I don’t know how it is for you guys, but for me the worst part about exercising is that it’s boring. Staring at the wall, at the muted TV, smelling other people next to me, and counting off the minutes when I finally can go home. While I know that I should just suck it up, go do my work out, and get in shape, it’s definitely easier said than done. Every time I think about going to the gym, I’m thinking about how boring it’s going to be. I drag my feet, look for excuses, and try very hard to not find my gym outfit in the closet. Don’t get me wrong, I love how I feel after the workout, but just the boredom during the workout is what I dread.

In my quest for keeping my mind busy and staying on track, I constantly try to trick myself into making exercise more entertaining than walking in place and staring into the wall for an hour. Here are some strategies that I have found helpful to take my mind off of burning calories, while my body does the work.

Keep Your Playlist Fresh
I know… Lame… Nevertheless, totally true! Before, I thought that the best strategy would be to just stuff my playlist full with favorites, and that would do the trick. Unfortunately, the only thing it did for me was to make me stop liking my previously favorite songs! What I do now is, every month I prepare for myself five one hour playlists. This way, every day I work out, I have a different soundtrack to listen to on my treadmill/bicycle/elliptical battles. By keeping to the playlist schedule and keeping it fresh, I don’t get bored with my music so fast.

Try New Things
The routine you’ve got now may be comfy –a gym close to your home or in your building, not a very demanding workout, and so on. But all of this is what makes it so boring. Spice up your workout and sign up for one of those classes that your nearby gym offers – yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Aerobics, anything. You can try to learn new things and maybe make some friends in the process. Keep things fresh in your work out, and you’ll never be bored. If you have some budget to spare, you may even plan different classes for different days of the week, so you have some kind of a routine, but at the same time you keep it entertaining.

E-Reader
A while ago, this was the first thing I came up with to keep myself busy during my workouts. I simply take my e-reader with me to the gym, and read during the workout. Although exercising on the elliptical is too shaky, reading while cycling and walking works out just fine. The only adjustment that I had to make was to make the text bigger, so it’s less strenuous on my eyes. This is my favorite trick because it really makes the time fly – especially when the book is good. If you are more of a listener than a reader, audio books could be a cool modification to that idea.

Beat Your Record
It was last year when I declared war on my love handles and signed up for the gym. While I knew I was far from being athletic, I soon realized I still greatly overestimated how fit I was. It was exactly the third day of my working out when it dawned on me that a) I’m not eighteen anymore b) the muscles I had back then are now long gone. I had to take things slowly, but at the same time I knew that taking things slowly would just make me less motivated. Then I started challenging myself, just to stay focused. Every day I tried to beat my record either in the number of burned calories, incline, or distance. I must say it kept me going for a long time. I bet that if you are actually preparing for some kind of a competition, beating your own records would keep you even more motivated. And this is where my last tip comes, set goals for yourself and try to beat your own records. This strategy will keep your eyes on the target and keep you motivated.

If you would like to learn more about the weight loss, healthy lifestyle, and DayOne Health lap-band program call our patient advocate at (312) 239-3838 or schedule your one-on-one consultation with one of our surgeons today.

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