports burn the most calories per hour, often 700+!
How can I take my workout outdoors?
Go for trail runs/hikes, create an outdoor “jungle gym” for bodyweight exercises, have fitness walking meetings, do yardwork, join an outdoor bootcamp group, or visit outdoor public workout equipment.
What household items work for DIY weights?
Canned food, heavy books, water jugs, sand bags, old purses/backpacks, and laundry detergent containers make inventive dumbbell replacements when filled.
How can I make workouts more engaging?
Distract your mind by listening to podcasts or audiobooks, invite friends for extra motivation, play sports or games, explore new activities regularly, and track progress with a fitness device.
Are unstable surface workouts helpful?
Yes, exercises like planks or squats on a BOSU ball force you to engage stabilizer muscles more for greater strength and balance benefits. Start with brief, low intensity periods.
Conclusion
Mixing up your workouts with creative activities, outdoor training, improvised gear, strategic formats and fun exercise pairings helps eliminate fitness boredom while providing unique benefits. As long as the workout safely elevates your heart rate and trains muscles, don’t be afraid to get imaginative with your training. Experiment until you find engaging styles you look forward to doing regularly.