Fun activities that don't seem like exercise

Although enjoying any of the following activities may depend on whether you are an adult, teen, or child; here are several great forms of exercise that can also be fun

Bike-riding - It doesn't have to be an expensive bike.  Any bike will do.

Jumping rope - Little girls do it, but so do prize fighters.

Ice skating - If you've never learned how, it's not difficult to learn.  Just make sure you have super-sharp blades or else you'll think skating is not for you.  Many kids absolutely love taking skating lessons, and rinks  provide lessons for kids who aren't particularly aiming to become professional skaters.

Roller skating - Fun for kids in the neighborhood, but also for adults and kids at a rink with music and snacks (light ones, of course).

Swimming - It doesn't have to be well enough to save your own life, but it does have to be swimming and not floating (and particularly, not floating with the aid of some inflatable animal).

Skiing - Yes, it's cold and yes, you may fall down a lot in the beginning; but it's good exercise even if you do use lifts.

Walking Briskly - Maybe you do or don't find it find to walk alone, and maybe it depends on whether you walk on beautiful day or a rainy one; but walking can be fun - especially if you walk with a friend and talk too.  Walking alone can actually be quite pleasant if you bring along your Mp3 player and either walk to the rhythm of the music or just listen to your favorite talk show.

Tennis - If you don't want to, or can't, "play for real", just find some local tennis courts and hit the ball back and forth with a friend.  Up to a point, the worse you play the more exercise you get trying to hit the ball, chasing after it, and picking it up.  Of course, if you can really play (or at least hit the ball well) that's lots of exercise too.

Badminton - For the racket-inclined, badminton rackets and nets are extremely inexpensive (often sold at places like drug stores).  It can be played in the backyard, and it's an easy game for kids to get addicted to when rackets and net are "just there".

All Sports in General - All sports are good exercise, although the person who doesn't see himself as "athletic" may prefer sports other than team sports that involve "having a killer instinct" (basketball, soccer, field hockey -  any game that involves being good at being a little on the aggressive side). Of course, the non-team-sports person can always shoot hoops at the end of the driveway, or at the park when nobody else is around.  That beats playing video games in the "physical activity department".

Team sports that don't require a "killer instinct" (baseball or softball, for example) may be a good choice, especially for kids.  (Of course, too much dugout-sitting doesn't involve much exercise.)

Dancing - Any dancing that isn't "slow dancing".  The faster the dancing, the better the cardio.  Ballet, however, is more work than it appears and is great exercise.  Taking a tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, or other class can be a lot of fun, especially for young girls (and they get more out of such classes than just exercise).  Adults may prefer to put on some dancing music in the family room and just "live it up" when nobody else is around.  For people who don't know how to dance and don't want to take a class, there are DVD's for learning.

Martial Arts - Good exercise for anyone, but kids who aren't otherwise naturally physically active can particularly benefit for this.  Boys (most of whom don't want dancing lessons) have martial arts as an alternative.  Girls can benefit from self-defense, but some girls don't like dancing lessons either.  Regardless of other reasons for taking classes, it's exercise; and some people find it fun.

Fitness videos - Some fitness videos are "out-and-out", "don't-try-to-be-otherwise" workouts.  Some are aimed at people who don't want to be doing sit-ups and leg-lifts.  There are a lot of fitness videos that use dance, kickboxing, or other moves as part of their cardio workouts (aimed to burn calories), even if the complete program does include some mat exercises for toning or sculpting.  The non-exercise-inclined can just buy the DVD that offers the cardio portion (or else skip the firming/toning portions of a complete program, if they buy a whole program). Videos with music you find "inspiring" are often more fun than videos without it.  Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, Core Rhythms, Richard Simmons' 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' - all more fun than doing push-ups.

Online Workouts - There are sites that offer free and/or very inexpensive memberships, and have workouts that are aimed at the "non-hard-core" exerciser.  These are often aimed at getting sedentary people moving and are usually comfortable enough for even previously inactive people to find enjoyable, if not out-and-out fun.   Sometimes, too, the fun isn't in the workout, but rather in the feeling that comes with regular physical activity.

Finally, a note about kids:  When kids are healthy, most will be physically active a good part of the time if given a backyard and/or blacktop surface, a few trees, a big ball, and a small small (like a small sponge ball). 

Games like tag, dodge ball, hide 'n seek, or any other game that involves running and moving around are great exercise.  Climbing is as well.   Playground equipment (at home or in the backyard) is always a great way for kids to have fun being active.  Pumping a swing, climbing the jungle gym, and climbing the steps up a slide are all great exercise - and for most kids, great fun.

Add items like jump ropes, scooters, bikes, pogo sticks, and skateboards; and you usually have a pretty active kid.

Sometimes parents have a tendency to require kids to do their homework before going out to play, but sometimes there isn't much time for playing between finishing homework and dinner.   There may be something to say for having kids do homework immediately after dinner instead.