Ways to keep exercise interesting and burn calories faster

Dancing burns a lot of calories fast.

I put on my ipod and play some groovy 80's music and that gets me going. When my stamina is super low, I tune into some heavier music like rock. It works for me!

try a group class and make friends. it's easier when you feel part of a group.

On Sunday mornings I go to a class for women only that is held at a local martial arts school. there is a trainer and we take turns boxing with him. He has the hand pads and calls out combo punches for us. It's 2 minutes and you work really, really hard in those 2 minutes. Then someone else goes, etc. for an hour. I can burn over 400 cals boxing with him 6-8 times at 2 mins each!!! I have also taken that to my health club. They have hanging bags on the back side of the track and I walk 1x around the track then box the bag for 2 minutes, then walk 1x fast around the track, then box the bag. i will usually do this for an hour and burn 550 cals. It is not boring at all and I look forward to it. i can't do the treadmill or elliptical anymore, too boring. Boxing is where it's at. you should try it,.

I use an app for my i-touch called lolo beatburn. Gives me a great workout and gradually increases the intensity.

Check it out if you can use an app at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beatburn-treadmill-outdoor/id383811730?mt=8

I dread exercise and will never like it. I force myself to exercise because I have to. We really don't have a choice if we want success with our weight loss. It has to be a regular part of our health and wellnesss for longevity. It will allow us to be the best we can be. I used to belong to a gym but never went so all the power to you. I use exercise DVD's and walk to Leslie Sansone. I definitely burn more calories doing aerobics than using machines at the gym. For some reason they didn't work for me. All the power to anybody who has the dedication to use the Elliptical machine for a long period of time. The best of luck to you. Just know you are doing real well taking c are of yourself as you exercise. Plus you will end up having more calories to eat at the end of the day. I don't eat most of my exercise calories however I like the cushion just in case I chose to eat a little more. Have a great night!! :flowerforyou:

Some good ideas on this thread. I've been working with a trainer 3x a week since last spring. I was a mess--no stamina, weak, barely able to walk. I started walking on the treadmill--maybe 10 minutes, slowly. That was followed by 30 minutes of weight training. Just baby steps. Gradually weights, reps and sets increased. Meanwhile, I added the recum. bike and then the elliptical to the mix, very gradually increasing speed and duration. Kinesis, the medicine ball and a step was added. Yesterday I mentioned that I was getting frustrated with my stamina on the elliptical, and my trainer advised me to break up my time on that, and also on the bike and treadmill, creating muscle confusion by rotating among the three two or three times every workout. The benefits are the same or better (!) and I was able to increase my overall time. I'm looking forward to adding different activities as my health continues to improve. Oh, and I'm a testament that exercise alone won't create a decent weight loss. It wasn't until the end of August that I was willing to chart and change what went in my mouth. Since then, I've been losing about 14 pounds/month. I'm sure a slow learner!

You need to find an exercise that you enjoy and that burns calories. I try all kinds of workouts but I love Turbo- which is a group exercise/home fitness DVD. I may try other forms of exercise but I always go back to it. You need to try other forms of exercise - which you should do anyway because your body gets adjusted to the workout - until you find things you also like. If you are bored you will eventually stop.

I have a suggestion about the treadmill - I have seen people train for triatholon's in the gym by spending 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the row machine. Maybe moving from one machine to another may also help.

Music definitely helps. Sometimes an audio book vs music even. I joined an aerobics class because I wanted to burn calories other than just walking.

I've been going to the gym for a couple of months now and I usually spend around an hour and 20 mins on the treadmill and elliptical trainer. I do get pretty bored after a while. I also don't burn calories as fast as I would like - I think because I lack stamina when running. What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in exercise? and how to push myself to the next level where I can burn more calories faster? I would love to enjoy doing it but it is now something I dread at the end of the day!

Every 2 months you should change your routine for variety and because your body adapts to the repetition of the same daily exercise. And up the speed up .5 on the treadmill once a week.

I make some kick *kitten* playlists full of upbeat songs that I LOVE, and then ONLY let myself listen to them when I'm working out. Then I actually want to.

Another thing that I noticed music is really helpful for, is keeping you going. For some reason when I am running and I start to get really tired, the sound of my heavy breathing is what makes me notice that I am tired. But if I can't hear my breathing (because of the music) then I tend to not feel as tired and can go much longer.

I do strength training workouts, that include cardio. That way you are getting a fast, super intense workout. Also, I switch the exercises and combinations every day so I don't get bored. I keep track of all my workouts on my blog, and post the videos on youtube.

Cardio is always great for you, but it is fun to try new things sometimes too.