Exercising Doesn't Need to Be Unpleasant

I'm a busy guy with a fair number of responsibilities, but I love my free time. Being absolutely unproductive, whether alone or with my wife, kids, and dog, at the beach or reading a book on the couch at two in the afternoon, is what makes life worth living. I imagine you're all pretty similar in that regard. It's what we're all looking for, after all -- to have gotten all the important stuff done so you can rest easy and simply be.

I've got enough work in my life to fill several, so when it comes to staying fit, healthy and strong, I'm not looking for a second job. I tried that for a couple decades as a marathoner and triathlete, and I was miserable (not to mention unhealthy and weak, but that's another article). I want the most bang for my buck. Yet when most people discuss fitness, they speak in terms of work. It's right there in the word: "workout." And since work is supposed to be hard and unpleasant, good workouts become long, dreary things, exercises in pain and suffering that you have to push through. No pain, no gain, right? It's all very Puritan. But is it true?

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