How to Prevent Boredom in Your Fitness Routine
Add weight or repetitions., Use supersets., Extend the time of your workouts or make them short and intense., Add intervals.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Add weight or repetitions.
If you're starting to get bored with your strength-training routine, it may be that your fitness level has increased.
As a result, the exercises are no longer challenging for you.Keep in mind that exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good and make exercise rewarding.
If you're no longer working your muscles to the same level, those endorphins aren't being released and you'll no longer enjoy your fitness routine.
Start lifting heavier weights, or do an extra set of each exercise to really fatigue your muscles.
For cardio workouts, you also might try wrist or ankle weights to add resistance and make your muscles work harder.
However, be sure to take these off after each minute of wear.
Also, do not use them for more than three minutes total.
Wearing wrist and ankle weights for too long can put enormous strain on your joints.
Keep in mind that there are lots of other ways to do cardiovascular exercise, such as by doing calisthenics, swimming, playing a sport, cycling, hiking, skating, skiing, or by taking an exercise class. -
Step 2: Use supersets.
When you do a superset, you perform sets of two different exercises with no rest in between.
The idea is to combine exercises that work different parts of your body, so one muscle group gets rest while another is working.Supersets are both challenging and will allow you to spend less time working out, which can help prevent boredom.
Since exercise takes less of your time, it's a lot more difficult to develop excuses not to do it.
The easiest superset is one that involves doing repetitions of a lower-body exercise followed immediately by repetitions of an upper-body exercise.
For example, you might do 10 walking lunges or squats followed by 10 pushups.
That makes one superset.
Repeat the cycle for three supersets. , For cardio workouts, going a little longer can add an extra challenge that will ultimately make you feel better about the work that you're doing.However, you can get the same kind of challenge by upping the intensity of your workout and keeping it short.
If you decide to extend your workout, increase the length of time you're working out incrementally before you start getting bored.
Going for longer will increase the intensity of your workout and challenge your body.
For example, if you normally run for 30 minutes a day, you might want to start running for 35 minutes a day after about two weeks.
After another two weeks, start going for 40 minutes, and so on.
If you prefer to work out for less time in a more intense way, then try to increase the intensity of your workout from moderate to vigorous. , Interval training will increase the intensity of your fitness routine as well as make it more efficient.
You can spend less time working out and still get great results, as well as preventing boredom from setting in.Intervals can be any length of time.
The point of interval training is to go as hard and as fast as you can (with good form and technique) for a relatively short period of time, and there should be no resting between sets.
For example, you could do 2 minutes of vigorous cardio followed by 30 to 60 seconds of weight lifting, and then repeat this sequence.
On alternating intervals, choose exercises that work different muscle groups so you aren't overly fatiguing your muscles.
For example, follow an upper-body exercise with a lower-body exercise.
Include cardio intervals, such as running in place or doing jumping jacks. -
Step 3: Extend the time of your workouts or make them short and intense.
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Step 4: Add intervals.
Detailed Guide
If you're starting to get bored with your strength-training routine, it may be that your fitness level has increased.
As a result, the exercises are no longer challenging for you.Keep in mind that exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good and make exercise rewarding.
If you're no longer working your muscles to the same level, those endorphins aren't being released and you'll no longer enjoy your fitness routine.
Start lifting heavier weights, or do an extra set of each exercise to really fatigue your muscles.
For cardio workouts, you also might try wrist or ankle weights to add resistance and make your muscles work harder.
However, be sure to take these off after each minute of wear.
Also, do not use them for more than three minutes total.
Wearing wrist and ankle weights for too long can put enormous strain on your joints.
Keep in mind that there are lots of other ways to do cardiovascular exercise, such as by doing calisthenics, swimming, playing a sport, cycling, hiking, skating, skiing, or by taking an exercise class.
When you do a superset, you perform sets of two different exercises with no rest in between.
The idea is to combine exercises that work different parts of your body, so one muscle group gets rest while another is working.Supersets are both challenging and will allow you to spend less time working out, which can help prevent boredom.
Since exercise takes less of your time, it's a lot more difficult to develop excuses not to do it.
The easiest superset is one that involves doing repetitions of a lower-body exercise followed immediately by repetitions of an upper-body exercise.
For example, you might do 10 walking lunges or squats followed by 10 pushups.
That makes one superset.
Repeat the cycle for three supersets. , For cardio workouts, going a little longer can add an extra challenge that will ultimately make you feel better about the work that you're doing.However, you can get the same kind of challenge by upping the intensity of your workout and keeping it short.
If you decide to extend your workout, increase the length of time you're working out incrementally before you start getting bored.
Going for longer will increase the intensity of your workout and challenge your body.
For example, if you normally run for 30 minutes a day, you might want to start running for 35 minutes a day after about two weeks.
After another two weeks, start going for 40 minutes, and so on.
If you prefer to work out for less time in a more intense way, then try to increase the intensity of your workout from moderate to vigorous. , Interval training will increase the intensity of your fitness routine as well as make it more efficient.
You can spend less time working out and still get great results, as well as preventing boredom from setting in.Intervals can be any length of time.
The point of interval training is to go as hard and as fast as you can (with good form and technique) for a relatively short period of time, and there should be no resting between sets.
For example, you could do 2 minutes of vigorous cardio followed by 30 to 60 seconds of weight lifting, and then repeat this sequence.
On alternating intervals, choose exercises that work different muscle groups so you aren't overly fatiguing your muscles.
For example, follow an upper-body exercise with a lower-body exercise.
Include cardio intervals, such as running in place or doing jumping jacks.
About the Author
Ashley Gordon
Experienced content creator specializing in lifestyle guides and tutorials.
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