Exercise is BOOORRING!!! What to do?

yusaku02 wrote: »

You really hate running, swimming, hiking, basketball, football, tennis, badminton, baseball, soccer, volleyball, laser tag, frisbee, canoeing, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, roller blading, skateboarding, biking, handball, martial arts, hockey, gymnastics, tag, climbing, dancing, golfing, ice skating, lacrosse and a thousand other things I'm missing?

Maybe you're the boring one?

I love your profile pic. I hate it when people say to me "you should eat a piece of cake, after all you deserve it, look at how hard you work at losing weight" Excuse me but that is the exact reason I DON'T want to eat bad foods, because I know the work it takes to stay healthy.

mix it up. Take a class or two. To me my gym time is my time to get lost in my thoughts and be out of the house away from life for an hour or two.

Have you set any particular goals? Anything can be quite boring if you don't have anything your actually working towards. Continuous improvement. I imagine hitting an elliptical 30 minutes daily would be rather boring if there's nothing you're trying to accomplish.

jim180155 wrote: »

If your exercise is boring, you're doing it wrong. Shorten the duration. If you're lifting weights, limit yourself to 60 minutes, and lift heavy. It's impossible to be bored lifting a weight that takes everything you've got to squeak out 6 reps. If you're doing cardio, limit yourself to 30 minutes and do high intensity intervals. Again, it's not possible to be bored when it feels like your lungs are about to explode.

When most people talk about exercise being boring I think what they really mean is that they're too lazy to properly challenge themselves.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with long distance endurance cardio like running a 10k or half marathon, but the people into that type of exercise are typically anything but bored. They enjoy it.

I love when people make bold (no pun intended) proclamations about the mental states of others. lol

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

jim180155 wrote: »

If your exercise is boring, you're doing it wrong. Shorten the duration. If you're lifting weights, limit yourself to 60 minutes, and lift heavy. It's impossible to be bored lifting a weight that takes everything you've got to squeak out 6 reps. If you're doing cardio, limit yourself to 30 minutes and do high intensity intervals. Again, it's not possible to be bored when it feels like your lungs are about to explode.

When most people talk about exercise being boring I think what they really mean is that they're too lazy to properly challenge themselves.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with long distance endurance cardio like running a 10k or half marathon, but the people into that type of exercise are typically anything but bored. They enjoy it.

I love when people make bold (no pun intended) proclamations about the mental states of others. lol

For real. I love the exercise I do and I am not lazy. Do I think leg curls are boring though? Yes.

Play music or youtubes out of phone while working out; wear earbuds for it.

I was apathetic about exercise too until I discovered kickboxing! I joined a 9Round gym a few months ago and look forward to that workout every single day. I started at 3 days a week and have worked up to 5 days a week. The workout is only 30 minutes, it's different every day, it incorporates strength, core, and cardio, and I am just flattened after each one because I give it my all for every 3 minute round. Try it out and see if it's for you. I'm so happy I found it!

Usually I find that having a good workout 'mixtape' on my mp3 player makes things a lot more fun. I add new songs and shuffle through old songs once they've been played out so I don't get bored. Podcasts or audio books that really interest you are another option.

I also like weight lifting more than cardio. I'd rather feel the burn for 20-30 intense minutes 3x/week than be bored on the treadmill for an hour every day. I'd never be able to keep that up, either. I like to feel that my workout actually did something, and you ended up getting slightly addicted to the feeling of sore muscles. You also develop more efficient metabolism and burn more calories while at rest.

I don't do the gym on weekends -- I walk for 2-3 miles window shopping downtown with friends and family or going on a hike. If the weather is really crappy or I'm short on gas I do something productive like housework/yardwork. You definitely want to add a variety of fun physical activity that doesn't feel like work into your life.

Think of some sport, discipline, or skill you'd really like to learn and join a class for it. If there were any studios in my area, I'd learn Krav Maga for sure. I've always wanted to learn self-defense. Things where you can work towards goals other than "do I weigh less now?" are more likely to keep you motivated.

Two words: Pole Fitness.

No one can be bored swinging around a pole.

You may also need to switch things up. I do spin, pole, yoga, run/jog, kettlebell, TRX, Insanity, and YouTube videos. Changing things up some might make things more fun.

rebeccalenk wrote: »

Right now I run, or walk or do eliptical. Again, I go, and it gets done, but I don't look forward to it. So, those are tolerable, but not enjoyable.
I've done a variety of classes, but I never enjoyed them.
I DO enjoy swimming, but I can't incorporate that into a daily workout.
And I DO enjoy bicycling, but only outdoors, and it's 8 degrees and icy out today so...bicycling for me is a spring/summer/fall event.
I've even tried snowshoeing and cross country skiing! I enjoyed the cross country skiing, but, again, not a realistic daily activity.
Right now I download podcasts and listen to them while I run or walk or eliptical, hoping that my desire to hear the end will get me through, and it DOES help some.
I read people on here say they look forward to exercise, and I want to know what they are doing differently than me!

Well, no wonder you're bored! Running, walking, and elliptical are all similar movements.

I use a YouTube channel called FitnessBlender for 95% of my workouts. They have so many different types of workouts: low-impact, stretching, yoga, HIIT, cardio, strength, kickboxing, abs, and more. I'm about to do some kickboxing to start this week's exercise off on a high note.

rebeccalenk wrote: »

You are one of several people so far to suggest more weightlifting! Maybe that's my ticket.
And yes, winter time is just.the.worst. I enjoy running/walking and cycling outdoors, but put all of that inside, and blerg...what's the fun of riding a bike that doesn't get you anywhere?!?
So, yes, I will look into more strength training!

+1 on the weight training. Winter has always been my downfall, since I don't particularly like most indoor exercise (and, like you, skiing is, at best, something I can only get to once a week).

I grew up as part of the "nautilus generation" -- no one I knew lifted free weights; it was all machines. And lifting on a machine bored me to tears. I hadn't stepped in a gym in over three decades.

This year I decided to try some simple free weight training. Surprise! It's interesting. It takes skill. It takes balance. It takes concentration. In theory, it also takes strength (but I'm working on that part). Is it as fun as barrelling down a mountain on skis, or catching air on a mountain bike? Well, no -- but it's something I look forward to in the gym when I can't be outside.

Keep trying new things -- you never know when something will "click" with you.

And, OP is now deactivated. WTF? Makes me wonder why I bother with noobs.