Exercising can sometimes be, well... blah.

It’s true. Heading out for a good sweat session is just not always something we feel ("I don't wanna!") like doing. You know the situation: You get to the gym, you’re staring, looking, peering at the treadmill, and the last thing you want to do is step on, hit start and feel your legs move back and forth.

And don’t even get me started on the whole swinging my arms thing. That’s a whole other feat in itself.

But it doesn’t have to be that way; that is, exercise can actually be fun (Fun? What? Fun?) sometimes. Even on the days when it’s the last thing we feel like doing.

This was the situation I was confronted with the other day. It came after much contemplation of “Should I exercise today? Yes, yes I should. But do I have to? Do I really have to? Will it really make a difference in the chubby-to-butt ratio?”

It was a battle that raged on for much of the morning and the conclusion seemed nowhere near. It was at that moment my brother (I was visiting my parents for the weekend) asked me if I wanted to jump on the trampoline.

"Sure, I can do that," I thought. Anything to avoid this exercise drama.

I got on the trampoline and started jumping like a mad woman, and after a few minutes, I realized... I was breaking a sweat. I was even breathing a bit heavy. Huh?

That’s when it hit me: I had heard it before, that whole “exercise-can-be-fun” spiel. But I had very rarely (if ever) experienced it. I mean, sure, I had great runs where I felt an all-time runner’s high, or a fabulous Pilates session where I left feeling centered and strong.

But never had I really considered exercise as a laugh-out-loud kind of thing.

So, here I was laughing (and sweating) when I recognized this was a good thing. It was OK to giggle and squeeze in a solid workout (and time well spent with my little brother).

I continued jumping, toe touching and somersault-ing, and then sat down to think of other activities that are fun and sweat-inducing, like:

• A game of softball (or whiffle ball) with good friends and family

• Signing up for a team sport. Check around your local area for group activities for adults, like soccer, baseball and swim classes.

• Hopscotch with a group of your favorite kiddos.

• And, of course, jumping on a trampoline!

There are also several at-home workout DVDs that also mix a good time with a great workout, such as 10-Minute Solution Fat Blasting Dance Mix or Tae Bo: The Power Within—nothing like a few jabs and punches to get you feeling revved up!

I’m wondering: What fitness activity do you do for fun? Share your ideas below!

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Caroline Shannon has been a journalist for six years, working for several publications, including Ideal Bite, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, First30Days, Maniac magazine and The Glass Hammer. She is a certified Pilates instructor and takes a long, hard run just as seriously as she does several Hint ‘O Mint Newman-O’s. She can be reached at www.carolineshannon.com.