Busting Boredom and Avoiding the Exercise Rut

By Andrea Scarberry

When you have a solid gym routine, it can sometimes be a challenge to keep yourself guessing. Many times it's easier to do what you know - hop on that elliptical, get in your 30 minutes and head home. As we all know, this formula doesn't work well over the long term for most people, because it's boring! We want variety, and even more important than that, an effective workout is one that keeps the body guessing. I've put together a few tips to help you to get the motivation back when your gym routine is starting to fall flat.

1. Keep it Fun: Really? Exercise can be FUN? Why yes, it's true! Exercise can be fun. Let me break this down simply for you: If you love cycling but loathe running, get your conditioning done on the bike. Take a spin class. Ride outdoors with your family. Avoid the treadmill like the plague. If you despise your workouts, you will quickly lose your motivation, so the enjoyment factor is really important. That's not to say that you can't benefit from exercises that you don't like - I actually once had a trainer tell me that, "If you don't like an exercise, it's probably one of the best ones for you." Now, this statement is conditional - if you don't like to do squats because of knee problems, then you're probably doing the right thing by avoiding them and finding other creative ways to challenge those muscles. On the other hand, if you're not a huge fan of burpees (who is?!) because they're hard - well, it wouldn't hurt to incorporate a few into your workout every once in a while. Bottom line here is this: don't waste too much time in the gym doing something that you just simply don't like, because you probably won't work as hard as you would if you were doing something you enjoyed.

2. V-A-R-I-E-T-Y: This is oh-so-important. If there's anything that you take away from this post today, it should be this word of advice. Keep your body (and muscles!) guessing. The human body is an amazing thing. We can adapt very quickly to new movement patterns, weight loads and cardiovascular outputs. If you are staying active, your muscles learn and become "comfortable" with certain movement patterns within just a few weeks. It's pretty easy to see whether or not your workout is keeping you guessing: are you sore a day or two later? Muscle soreness (within reason) can actually be a good thing, and is a telltale sign that you have successfully tested your body in a new way. We all get comfortable doing certain things, but I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. I come to the gym with something different planned for each and every workout that I do. Not only does this keep my body guessing and my workouts effective, but it also keeps me focused and motivated, because I'm always trying something new and my workouts never start to seem stale.

3. Find a Buddy: Aside from keeping a good amount of variety in my routine, the other thing that will ensure I work hard is exercising with a friend. I'm going to use my husband as an example here (shhh, don't tell him!) A couple months ago, he was really starting to fizzle out with his gym routine. It was always the same, and he was so bored with it that he really only got in a workout once, maybe twice a week. I encouraged him to coordinate his workouts with a friend that also has a membership to the JCC. Our friend comes to the gym later in the evening than my husband wanted to come, but he finally decided to give it a go, and I think he's really glad that he did. Now it's a normal part of his weekly routine, three, sometimes four days a week without question. He's excited about his workouts again, and finally feels like he is starting to break through his rut and get stronger. He doesn't like when he has to miss a day, because he feels like he has a commitment to our friend - which he does. Don't have any friends with a membership to the J? Hire a trainer! Not only will this ensure that you have a buddy to chat with throughout the duration of your workout, but it will also come with the promise that you will be challenged in new and exciting ways on a constant basis. Long before I became a trainer myself, I hired one to help get me back on track, and it was the best decision that I have ever made. Ask anyone you know that has hired a JCC trainer - you'll be working with the best of the best!

I hope you find this advice useful, and give each of these tips a try! And remember - a lot of times just getting to the gym at all is half the battle, and a mediocre workout is always better than no workout at all. When you are ready to step things up a notch and kick the boredom aside, you'll have a plan of action ready to go. Until next week, be well.