10 Fun Sports And Activities That Can Get You Moving

Everyone wants to be in shape. Being out of shape is no fun for anyone. At the same time, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get up, go to the gym, and mindlessly ride the elliptical for a half-hour. 

In the same breath, it is worth mentioning that, that is not the only way to exercise. Yes, you can use the treadmill, lift weights, and /or ride a stationary bike at the gym, but the point is that stuff is not all that fun. You can definitely enjoy doing those things, but over time it gets repetitive. There are only so many times you can go to the gym and enjoy moving your legs like a mindless zombie. 

With that being said, there are plenty of other options for you to get up and be active without having to dread doing it. Below are a number of activities you could do to burn some fat, while also having a great time. 

Soccer

Soccer is one of, if not the most popular sport in the world. One of the reasons for it is the fact that you do not need a lot of equipment to play. Pretty much the only thing needed is a round ball to kick around. 

You could throw a couple of shoes down to create some poor-mans soccer nets, but you could also play keep away or just kick the ball to yourself to see how long you could keep it in the air. No, those activities are nothing close to playing a professional soccer game officiated by Dermot Gallagher, but at the end of the day, soccer is fun for anyone trying to get up and be active. 

Swimming

The accessibility to swimming is definitely harder than that of being able to play soccer, but it is still a fantastic way to have fun, and burn calories! 

Being in the water is super refreshing, to begin with, but it is almost hard to imagine how much energy you expend while in the pool, ocean, or lake. For reference, 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps had to eat around 12,000 calories a day in an effort to maintain his body weight. 

Yes, there aren’t a lot of Olympic swimmers out there that swim all day and night, but the point is that swimming burns a lot of calories. So if you are trying to look for something fun to do while getting in shape at the same time, swimming could be the move for you. Just make sure to be out of the water if lightning comes around. 

Frisbee

An activity that is definitely more accessible than swimming, frisbee is a great way to get outside and shed some of that unwanted poundage. 

You could also just play catch with a baseball or football, but frisbee can be a lot more fun. If you are not good at tossing the disc, there can be a lot of running involved, but ultimately you will not even be thinking about that: you will be having too much fun.

Another frisbee option could be ultimate frisbee. This is more so a competitive game than just tossing around the frisbee in the yard or on the beach, but it is still a great time. The only issue would be gathering up the people to get a game going. But I am sure you would be able to figure something out. 

Yoga

Take a deep breath, relax, and have a grand old time! Yoga is not for everyone, but if you give it a chance it can be a ton of fun. At the same time, it can help you destress and get ready for any challenges you face in the coming days. 

In addition, yoga has a ton of medical benefits. Research suggests that yoga can help relieve lower back and neck pain, can help with sleep, can improve lung function, and much much more. 

In all honesty, yoga could be one of the better ways to spend your time. Still, there is a stigma around yoga that it is only a thing for girls. That is completely false! But at the same time, women make up 72% of yoga practitioners. 

So to the dudes out there, put on your big boy pants and do get stretching. Yoga can really work wonders, and deciding to not even give it a try would be a big mistake. 

Flag Football

When you think football, you think helmets colliding and 250-pound linebackers rushing after the quarterback. But that is not the only type of football being played. Flag football is a great time and enjoyable for people of all ages. 

Leagues around your town or city may be more complicated to find/sign up for with the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, but being able to play football with your friends is such a blast. There is a reason football is so popular, and just because you didn’t make it to the NFL or have a helmet on standby does not mean you can’t play. 

Jump Rope

Jumping rope can potentially fall under the category of “gym stuff’, but it is something that can be a lot of fun. And no, you should not jump into double-dutch competitions immediately, but just jumping around listening to music can be a blast: especially if you get good at jump rope.

Seriously, some of the things people can do are unreal. Backflipping while not getting caught up in the rope? Are you kidding? Maybe that could be you one day. 

Dancing

Not everyone is a great dancer, but that does not mean they can’t have fun and burn some calories while doing it. Whether it is at a club or in your living room, dancing is a very movement-oriented activity that gets your body going. 

According to active.com, you can burn anywhere between 200 and 400 calories per half hour with continuous dancing. That seems like a way better use of time than pounding your knees repeatedly on the treadmill for an hour. 

And no, you don’t have to be MC Hammer to make this work. Just get up, get moving, and have some fun. Dancing can be a really great time, and as evidence (from active.com) it can also burn off a lot of those carbs from dinner. 

Image courtesy of giphy.com

Biking

This, similar to jump rope, could also be considered a gym activity. But to me, biking versus stationary biking is a whole different ball game. Yes, you can ride the stationary bike watching ESPN at Planet Fitness, but biking outdoors on a bike path is so much more enjoyable. 

The feeling of being outside, breathing in that fresh air is something you don’t get when you are hunched over grinding at the iron palace. So get out on your bike and ride around town with a loved one. Your butt may hurt if you are on your bike for too long, but all in all, biking is an enjoyable way to get moving.

Spikeball / Roundnet

This suggestion is a little out there, but give it a chance. Spikeball -also known as roundnet- has been a little bit of a revolution over the past few years. The game originally started back in the early 1990s but has become popular once again in the late 2010s with the help of Spikeball Inc. 

It is a game that is typically played on sand and grass, so realistically you could purchase a net and throw it on your lawn anytime you wanted to get in those 30 minutes of exercise. Just ask some of your friends or family to get a game going, and you can make an hour workout feel like 

10 minutes. 

Basketball

This may be an obvious suggestion similar to soccer, but basketball is a fantastic way to spend your time and burn off that belly fat. Whether it is just dribbling in your driveway or playing five on five with a bunch of your friends, basketball is a very enjoyable way to get moving. 

There are also so many other games you can play without having to gather up to nine other people. HORSE/PIG, around the world, knockout, and 21 are all awesome basketball “mini-games”. You could even just have a three-point contest with one of your friends! And I would suggest a dunk contest, but there are not many LeBron James’s in this world that can do a crazy windmill slam.

Still, basketball may not be for you! The good thing is there are so many more options to dive into to get some exercise. You could look at the other nine examples on this list, or look into some other sports and activities like racquetball, tennis, hiking, and so on. Just remember, you do not have to get a gym membership if you want to get in shape.