
Why does an hour of training fly by for some, but seems to drag on for others? Is it good genes or good management? One key factor you can manage to alleviate boredom is to include a wide variety of different activities and training techniques. Don’t subject yourself to exactly the same workout day after day, week after week. Not only is it boring, but it can reduce your chances of getting results, and may even increase the chances of developing overuse injuries.
Cross training is a technique that involves regular changes to the way you exercise, and is often used by professional athletes to avoid impact or stress on the same muscles and joints. For example, a runner could add cycling and swimming to their routine to strengthen muscles not used in running while still maintaining their fitness. But this simple technique can be used by anyone to help maintain motivation and boost your interest in exercise. Try to intersperse activities like brisk walking, jogging, cycling, aqua-aerobics, paddling, gym classes and exercise equipment. You might also like to combine these with strength training or team sports, or even mind body exercises such as yoga or Pilates.
Beyond changing the actual type of activity, you can also manipulate other training variables such the location, the time of the day, the duration (alternating longer and shorter workouts), the training surface (alternating sand, grass and bitumen), the gradient (including hills, stairs and flat terrain) and the intensity (performing both steady sate and interval training).
The other key training variable that you might like to change around is the person who you exercise with (not just yourself). If you are struggling to stay motivated, exercise with a friend, partner or pet can be a lot more fun. After all, isn’t variety is the spice of life?
Do you find exercise boring? What do you do to make exercise more interesting? Do you perform cross training in your exercise routine?