Strength is fun!

...or it should be!

I like lifting weights, for me that is fun.  You may come with me, train & think "I don't like this", it may be that the way I train I may not 'do it' for you.  Maybe you have to try out other ways of lifting weights, maybe Olympic Weighting, maybe strongman training, maybe highland games, maybe circuit training using machines is 'your thing'.  To be honest it doesn't really matter what it is as long as you have fun & enjoy doing it.  It may be that using weights at all might not be of interest to you, maybe you prefer bodyweight training, or some form of fight training like wrestling, boxing or MMA, or maybe you like to run, swim & bike or play soccer? 

Whichever activity you like, I do suggest you aim at getting the strongest you can without adversely affecting your sport as that will make you a better athlete, but how you get there....well there are 101 ways to achieve that & it should be fun.  Now 'fun' is relative in some ways, if fun for you it doing a heavy squat, then it really isn't 'fun' doing that, the achievement is the fun, the getting there is the fun, the actually few seconds of the lift, let's be honest, that isn't fun in anything other than a really weird, warped version of 'fun' that some of us develop. When I boxed I knew fun was not getting hit in the face, but getting hit in the face was part & parcel of the whole fun of getting into the ring, so I suspect ultra-distance runner have 'fun' at certain part of their race, but probably not as they get to a really hard part, but that 'really hard part' makes the completion of the run that much more 'fun' for them as they look back. 

They say "You have to find your poison" & with all of us we find fun in our own special style of discomfort, for some lifting low reps very heavy will be their fun (that's my fun right there), for others it will be doing higher reps & really 'feeling the burn', still others will find doing gymnastic movements are the way they enjoy themselves, some will enjoy the world of machines, while other will insist upon free weights, some will go for kettlebells, while other will pick up rocks & tree trunks.  None of these are wrong, doing 100 push-ups is a great feat, deadlifting twice your own bodyweight is a great feat, throwing a hammer for a long distance is a great feat, doing an iron cross on gymnastic rings is a great feat - so if you have tried one type of training & thought "This isn't for me", then think again, go out & try lifting a big rock, find some kettlebells & give them a go, try machines or free weights, find a coach & learn some Olympic weightlifting, try out bodyweight exercise & some gymnastics.  Find the training that is hard, but fun for you, then keep at it & really achieve a decent level of fitness & strength at that activity. 

I believe that there is probably something for everyone out there, you just have to find it, so if you have so far failed to be motivated & are still thinking "I SHOULD exercise", then you are in the wrong mind set.  Yes, you do have to exercise, but you should not be doing anything you loath doing or you will not commit long term to it & exercise is a long term commitment.  Conversely, if you find an activity you enjoy you will not have to drag yourself to every session, you will be planning it, looking forward to it & be eager to get to it, THAT is the mentally you should attempt to achieve.  This attitude will almost guarantee success for you.  Just like you don't force a kid to play, you shouldn't be forcing yourself to exercise, it should be a form of play, if it's not then you are going wrong somewhere? 
Oh yea & the final point, once you get 'strong' at your chosen activity it is fun, it really is :-)