Motivation is such a tricky thing.
It can be incredibly hard to find the motivation to start an exercise regime, or to restart after an illness or injury. And once we have managed to start exercising, and established exercise as a habit, the next challenge is maintaining our motivation to keep going.
Understanding the many benefits of exercise can help with motivation, but when exercise starts to feel boring or tedious, introducing some variety can help us stay interested and engaged with our workouts.
Here are six easy ways to add variety to your workouts:
- Find three jars and label them as Cardio, Strength, and Flexibility. Create a lucky dip by writing down different activities on small pieces of card and putting them into the appropriate jar. You might include things like a 10-minute walk, 10 sets of 10 push-ups, 15 minutes on the cross-trainer, 20 squats, 2-minute plank, 10 minutes of Tai Chi, etc. Pull an activity out of each jar for a complete workout, or mix them up by drawing a card at various times throughout the day.
- Create a circuit by combining a series of different exercises and completing them back-to-back. Switch to a new exercise every two to three minutes and you won’t have time to get bored! To keep things really interesting, reverse the sequence of the circuit in each session.
- Change the tempo of your exercise. If you normally maintain a steady pace on the treadmill or stationary bike, mix it up by adding in some 30-second sprints. If you lift weights, slowing down your repetitions will increase resistance and provide a new challenge.
- Working out in a new environment will stimulate your senses. If you usually exercise indoors, try an outside session for a change, and vice versa. If you workout at home, try taking the treadmill or other equipment outdoors, or into a different room for a new experience.
- If you’re using fitness equipment such as treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines, or cross-trainers at home or in the gym, work your way through the different workouts preprogrammed into the machine. This will vary the speed, grade and resistance and keep things interesting as you experience different styles of workout on the equipment.
- Team up with an exercise buddy and take it in turns to choose the activity for each session. You don’t have to physically be together to do this – you could train together virtually using Zoom or Facetime, or simply agree that you will both complete the exercise on the same day and compare notes later. This will help keep you accountable, and you might find yourself trying forms of exercise you wouldn’t have even considered for yourself.
