Remember when you were a kid and you couldn’t wait until it was time for recess? You’d participate in soccer, kickball, hopscotch, and play on the swings until your teachers forced you back inside the classroom. Movement didn’t feel like a chore—it felt like freedom, and most importantly, it felt fun. That’s the shift fitness is taking, and honestly, it’s probably for the better.
The days of forcing yourself to do grueling, high-intensity workouts that you actually hate are over. Research shows that the secret to a consistent workout routine has always been to genuinely enjoy it, and this year, we’re injecting more play into movement.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that exercise is something you power through. Hard work is required and fun is optional. But that mindset doesn’t exactly set you up for success—especially when life is already stressful. That’s part of why playful movement is having such a moment. Unconventional ways to exercise are growing in popularity like aerial yoga, indoor climbing, pickleball, pole dancing, puppy yoga, and trampoline workouts. They’re the kind of activities you don’t have to psych yourself up for.
There are real benefits to tapping into that kid-like energy we once had. “Playful exercise helps people reconnect with movement in a way that feels fun and low-pressure—especially for adults who may have fallen into very rigid workout routines,” Alissa Mosca, CPT and regional operations manager at Planet Fitness.
And for anyone looking to have a more balanced weekly workout routine, sprinkling in something new keeps things fresh. “From a physical standpoint, playful movement still elevates heart rate and challenges coordination and strength, but mentally it feels less intimidating and more energizing.” Mosca says. “I often suggest adding one or two days of playful training into a weekly routine to keep things balanced.”
Mosca, who helps operate one of the largest gym chains in the country, says she’s noticed gym-goers gravitating toward natural movement patterns like hanging or traversing the monkey bars, doing balance drills, or revisiting simple movements like jumping jacks or bear crawls.
“These styles fit naturally with playful fitness because they involve dynamic, full-body movements that many people recognize from earlier in life—things like squats, pushups, jumping, or hanging,” Mosca says.
And just because something feels fun doesn’t mean it’s not effective. Just ask Kirsten Potenza, founder of POUND—a cardio drumming workout program that aims to bring out your inner rockstar. Potenza created POUND in 2011, as an innovative workout to blend self-expression, play, and rhythm into the group fitness experience.
It’s a full-body workout that combines cardio, conditioning, and strength training while holding a pair of weighted drumsticks. Participants move and groove to the rhythm of music performing “drum solos.”
“That playfulness reconnects people to their bodies,” Potenza tells SELF. “Many people, especially women, feel disconnected from movement and sometimes intimidated. In a POUND class we remove the mirrors, the perfection, the pressure, and we encourage self-expression to help people rebuild joyful relationships with their bodies.”
One of the most underrated benefits of playful movement? What it does for your mood. Activities that feel like play tend to pull you into the present moment rather than letting your mind wander. That kind of mental absorption is linked to reduced stress and anxiety—and it’s a big reason people leave these workouts feeling energized instead of depleted.
“Repeating the same movements every session can lead to boredom and plateaus,” Mosca says. “Mixing in playful elements—like bodyweight challenges, balance work, or new movement patterns—keeps both the body and mind engaged and supports long-term consistency.”
Of course there’s also the social factor. Adult recreational sports and group-based activities build connections into the workout itself. And an estimated 20% of adults are participating in team sports, according to an industry report. Social connection is strongly associated with better mental health, lower stress levels, and—you guessed it—sticking with the routine.
“When you put a group of people together, and they are actually playing together through movement…it connects them in a way,” Potenza says. “By creating an environment like that, really beautiful communities and friendships are created beyond the gym.”
This shift toward play isn’t about rejecting strength training or high-intensity workouts altogether. It’s about expanding the definition of what fitness can look like. For some people, lifting heavy will always be fun. For others, joy comes from movement that feels expressive, creative, or communal, like drumming to the beat of music or scaling up a wall.
In a culture that’s become chronically burned out, playful fitness offers a different entry point that prioritizes curiosity over discipline and intensity. So if the movements you loved as a kid—climbing, jumping, drumming, chasing, dancing—are calling you back, it might be worth listening. Because moving your body shouldn’t feel like a punishment. It’s okay if it feels like recess instead.
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Originally Appeared on Self