Exercise with a Bingo Twist

Looking for a new twist on fitness?  Check out these 3 creative ideas using a classic game: Bingo!

For quite some time now, folks have been taking the game of bingo and putting interesting spins on it that suit their individual tastes and/or interests. For fitness buffs, there are certainly variants of the game they can try out to incorporate the fun of bingo with the health benefits of their favorite activities.

Daubing to the Beat

People with the urge to “shake their groove thang” can opt to do so with dance bingo, of which there are three known variations. The first simply has people bust out a combination of moves which correspond to the dance steps printed on modified bingo cards. While the aim is to complete a line or pattern on the card, judging the overall winner using criteria like form, technique, creativity, and whatnot is definitely a welcome addition to the whole proceeding.

The second variation of dance bingo invites players to burn up the dance floor in between gaming sessions. It might seem simple in execution, but as Aussie radio station Joy 94.9’s Disco Bingo Fundraiser proved last year, it can be a hell of a lot of fun.

Finally, the third variation has players both dancing and playing bingo at the same time. Given bingo’s requirement for mental alertness, this third one is arguably a great total mind-and-body workout.

Keep That Heart Rate Up

Another great exercise activity infused with bingo is martial arts training. To play it, you first come up with four or five main attack groups. For instance, if you’re an MMA practitioner, you might want to go with highs, lows, takedowns, and submissions. Under each group, assign four to five moves each, and numerically label them accordingly. You then proceed to the actual “bingo” part of the game by drawing numbers, and then stringing together whatever mix-and-match combo you end up with. Aside from providing fun practice sessions, it’s also great for getting you more used to switching up your usual move sets every now and then.

The Name of the Game

Bingo is all about giving players a fun time. A quick viewing of BingoGodz‘ commercial featuring an Avengers-like lineup of deities and an electric guitar-playing rock golem will prove as much.

Lending this aspect of the game to other activities is done in the hopes of making things more enjoyable for participants. Working out and getting physical is great and all, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that many people might get bored of the usual routines in the long run before abandoning their exercise regiments altogether. With bingo bringing fun into the mix, hopefully they may just push through a little longer.

Hey - if it gets people moving & having fun - I’m in!!