Don’t ask me to lift weights and expect me to enjoy it. And unless you can give me the lungs of a triathlete, you won’t find me on a treadmill.

For me, most exercise is a chore, albeit a valid one to tend, but after studying at university and falling into the routine of wake – work – eat – work – sleep, I am generally too busy ‘working in’ to bother ‘working out’.

But perhaps that’s more of an excuse than a reason. In truth, I find there is something so dull about taking myself away from my station, to go one-to-one with exercise machines made for people looking to complete their convenient, unaspiring fitness goals: half of which will never be fulfilled.

Of course, you can listen to podcasts in your ears, or drum yourself into the energy of gym music in which lyrics of sex, success and break-ups blare from the gym playlist as if from a pumped DJ high on testosterone.

But I still find it boring, and eye the gym clocks the moment I walk in.

Now, if you’re a gym person then I won’t hold it against you. In fact, I recognise gym is a core element of many people’s lives for mental, physical and social wellbeing, and I salute those for their determination to get out of bed and intentionally cause discomfort on their bodies in this controlled environment.

They will probably beat me at any arm wrestle, too.

But here is the thing: nothing beats swimming and rock climbing.

Why? Because if you stop swimming, you drown. And if you stop climbing a climbing wall… well, with the right safety equipment, you would be fine, but nobody wants to scare themselves by falling!

Maybe I have a slight obsession with the sensation of soaring. Floating in the water, you feel weightless. High on a wall, you feel boundless. Running on a treadmill, I feel like a hamster in its wheel, stuck in the same place and going nowhere.

Now, I am no adrenaline junkie but when it comes to climbing and swimming, I like the thrill.

Getting into a pool, the first thing I feel is the cold. It’s uncomfortable, but I respect it as the medium on which I will float. Kicking off the edge of the pool, it’s as though I am kicking away the burdens of the day – moving, swimming, breathing, holding my breath – I don’t have the time to look at my problems, except to acknowledge they don’t exist in the water.  

It’s difficult not to get caught in the symbolism of a physical challenge. Whether it is going to the gym, swimming, or climbing a wall, it is easy to think of the people that said you would never succeed, in life, studies and business, and then move through the pain as if with the resilience of someone saying, “watch me”.

Rock climbing feels like that. It’s scary, sure. But there is no better time to feel so big and yet so vulnerable as when you have climbed a wall and look down to see how far you have come. The adrenaline, mixed with the strain on your shoulders, arms and hands is an intoxicating mix. It is very difficult not to feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards.

That’s why I say these activities beat all.

There is no high horse for me to sit on, and I won’t pretend it. This is an opinion piece, after all. Yes, these activities seem to align more with the primal instincts around exercise, and for that reason could be seen as “exercise with a purpose”.

However, in the modern age, most of us don’t dangle from cliffs, chase after our food and commute across rivers. At least not in our daily routines. And with harnesses, running shoes and swimming pools, it’s not as if these activities bear any resemblance to cave-time activities.

Similarly, with gym, few of us have a real reason to run anywhere, or to strengthen our glutes, except for the corresponding health benefits, which are very important.

Let me be clear: I am not saying don’t go to gym. There are plenty of reasons why exercise is important, and I have already outlined a few. If gym is the best way to get it, then by all means: charge ahead!

But if you’re like me, a guilty party of unused gym subscriptions, I would make a recommendation: find the sport that feels like a treat to do, and then do it whenever and wherever you can.

There is a reason why so many gym goals never get fulfilled. Going to work out can be a difficult thing to commit to, especially for those with lots of business, home and personal responsibilities.

But it’s much easier to put aside those daily tasks if you know you’re going to have a fun time doing something else.

Rock climbing can be quite expensive, and as someone who cannot yet drive herself to the local swimming pool, I don’t go as much as I would like.

But if I had my own swimming pool or wall to climb at home, well let’s just say, I would probably be the one beating you at an arm wrestle.