[ENFP] ENFP Fitness

[Moiety]

Excerice bores me to death. But I really need to start doing some exercise.

 

[Amargith]

I love your suggestions, but I wonder if you guys also experience that during the exercising your mind wanders...a lot.. Whenever I'm dancing, I almost feel guilty or annoyed because instead I could be taking care of that urgent thing, or be doing that more mind-stimulating, and here I am, stuck doing something that will not gain me more knowledge (my main quest in life) nor assure that certain daily duties get done. It makes it incredibly difficult for me to classify exercise as priority.

 

[CzeCze]

I'm addicted and then I get bored. Honestly, vanity helps. Are you vain? You're ENFP, right?

LOLOLOLOLOL.

I think others have said it, but just stock up your ipod with some rockin' tunes, put on a comfortable outfit, and zone the hell out on some cardio machines. It's GREAT. I call it my (pseudo) therapy.

Actually, soaking in the jacuzzi and steam room right after my post cardio high/strength work muscle exhaustion is my (pseudo) therapy.

But in general, ways to make it easier to work out:

Convenience
Keep it quick and light when it comes to going to the gym. My gym provides (shapeless, ugly, but clean and FREE) clothes and socks to work out in and has lotion and all the other amenities post-shower. I have an ipod shuffle, tiny and light, that clips to my clothes and stays out of the way. My shoes are Nike Zooms (running) and super light. My gym is in walking distance and the walk to/from counts as my warmup. I keep the option of working out really convenient and accsesible to me. I used to take a bunch of hand and ankle weights and a big gym bag back in CA and it becomes a chore.

Fun
Wear a cute outfit, something you think you look good in or just makes you feel good. I would wear color-coordinated, matching outfits that would make me laugh when I went to the gym because I was almost over coordinated (hot pink pants, black burn out dance t-shirt, pink visor, pink wrist bands, hot pink shoes, cheap Paris Hilton style sunglasses with fake diamonds, etc.)
That goes a LONG way to motivating you.

Motivation
Do something with friends or hire a personal trainer. You can do trios sometimes to cut down the cost and further motivate with friends. Take a class, switch up the dance classes, take Zumba or a "dance aerobics" class, something with people will probably push you.

Are you motivated to lose weight or get in shape or both? While it's always the best idea to "do it for yourself" having an outfit you want to wear or a person you want to impress, honestly, will probably go a long way to motivating an ENFP...

 

[CzeCze]

I love your suggestions, but I wonder if you guys also experience that during the exercising your mind wanders...a lot.. Whenever I'm dancing, I almost feel guilty or annoyed because instead I could be taking care of that urgent thing, or be doing that more mind-stimulating, and here I am, stuck doing something that will not gain me more knowledge (my main quest in life) nor assure that certain daily duties get done. It makes it incredibly difficult for me to classify exercise as priority.

You can do cardio to allow your mind to wander, it can be very calming or meditative. That's why I look forward to doing cardio.

You'll need to do something more challenging that forces you to focus -- like Bikram or Power (Ashtanga?) Yoga or boxing or circuit training. I love Bikram because it's SO taxing and it forces me to focus (and focus, and focus some more) and keep on it to be present. Or do something involving or another person where you have to focus for safety reasons, like kickboxing or brazilian jiujitsu (it's grappling, so mostly on the ground, you'll focus, trust me). Or do a mental physical activity like bouldering or rock climbing. Boxing is great because it's taxing and is a skill requiring focus.

True fitness training can be hardcore and your mind *cannot* wander.

Otherwise, you can find ways to sneak excercise into your day. Walk or ride a bike, take the stairs, do strength training moves while you watch TV, talk on the phone, use a stability ball in lieu of a computer chair. Do fun things like those dance classes or something you actually enjoy doing. Instead of looking for "exercise" look for things that you find fun that happen to also be physical.

 

[edcoaching]

Really good ideas, CzeCze.

You can also go out to

The 8 Colors of Fitness by Suzanne Brue - Color Coded Exercise Personality Quiz based on Myers Briggs - Home

The book was written by a colleague of mine who did tons of interviews to find out what people of each type prefer. I know it's dead on for my type.

 

[Amargith]

I am very vain as an ENFP, but have zero faith in my ability to exercise and keep it up as I've failed so many times. I do wanna change that, and I'm inspired by the ideas here.

One of the things I always felt guilty about was getting bored with the chosen form of exercise and therefore quitting it. It is such a relief to find out that it is just a part of you and you can work with it (ever since I found my type). With the ideas I got from you guys, I think I can design something interesting and hopefully incorporate it permanently into my lifestyle for once, so thnkx

 

[mlittrell]

oh christ suzanne brue...nothing really against her but she pretty much states the obvious and really doesn't give any helpful information. she basically converts the function definitions into exercise. nothing wrong with that, its just obvious. like i said, masking exercise is excellent for the ENFP. last night my friends and i took a train down to philly and we walked the city all night long; it was exercise hidden in a philadelphia adventure as long as you get a good physical exercise for 30 minutes to an hour a day (minimum imo) and your diet is good you should be fine.