If you place exercising somewhere between getting a root canal and a tax audit, don't worry, you're not alone.

    Most women have a love/hate relationship with exercise. They love the idea of getting fit, but hate the idea of sweating in a gym by going nowhere fast on a treadmill. It doesn't have to be that way, says Todd Quartararo, spokesperson for Sports Club L.A. in Irvine.
 
    “Usually if someone doesn't like to exercise, they lack motivation,” says Quartararo. “The best way to get motivated is to either get a personal trainer or join a group class.”

        Personal trainers encourage and reinforce good habits while providing the motivation necessary to keep you working out to the best of your abilities. Group classes emphasize the fun aspect of fitness, a key element for women who hate to exercise. However, there are even easier ways to get a daily dose of exercise.  

    “I can think of plenty of activities you can do that burn calories, and you won't even realize you're exercising,” says personal trainer Carla Ralston of Corona del Mar. “For example, a 130-pound woman can burn 50 calories in half an hour by playing pool, or 120 calories by playing ping-pong.”

    Ping-pong and billiards are exercise?  “Yes indeed,” says Ralston. “Bowling is another good way to burn calories and have fun while you do it. A 130-pound woman can burn around 150 calories in an hour.”
    
Other creative ways for a 130-pound woman to burn calories include:

-    Housework: A half-hour of general housework (something most of us do every day) can burn around 120 calories. Even the simple act of ironing can burn 65 calories in half an hour.

-    Yard work: The act of raking leaves or grass can burn 100 calories in half an hour, while moderate gardening can increase that amount to 130 calories.

-    Outdoor games and sports: An average round of golf burns nearly 300 calories if you use an electric cart, more if you walk the course. Half an hour of batting a tennis ball back and forth can burn an average of 200 calories. Skipping rope can burn 370 calories in half an hour.

-    Other activities: Shopping for groceries can actually burn 100 calories in half an hour - but don't add the calories back on by filling your cart with cookies. Some women can burn 500 calories an hour shopping for shoes (just kidding…). Washing your car can burn 100 calories in half an hour and climbing stairs can burn 180 calories in the same amount of time (perfect exercise for tenants of OC's high-rise apartment buildings).
        
        Now get out there and start shopping your way to fitness!

    Christopher Trela is a regular contributor.