TL;DR: You don’t have to love the gym to get fit. Kraken’s coaches in Burnaby, BC help non-gym people find ways to actually enjoy exercise — by adding variety, gamifying progress, tracking wins, removing barriers, and staying flexible. The goal isn’t a perfect routine. It’s one you’ll actually keep doing.
Watch: How to Enjoy Working Out
In this episode of the Kraken Power Podcast, Josko and Brandon break down five practical strategies for making exercise something you actually look forward to — even if you’ve never enjoyed a workout in your life.
Why Most People Don’t Enjoy Exercise
The barrier isn’t laziness. It’s that most people have made working out way harder than it needs to be.
Kraken Fitness is a private coaching gym in North Burnaby, near Brentwood — and the people who walk through the door aren’t fitness enthusiasts. They’re everyday people who know they should be exercising but just can’t get themselves to do it consistently. As Brandon puts it during sales consultations, people will sit down and explain that they understand working out is good for them, they know changing their diet matters, but they’ve never really enjoyed it.
That’s the real problem. Not knowledge. Not access. Enjoyment.
The fitness industry makes it worse. Rigid training splits, complicated programs, intimidating gyms packed at 5 PM — all of it creates friction between a person and the simple act of moving their body. And when something isn’t enjoyable, consistency becomes a willpower exercise. That never lasts.
Here’s what Kraken’s coaches know from working with hundreds of non-gym people in Burnaby: if you enjoy your workouts, you’ll keep showing up. And if you keep showing up, the results take care of themselves. It really is that straightforward.
The rest of this post covers five ways to make that happen.
Add Variety to Your Workouts
Working out doesn’t mean you have to be in a gym five days a week doing the same exercises. That’s the fastest way to get bored and quit.
Kraken’s approach is practical. Come in for coached sessions two or three times a week for your strength training, then fill the gaps with whatever movement you actually enjoy. Go for walks. Play soccer. Swim. Do jiu-jitsu. The combination is what keeps things interesting.
Ross, one of Kraken’s trainers and a competitive bodybuilder, is a perfect example. He crushes heavy leg sessions at the gym — then goes to hot yoga. He also plays hockey. A guy who competes in bodybuilding still mixes it up because even he knows that doing the same thing every single day gets stale.
Kraken’s clients do the same thing. Some come in for weight training and do jiu-jitsu on the side. Others play hockey or soccer on their off days. The weight training might only be once or twice a week, and the other days are filled with activities they genuinely look forward to.
Brandon frames it well: training should spice your life up, not be something you dread. He’s always looked at strength training as a tool to get better at other things — soccer, daily life, whatever matters to that person. When you see the gym as a way to enhance the stuff you already care about, it stops feeling like a chore.
The key is that you don’t have to love every type of exercise. You just need enough variety that you’re never stuck doing only the thing you like least.
Gamify the Experience
Think about why people get sucked into video games for hours. It’s the progress. Leveling up, unlocking achievements, watching stats go up. You can do the exact same thing with fitness.
Can you jump a little higher this month? Lift a little more? Run a little faster? Maybe right now when you bend over you can only reach your knees — but if you keep at it, eventually you’ll touch your toes. Those small wins stack up and make the whole experience fun instead of something you’re just grinding through.
Brandon uses this with his clients all the time. One client came in for weight loss, so Brandon had him doing intervals on the rowing machine. Instead of just saying “row for 10 minutes,” he got the client tracking his wattage output and stroke count each round. The goal became beating his own numbers — more power, fewer strokes, better efficiency. Now that client actually prefers the rower over running, biking, or the assault bike. He gamified it.
Josko sees it with kettlebell training too. There’s a real skill component to kettlebells. You spend weeks getting the swing smooth, then you nail the clean to your shoulder, then you start working on the press. Each new movement you unlock feels like leveling up. It’s the same dopamine hit as getting that gold achievement on Xbox — except it’s happening in your actual life.
Track your workouts in an app or a simple notebook. Try to beat your previous numbers. Watch yourself improve over weeks and months. That progress is addictive in the best way.
Track Your Progress So You Can See It
This one is related to gamifying, but it’s different. Tracking isn’t just about beating numbers — it’s about being able to look back and see how far you’ve come. Without that, you’re shooting in the dark.
Josko uses his language learning as an example. His teacher makes him record himself speaking, and whenever he feels stuck, he goes back and watches old videos. The improvement is obvious in hindsight — but in the moment, day to day, it feels like nothing is changing.
Fitness works the same way. Kraken’s coaches see it with weight tracking all the time. A client steps on the scale every day and sees the same number for a week. Discouraging. But then they look back three weeks and they’re five pounds lighter. The daily view hides the trend.
Brandon puts it in practical terms: if you did 205 pounds on your squat last week and it felt like a 7 out of 10 effort, then you hit that same 205 this week and it felt like a 5 out of 10 — that’s real progress. The weight didn’t change, but you got stronger. You’d never know that without tracking.
Write things down. Use a notebook, a spreadsheet, a fitness app — whatever you’ll actually stick with. The format doesn’t matter. What matters is having a record you can review when things feel stagnant. Because they’re probably not. You just can’t see it without the data.
Make Your Workouts Convenient
If getting to the gym feels like a whole production, you’re going to skip it. That’s just how people work.
Josko is honest about his own advantage here. He owns a gym. He doesn’t have to change clothes, pack a bag, or drive anywhere. He can walk downstairs and start training. Most people don’t have that luxury. They have to get dressed, drive 20 or 30 minutes, find parking, and then start a workout. The session might be 45 minutes, but the total time commitment is closer to two hours once you factor in travel and getting ready.
That’s a real barrier. And it’s not just physical. The mental barriers matter just as much. Brandon talks about mental space — finding a time slot where you don’t have to worry about picking up kids, making dinner, or handling work emergencies. The best time to work out isn’t the “optimal” time according to some fitness article. It’s the time where your head is clear enough to actually be present.
A lot of Kraken’s clients have full home gyms but still come to the private facility in North Burnaby. Why? Because at home they end up on their phone between sets, workouts take twice as long, and they don’t see results. The convenience of having someone else design the workout and keep you focused for 45 minutes is worth the drive.
For people at regular gyms, the 5-to-7 PM rush is a huge barrier. Waiting in line for a lat pulldown machine kills motivation fast. Josko’s suggestion: work out on Saturday mornings (gyms are empty before 11 AM) and squeeze in a midweek session before work. Two workouts a week at times that actually work for your schedule beats five planned sessions you keep skipping.
Remove the barriers. Running shoes by the door. Clean workout clothes ready to go. A gym close to your house or office. A time slot that fits your life, not someone else’s idea of the best training window. The easier you make it, the more likely you’ll do it.
Keep Your Workouts Flexible
Rigid programs kill motivation. If your plan says “legs on Monday” and you wake up Monday dreading every second of it, you have two choices: force yourself through a miserable workout, or skip it and feel guilty. Neither one helps you enjoy exercise.
Kraken’s coaches take a different approach. If you don’t feel like hitting legs today, don’t hit legs. If you’d rather do split squats instead of back squats, do that. If you don’t feel like loading up heavy on bench press and want to use dumbbells instead, go for it. If you don’t feel like working out at all but you could go for a walk — just go for a walk.
Brandon challenges one of the biggest myths the fitness industry pushes on beginners: that you have to train like a bodybuilder. The idea that you need a chest day, a back day, a leg day with specific set and rep schemes — that’s designed for competitive bodybuilders. If your goal is to look a little better, feel a little healthier, and be able to play with your kids without getting winded, you absolutely do not need to train that way.
Even within strength training, there’s room for flexibility. Train heavy some days. Train light others. Move fast on certain exercises, slow on others. The program should match your goals, not someone else’s competition prep.
For 90-plus percent of people, the goal is straightforward: look a bit better, feel healthier, do things they couldn’t do before. That doesn’t require benching 225 or hitting a specific body part three times per week. It requires showing up consistently. And the more flexible you make the routine, the more consistently you’ll show up.
One caveat from the podcast: flexibility doesn’t mean avoiding hard things forever. If you “don’t feel like legs” for three months straight, that’s avoidance, not flexibility. But on any given day, giving yourself permission to adjust based on how you feel makes the long-term commitment sustainable.
FAQ
Do I have to go to a gym to get fit?
No. Gym training is one piece of a bigger picture. Kraken’s coaches recommend two or three coached sessions per week combined with activities you enjoy — walking, sports, yoga, swimming. The variety is what keeps you consistent long-term. The gym handles strength; you handle everything else.
How do I stay motivated when I’m not seeing results?
Track your progress. Kraken’s trainers see this constantly — clients feel stuck because they’re only looking at day-to-day numbers. When they review data from three or four weeks back, the improvement is obvious. A workout log, body measurements, or even recording yourself moving shows progress your memory won’t.
What if I get bored with my workout routine?
Change it. Flexibility is built into Kraken’s coaching philosophy. Swap exercises, try a new sport on your off days, gamify a movement you’ve been avoiding. Boredom usually means the program is too rigid, not that fitness isn’t for you.
Is it okay to just go for a walk instead of working out?
Absolutely. A walk is exercise. If you woke up tired and can’t face a full workout, going for a walk keeps the habit alive. Kraken’s coaches would rather you walk for 20 minutes than skip the day entirely and feel guilty about it. Movement is movement.
How often should I work out if I’m just starting?
Two to three times per week is plenty. Kraken’s coaching programs start most clients at twice a week with 45-minute sessions, then build from there based on how someone responds. Start with what you can stick to, not what sounds impressive.
Ready to Start?
If you’ve been putting off exercise because you’ve never found a way to enjoy it, Kraken’s coaches in Burnaby can help. The gym is built for people who don’t feel like gym people — private facility, individualized coaching, 45-minute sessions, and a free trial week to see if it fits. No pressure, no commitment.
Listen and Watch
Catch the full conversation on the Kraken Power Podcast — available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major podcast platforms.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/zLrvOAu5tR8
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VYtBQXGNtCo3t3n9xTU4d?si=YTi87O_ERSiYiLpf2D3HpA
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/how-to-enjoy-working-out-ep-4/id1769000945?i=1000673330402
About the Author
Josko Kraken is the founder of Kraken Fitness in North Burnaby near Brentwood, and Brandon is co-owner. Together they host the Kraken Power Podcast. With a combined two decades of coaching experience, they’ve built Kraken into a coached transformation gym for non-gym people across the Greater Vancouver area. Their coaching philosophy centers on behavior change, removing barriers, and building systems that make fitness something people actually stick with.
[Josko]
All right, welcome back to the Kraken power podcast. We’re your hosts Yoshko and Brandon and in this episode We’re gonna be talking about how to actually enjoy working out.
[Brandon]
So stick around and roll the intro Welcome back to the Kraken power podcast So if you ever been to Kraken the motto for our gym is the gym for everyday people who are not gym people and this resonates with a lot of people when they first come in because they Will come into a sales consultation. I’m sitting down with him and I’m trying to go Okay, like why do you want to do this in the first place and a lot of people will explain to me Like they know that working out is good for them. They know changing diet is awesome They need to make these changes But they just can’t get themselves into the gym because they don’t quite enjoy it and they’ve never really Resonated with someone who’s really enjoyed working out So this episode here we’re gonna go over a whole bunch of different kinds of reasons on how to make your workouts fun and enjoyable because if You’re enjoying your workouts If you’re enjoying coming to the gym You’re going to inevitably get results because you’re going to be doing this for a much longer time rather than a shorter time Yeah, for sure and
[Josko]
Yeah, I was actually So funny that you brought this up, but I was on chat GBT going like how do I make our slogan shorter? Mmm, so the gym for people for non gym people.
Okay, that’s pretty good, right?
[Brandon]
I guess yeah, I guess It’s like the gym for people who aren’t gym people. I know I like it’s kind of like a tongue twister Yeah Say it five times fast.
[Josko]
Yeah, but I totally agree with that It’s like the the the barrier for a lot of people is The fact that they don’t really like working out and it doesn’t just stop at working out at the gym like they don’t like any kind of movement at all and It’s it’s funny because they’ll they’ll exercise they’ll move their body and be like, oh, I feel so good But then it’s so hard to bring yourself to do it. So It’s usually because just like most things in life. You made it really hard for yourself Like you didn’t you know, it has to it has to be a fun experience.
So We’re gonna be talking about number one here, which is adding variety to your workout So we’re not, you know, we’re a gym. We want you coming to the gym by the way cracking training comm sign up but We understand that that’s not how most people are gonna enjoy exercise So, you know when you come to the you can you can come to the gym Do your two times a week or something like that and then outside of that you can go for walks You can go for runs. You can go swimming.
There’s so many things that you can do to that aren’t related to the gym and a nice balance of both is obviously ideal because then you can get a little bit of strength training in and you can get a You can get your cardio doing like playing soccer or something like that But adding that variety is gonna be so huge to help you actually enjoy it
[Brandon]
Yeah, I think a great example of this is one of our trainers Ross He’s actually a competitive bodybuilder, but he loves going to yoga Like that’s his mix-up day is he’ll crush his legs and then he’ll just go and do like hot yoga right after well
[Josko]
He also plays hockey too. Totally. So and we all we have tons of clients who do both they come in here They do weight training.
They do jiu-jitsu. They also play soccer. They play maybe play the hockey so they found a way like to actually have some variety and enjoy it and Maybe maybe you don’t like the the weight training aspect of it, but it’s not like you have to do it five days a week It’s only like once or twice maybe and you have the other days where you’re just filling in the gaps.
So and then Another thing that I just want to mention because I don’t think this is I guess it will talk about it after But do you have anything to chime in on the variety?
[Brandon]
I think that like training should be something that kind of spices your life up rather than like associate it with something that’s gonna be like always hard and I’ve always looked at training as a way to enhance my ability in other sports or enhance my ability in life So it hasn’t been something that I’ve associated with like I have to do it a certain way, right? It was always a tool to get myself better at soccer. For instance.
It was a tool to get myself better in life and just me being able to mix up different training modalities like doing cardio certain days or Going for a really heavy strength training day Has really allowed me to do this for a long term rather than just setting myself to something that I’ve condemned to come in for Yeah, for sure.
[Josko]
So the next thing is gamifying it and so this is just you know Getting that 1% better at something or maybe starting a complete new different exercise and getting better at that exercise like you have to find a way to Gamify your experience like people get sucked into video games for Days, you know just increasing your stats. Yeah, and you can do that with your life. Can you jump higher?
Can you lift more? Can you run faster? You know, there’s all of these ways that you can improve yourself Can you maybe right now when you bend over you can reach to your knees and you know, maybe that’s your start But if you keep doing it consistently, maybe eventually you’ll be able to touch your toes So that’s how you gamify the experience and those little tiny wins over time just make it so much more fun Totally.
[Brandon]
I have one client that I’ve been working with for about like three or four months now and he came to me originally for Weight loss. So one of the things I always had him do was hit the rowing machine because it’s a really quick High heart rate activity that we can just get him doing and what I got him doing was actually looking at his stats on The rower so we kind of gamify it would be like, okay this round you want to get This much amount of wattage and under this amount of strokes, right? So he would really try to improve his efficiency how much power you can put into it and now he really enjoys Well, I don’t know if you really enjoy yeah, but over other over other conditioning things He’d very much rather do the rowing machine rather than Run outside or go for a swim or do the salt bike because he’s totally gamified it.
[Josko]
Yeah, totally. Yeah, so You know, we have tons of I have a client that I’m sitting in particular who likes skipping and you know, how many skips can you do in 10 minutes or Trying to even improve something like let’s say for example, oh actually, you know what? I’m just gonna completely change the subject here.
But like the kettlebells, right? so kettlebells are such an excellent way because you know, maybe you just Couldn’t get like the movement Perfectly smooth, you know, it’s like a skill aspect There there’s a skill aspect to it and then you you one day you like nail it and you’re like, okay good And now you can move on to the next thing now you like you got it up to your shoulder and then now it’s like I’m gonna work on pressing it now and then you have to work your way back down and wait and then Try to get back up to be able to press more So that’s that’s essentially the way that you gamify the experience and it makes it so much more entertaining It’s got to prove your stats. Yeah, exactly level up and you can there’s apps that you can track your workouts in You could just track it in a simple Notepad as well and just try to be your previous course. I mean, that’s why a lot of these apps have those like achievements Yeah.
Yeah, exactly just to suck you in cuz like you can see the next achievement.
[Brandon]
You’re like, oh, I want like the gold one Yeah, wasn’t that a big thing for Xbox live where they had like achievements and people just play the games just unlock the achievement Yeah, just do that in life.
[Josko]
Yeah, you just do that in life Yeah, which uh, so we were just talking about tracking into notebooks and stuff which kind of moves on to the next point which is tracking your progress and So tracking your progress. It’s not it’s not quite the same as gamifying it It does help you gamify it but tracking your progress is just seeing like where you were in the past That makes a huge difference. So Yeah So, you know, so my language teacher so that She makes me record myself speaking and then whenever you feel stuck you can refer back to you Like your previous videos and being like, okay I am 100% getting better because you don’t realize it right and that You know when we track progress and clients charts oftentimes like we talked about in previous podcasts is You’ll see somebody who stays the same weight the entire week But the thing is though you look back like three weeks later and they’re like five pounds lighter, you know But they’re just looking at the numbers day to day so that’s why it’s really important to track your progress just to see how far you’re coming and yeah, so Really highly recommend that whether you’re tracking in a spreadsheet or a notepad or anything like that
[Brandon]
Yeah, because if you’re not kind of tracking to an extent or for any kind of period you’re kind of shooting in the dark Right, you don’t know like if you’re getting better or you’re getting worse or you’re staying stagnant Just tracking for a certain amount of time Even if it’s just writing things down in a notebook for like a squat, right? it’s like last week I had 205 on my squat, but I felt like that was like a 7 out of 10 RPE right but the next week you hit that 2 out of 5 205 again, but you hit it at much much less like RPE Which would mean like you basically didn’t even have to try as much.
[Josko]
Oh, you know, what is really cool That’s um, I’ve seen some powerlifters use It’s like these this thing that you attach to the bar and then you can see how fast the bar is moving Ah, maybe you know cuz powerlifters they get they’re just trying to gain like extra five pounds on their squat in a whole year or something like that and they can track Improvements like bar speed by how much the how fast the bar is moving instead of just looking at a video and being like I think That looks faster. They can look at it objectively just see the numbers.
It’s like yeah that bars moving fast now That’s a game for so yeah That’s that’s a gamifying it and at the same time tracking your progress to be able to review it and say like, okay I am getting better but The next thing and really important as well is making your workouts convenient So huge because if you’re not your workouts like, you know Your your gym is 30 minutes away and then you have to walk there, you know Like all of that stuff then you’re just not gonna do it So you have to make sure that your workouts are really easy to do and that’s what that’s why I never Compare myself to any of my clients because I own a gym. The gym is literally right there I can I can I don’t even have to bring my shorts I can just wear what I’m wearing right now because this is what I train clients in and I could go work out But for a client, you know, you have to go You have to put on your shoes. You have to walk out of your house like it does we say the workouts are only 45 minutes, but the reality is like there is travel time and Timing as well and you know, your kids are screaming and there’s stuff going on and it’s like I have to go to the gym Right now, you know so making it as convenient as possible is
[Brandon]
So important and I think the best way to describe convenience in the sense that we’re talking about it Being able to remove barriers whether that’s actually having the equipment yourself or having a gym that’s close in proximity or maybe even being In a certain time slot that’s going to be allow you to be in the most mental space best mental space for working out Right, so like blocking off certain times where it’s like it is the best time for you because like I don’t have to pick up My kids don’t have to worry about anything else That’s the best time for me to be in the right mental space for me to train We have a lot of clients who come in and they have a full like gym set up at home but the most convenient thing for them is to come in have someone design a whole workout for them and Just be the most efficient person they can within that 45 minute time span.
[Josko]
Mm-hmm. Yeah, totally yeah, because if you’re if you have a gym at home and You’re spending it on your phone the entire time then Yeah it’s not going to be efficient and then also because you’re not gonna be seeing results with it and you’re not gonna be You’re gonna be feeling like really bored. That is another barrier, right?
The mental headspace is the barrier and yeah, exactly or the accountability is the barrier. Yeah, totally and So a lot of people they’ll say like something like oh, yeah, I can’t go to the gym like 5 to 7 p.m It’s like so packed inside the gym Everybody’s coming in from after work or something like that. By the way, our gym is not like that Our gym is always nice and empty.
You never have to wait for any equipment because it is a private gym. So sign up but So but the thing is though that is that is a barrier for people, you know going to the gym There’s like a lineup to use like the lap machine or something. And so What you want to do is work out on the weekend Saturday morning because there’s no one there, you know You can do one workout on Wednesday before work, you know Where you have to wake up a little bit earlier maybe and then you can work out on Saturday morning before you start your day you know, you don’t even have to wake up any earlier because the gym doesn’t start getting busy until like 11 on Saturdays and Then so now you can avoid that rush and you can make it a lot easier for yourself to work out but you have to Yeah, you just have to look at like what’s the barrier and then just remove the barrier, you know Whether that’s physical or actually mental.
Yeah, exactly But yeah, let’s say if you wanted to run every single day like your shoes should be at the door. You should have clean Running gear ready to go at all times, you know, that was like another thing for jiu-jitsu when people started doing jiu-jitsu It’s like oh, yeah I didn’t go to jiu-jitsu today because I don’t have any clean geese buy another gee and that’s how you end up with like six or seven geese like some of the other guys cuz like They only you know, you just don’t want to wash you’re the same gee over and over again every single day I have a gee problem. Yeah, so Yeah, just removing those barriers makes it so much easier But and so the very last one is making your workouts flexible so this is just like, you know, if if you feel like you like your workouts are just gonna be Squats on Monday and then Tuesday is bench press and then Thursday and it’s so rigid and it’s the exact same every single time There’s only so long you can do that for it is pretty boring But if you make it fun where it’s like, what do I feel like doing today?
and as I know it’s a lot of a lot of people that are saying like oh Yeah, like you’re not gonna see results because you have to hit your chest or your whatever twice per week three times per week You have to leave like 72 hours in 20 sets
[Brandon]
Yeah, exactly
[Josko]
But if I don’t if I don’t feel like hitting my legs I’m not gonna hit my legs You know, I have to be in the right headspace in the right mood To hit my legs properly. So and if I feel like I want to spend the entire workout Doing split squat variations as opposed to doing squats I’m just gonna do that, you know, if I feel like oh I just don’t want to load up so much weight on the bench press. I’m just I’d rather just do dumbbells today I’m just gonna do that You know if I don’t feel like working out at all and I feel like I’m just gonna go for a walk I’m just gonna do that because you have to make it flexible if it’s super rigid and it’s gonna make it harder for you to Do it because you know Let’s say today.
I woke up kind of tired and typically I work out on this day But I just I’m like dreading the idea of having to go and like warm up and like start doing some sort of workout But I can go for a walk. I feel like I can go for a walk that I’m just gonna go for a walk
[Brandon]
It’s not that big of a deal, you know I think one of the false notions in the fitness industry now, especially from an outsider view is When you’re doing any kind of strength training you absolutely have to train like a bodybuilder Right where the split is You’re gonna do legs on one day and then you’re gonna hammer like your posterior chain on another day And you’re gonna do arms X amount of the days, but it’s not like that Like especially if your goal isn’t to be a bodybuilder. You don’t have to train like a bodybuilder Yeah, and that can go for the same way Even if you are still doing strength training, right if you’re an athlete, you don’t have to train like a bodybuilder You can train some things fast you can train some things light you can train something’s heavy if you want to But giving yourself the flexibility, especially if your goals if it matches your goals, sorry That’s what’s gonna benefit you more in the long run. Anyways.
[Josko]
Yeah, totally exactly and like for most people 90 plus percent of people what they’re trying to do in the gym is look a little bit better Feel feel a little bit healthier Be able to do stuff that maybe potentially they couldn’t do in the past You know play with their kids like the basic stuff, right? Which you don’t have to rep out like 225 on the bench press for you know Yeah so Is there anything else that you want to throw in for that? I would just say The flexibility.
[Brandon]
Yes, but you know, you should use like like sometimes Yeah, you know those guys are like, yeah, I don’t feel like doing legs three months later.
[Josko]
Yeah Yeah, yeah legs, you know, yeah totally But yeah, I think that’s pretty much it for this episode. Thanks for tuning in guys, and we’ll see you in the next one Yeah