How to avoid boredom in workouts

As a rationale for abandoning a weekly fitness routine, the list of excuses is infinite.

    Just to cite a few:

    Your muscles are sore. There just isn’t time anymore. Your friend has lost interest. It’s raining too hard. You have the flu. The snow has made the streets impassable. Restarting the exercise regimen all over again is totally unappealing.  

    Any validity? Maybe.

    But the fundamental cause of discontinuing workouts, suggests Matt Abramowitz, general manager of Anytime Fitness, Monroe’s 24-hour exercise center (308 Monroe Tpk.) is:

    Boredom.

    “Doing the same workout day after day becomes monotonous,” Abramowitz says.“The zip goes out of it. And the challenge isn’t there anymore.”

    So if you’re losing enthusiasm for your workouts, he suggests:

1.     Vary the pattern of your workouts so that you incorporate different levels of exertion, combining cardio, flexibility and strength-training.

2.     Target your entire body with cross-training, making sure you work a full range of muscle groups and include flexibility and strengthening the joint-supportive muscles, two areas commonly avoided.

3.     To lose weight, if you’ve just been running and it’s become repetitive, switch to cardio training and fat-burning cardio training.

4.     Add a sense of fun and pleasure to your approach and purpose, all important factors in elevating your level of well-being.

5.     And finally consider engaging a personal trainer to guide you in proper technique—and to help keep you motivated.

(Cutline)

Matt Abramowitz, general manager of Anytime Fitness in Monroe.