Bored at the gym...

Options
get_it_gone2012
get_it_gone2012 Posts: 214
in Fitness and Exercise
How do you stay motivated doing cardio at the gym? I read posts of people staying on machines like the elliptical for 45 min at a time... I can barely stay on for 15! And not because I'm tired, I get bored! My brain is like "okay, enough of this... I need to do something else!"
I want to be able to get a good cardio workout, but it rains a lot here and running in the rain is only fun once in a while, and the pool is only open so often...
Help!!!

1705046.png
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
«13

Replies

  • catniss
    catniss Posts: 326 Member
    Options
    Have you tried listening to audiobooks? Pick a really fun book and don't listen to it except for when you're on the elliptical (or treadmill or whatever)--you'll find the time goes fast and you can't wait until the next session. the only thing is to be sure to keep up your pace, 'cause I think people tend to slow down a bit.
    Good luck.
  • skinnyme125
    skinnyme125 Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    listen to music, or watch T.V. when working out. At one of the gyms here they have a T.V. over every other machine and they leave the remote close by so you can change it if nobody else is watching it. Just a thought.
  • Catzwitch
    Catzwitch Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    I love gyms that have TV's - they make time fly by for me. Either that, or I load tv shows or other vids on the ipod and set it where I can watch it on the machine. If my brain is busy paying attention to something else, I don't notice it nearly as much. :)
  • skinnyme125
    skinnyme125 Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    this seems like a great Idea. I may have to try this.
  • cris12
    cris12 Posts: 90
    Options
    are you going to gyms with televisions? I personally find it tough to concentrate on a television show while working out, so I just listen to my ipod and turn on heavy music that keeps me going.

    I usually do a combination of strength training and cardio after. Strength training for around 45mins (about 5 different exercises, mixed up, so it doesn't get dull), then run for around 15 minutes. If you combine different things you can always spice it up a bit.
  • sarahliftsUP
    sarahliftsUP Posts: 752 Member
    Options
    I need music when I'm at the gym. You need to get a playlist that gets you moving! Try to aim for 20 minutes on a machine, with the cooldown included and then work your way up to 25 minutes.
  • Maidei
    Maidei Posts: 114 Member
    Options
    I used to have the same problem but started listening to pod casts, working out with a friend or watching tv. Or you might want to start doing your cardio a different way. Like buy dance dvd's or taebo or something fun like that depending on what your interest is. Cause that why you will feel you having fun while burning the calories.
  • stricnine
    stricnine Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    So far you have been given some good advice. How often do you do cardi? That could also play a part in you becoming bored with the exercise. If you also do weight training, try switching cardio and weights so that some days you do cardio first then other days you do weights first. Or try using different cardio machines like the treadmill or the stairmaster. Not forgetting that stationary bikes are also cardio trainers.
  • cmrich0511
    cmrich0511 Posts: 31
    Options
    I generally don't stay on any particular machine longer than 25-30 minutes at a time. BUT, I get bored too lol. I bounce around between listening to my iPod, reading a book (on the bike, not treadmill or elliptical lol), or watching one of the TVs at the gym. Sometimes if I'm super bored, I'll text the time away haha. I have a friend who used to be kind of a countability partner, and she's the first person I think of when I'm killing some calories on the stationary bike :) I'll be glad when my new iPhone comes in, so I can watch TV/movies on it too!

    Idk what gym you belong to, but if its a good size, maybe suggest they add a "cardio cinema?" I'm a member at Gold's, and they have a cinema room that's dark with a large drop down projector type screen & they show movies and have the room filled with treadmills, elliptical machines, and bikes. I love it in there...
  • Ally_Clare
    Ally_Clare Posts: 355 Member
    Options
    If you are still going on the machines for 15 min that's still okay. Why not just go on a different machine every 15 min like treadmill, crosstrainer, rowing machine, bike etc. Orr join in on a class :)
  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
    Options
    Push yourself harder.
  • lisuhhx
    lisuhhx Posts: 14
    Options
    I have Netflix on my phone, so I watch episodes of "The Office." Doing 30 minutes on the elliptical goes by so quickly after watching something that is interesting. If you have the capabilities, you should try watching some TV episodes you enjoy! :)
  • jamezyjamez
    jamezyjamez Posts: 41
    Options
    I like interval training on a cardio machine as a way to mix things up...and it has accelerated my results as well!
  • dakotasky
    dakotasky Posts: 21
    Options
    I am on the treadnill for a hour or two six days a week . What helped me was my friend said you have to make the treadmill you B..... ! So the next day, I went to the gym with a "what's my name attitude" and downloaded lot of dance music on the ipod. Now I am known as the gilr that dances on the treadmill but that is ok and in a few months I will that hot girl that dances on the treadmill! :wink:
  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
    Options
    I'll be the first to tell you, I hate working out. Hate it with a passion. I do it because I have to and that's that. What gets me through? I first plan out my meals so I know what I have to do. Then, I decide if I'm going to do it all at once or break it up throughout the day. When I get going, my mind is set to make it to the end, come Hell or high water. When I feel like giving up, I make myself go another 5 min...then, another 5...another 5... Before you know it, your session is done and you'll feel better for having completed it.

    Good luck!!
  • digit78
    digit78 Posts: 177
    Options
    Im the same, get bored easy. Thats why i took up boxing as way to keep me doing cardio.
  • mmanderr18
    mmanderr18 Posts: 80 Member
    Options
    I rewarded myself with a Cosmo subscription with the catch being I can only read it when I'm at the gym!
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    Options
    Push yourself harder.

    What stellar, insightful advice. :/
  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
    Options
    Push yourself harder.

    What stellar, insightful advice. :/

    Your sarcasm isn't appreciated.

    It is impossible to be bored if you have a high level of intensity when exercising by always pushing your physical limit with every workout.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Options
    Push yourself harder.

    What stellar, insightful advice. :/

    Your sarcasm isn't appreciated.

    It is impossible to be bored if you have a high level of intensity when exercising by always pushing your physical limit with every workout.

    Sorry, I'm forced to agree that YeaILift's advice is sound. High intensity, especially when combined with an awesome playlist, makes boredom impossible.

    I see a lot of people just kinda chugging along on the machines, I'd be bored too if I did it like that. As it is, I'm busy trying to breathe and push my heart rate and speed to new heights. It's the difference between sitting in class versus learning something amazing; or having I can't fall asleep" or "I gotta get rid of this erection" sex and the mind-blowing kind. . One can be boring, the other simply cannot. :wink:

Categories