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Sometimes there is a lull in your fitness journey; workouts that you used to do are no longer fun or rewarding. Adding fight moves from your favorite character, superhero weapons, or even matching your outfit to your favorite character can make your workouts challenging and fun. Listening to the same music and watching the same videos while running on the treadmill can get boring and repetitive, but adding fandom-related things into your fitness journey can drastically improve your love for working out again.
I have noticed when I work out that I picture myself in whatever fandom I am feeling for the day, and it has made fitness a lot more fun! By wearing clothing that reminds you of your favorite characters, and watching movies, fan-made videos, and even some TikTok accounts, working out with a particular fandom theme can help you get motivated to exercise by making it fun!
Dress Like Your Favorite Character
It doesn’t matter what your fandom is; whether you want to dress in subtle fandom references or full-on cosplay, clothing does help put you in a specific mindset for your fitness goals. Etsy has become my favorite place to find cool fandom workout attire. From subtle “Jurassic Park” workout shirts to full Marvel cosplay leggings, you can find what would keep you motivated in the gym. Even finding clothes that remind you of your favorite character can encourage you to continue your workout habits like dressing in all black to complete Black Widow training in the Red Room or braiding your hair like your favorite Viking warrior.
Motivating Movies
As mentioned earlier, workouts can feel long and boring if all you are doing is listening to music and running on a treadmill or using an elliptical. One thing you can do is start buying DVDs that offer a digital copy as well and download a few movies for your workout. If you are doing a sixty-minute workout, that’s half a movie! It sounds way less time-consuming than twenty songs which can feel like an overwhelming time commitment. I’ve even started using movies to occupy my eight-hour shifts for work, listening to three or four movies throughout the day instead of an absurd amount of music.
Fan Made Music Videos
My favorite thing to do when I am able to see my screen while training is watching fan-made music videos for my favorite characters. There’s nothing better than trying to up your speed on the treadmill while watching Natasha Romanoff beating up bad guys to “Purple Lamborghini” by Skrillex and Rick Ross. If your character has any type of fan base, there is probably a Youtube video set to a song for you to watch. There are even Youtube videos for your favorite OTP (One True Pairing) couple from your favorite stories.
Having all of these new female superheroes and badass women to watch video compilations of is extremely motivating. Even if you can’t fight, it’s cool to imagine yourself in that situation to keep pushing yourself to lift harder and go faster, you know, just in case. One of the cool things about these video compilations on Youtube is that people will replace the music from certain scenes and place music they see more fit for the situation. A great example of this is the finale fight scene in Avengers: Endgame (Anthony and Joe Russo; 2019), Spekros (Youtuber) replaced the battle music provided with “Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix/ Annie Mac 2010 Version)” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
TikTok Fitness
Ever wanted to imagine yourself training at the Red Room with Natasha Romanoff? Or working on your fitness with Tris and Four from the Divergent series? TikTok has made this dream possible with people coming up with “#nerdgym” workouts using your favorite fandom to create a workout for you, just like you are in that universe. On TikTok, you can find barbarian-style workouts, at-home fantasy workouts, and star wars themed workouts. These all use basic workout moves that add small elements to the workout to make it more enjoyable for the inner nerd in all of us.
We’ve all seen the Youtube videos of people working out like Superhero actors/actresses and the ridiculous routines they have to go through. Having simple instructions and at-home workouts to make you feel like you are within that universe can help make that positive change instead of giving you unrealistic workouts goals.
Also, thankfully Kumail Nanjiani opened up about his fitness training for The Eternals, talking about how people worked with him to create these workouts, monitor his nutrition, and go to the gym before filming as if it is his job. He made it clear for people that this type of body is not obtainable nor sustainable for the average person who has a 9-5 job. Knowing this, having people show you familiar workout routines but with a nerdy twist is a great way to start out your new fitness path.
Finding Your Fitness Motivation
Working out to the same music every day, on the same equipment, and the same motions can become boring and lead you to skip the workout more often than not. However, adding some of the variations above can ignite that love for working out for the first or fiftieth time.
In addition, these suggestions can keep the motivation to continue working out, just in case you get picked for The Hunger Games. While many people think of fandoms as sitting in front of the TV watching your favorite characters over and over again, there’s plenty of ways to stay active with your favorite fandom, bringing you closer to the characters and storyline.
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Cool article! I didn’t know this stuff existed!