- Image by Fernando Pangaré via Flickr
One of the most difficult hurdles to overcome in participating in any workout routine doesn’t directly have to do with exercise at all. In a word, it is BOREDOM.
It is easy, far too easy, to fall into a rut if a routine has not been modified in the recent past. When that occurs, the effectiveness of the exercise is reduced and the results can be humbling at best, depressing at worst.
So, what can be done? Well, there are numerous sources that recommend making small changes to the routine in order to introduce variety and stave off boredom. By introducing small changes, however, boredom is almost guaranteed to return. And with each cycle of under-producing workouts, willpower to continue exercising begins to wane.
How does boredom get beaten then?
Don’t change the exercises; change the implements of the exercises.
For the avid weight lifter, for example, the different uses of kettle bell or medicine ball routines could introduce a whole new series of movements that would tax muscles in new and completely different ways.
For the jogger who is used to running on a track or along city streets, take to the hills and do some cross-country running. This will not only bring new scenery to the purview, but bounding through the trails instead of hammering the same worn out concrete paths gives the body a new set of milestones to achieve.
Ultimately, the goal of any exercise routine is to push the body a little past the breaking point, causing it to repair itself and make itself stronger. Radical changes to a routine, such as these, will continually tax those muscle groups or stress the cardiovascular system in new ways so that the cycle of break & repair is not underwhelming.
At the end of the day, who knows? Some fun just might be had as well. And that’s really the best way to handle boredom, isn’t it?
