If you’ve been an athlete for years, chances are you’re hooked on the endorphins. Your crew probably spends Friday nights at the squat rack or with their run club instead of the bar, and if you skip a workout, you feel it in your head as much as your body. Safe to say, you’ve caught the fitness bug.
But for most people, the gateway drug wasn’t discipline; it was vanity. Most guys didn’t start working out to improve their VO₂ max; they wanted bigger arms, a better chest, or maybe just to impress a girl. And when exercise feels more like punishment than progress, it’s easy to burn out.
Peloton star Cody Rigsby, who recently partnered with Kashi, gets it. Even at peak fitness, he admits he’s dealt with insecurities. His philosophy is straightforward—fitness isn’t punishment, it’s self-love. The key is finding a way to move your body that feels fun, so the work doesn’t feel like work.
“When you reframe exercise to an act of self-love and also something that you get to do, it doesn’t necessarily feel like punishment,” he says. “But I always say that it’s like finding something that [allows you] to move your body that you enjoy, especially if you’re starting your routine.”
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Fitness doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. Sure, lifting heavy or grinding through a HYROX circuit might be trending, but exercise isn’t one-size-fits-all. If you try a workout and find yourself dreading the next class (or even avoiding the neighborhood where the studio is), ditch it and try something else. There’s no limit to how you can move your body.
“If you really like to dance, take a dance cardio class,” Rigsby says. “If you’re on the Peloton bike and you don’t necessarily know what instructor is great for you, maybe it’s finding a playlist that you vibe with so that there’s joy infused in the challenging part of the fitness journey, but it becomes something really fun. I always think it’s a great idea to incorporate this idea of playfulness into it.”
One of the best shifts in today’s fitness culture is how community has become part of the experience. Sure, lifters have been throwing “gym parties” since the golden era of bodybuilding, and running with friends has always been a thing, but the rise of group classes, run clubs, and even Peloton’s online community has made fitness more social than ever. According to Rigsby, that connection is one of the easiest ways to make exercise stick because you basically have built-in accountability buddies.
“So maybe you really like hiking, or maybe you want to find a community sports team to play with so it feels playful, you’re building community, and you’re moving your body,” he says. “That just makes movement part of the routine. And then I think once you find that and you want to challenge yourself, you can find different ways of working out, whether that’s lifting weights or running, rowing, or yoga.”
