Keep Exercise Interesting - So There's a Reason to Keep Doing It

An exercise routine can do wonders for your health. It can also turn into one of the most boring parts of your day. If you're dreading or even avoiding it, this might be a good time to change it. A drastic change is something that should probably be discussed with your doctor, but there are many minor changes that can be made.

If you are jogging, walking or riding a bike along the same route every time, a change can be easy. Even going in the opposite direction is a change. So is going at a different time of day. Things sometimes look a lot different in the morning and evening. If you live in an area that limits the number of places you can safely walk, jog or ride, it isn't silly to drive to another area to do it.

If you have an exercise machine for which you paid an arm and a leg but which can only be used a few ways, try listening to different music when you use it. This will also give you a chance to listen to some old favorites, it will make the time seem to go more quickly, and maybe it will make you move more quickly without thinking about it. If you must keep track of how much time you spend doing exercises, it can be a lot more fun to just know how long songs are than to keep glancing at a clock that seems to have stopped.

Using different music for aerobics or calisthenics can make them more interesting, too. There's no rule saying everyone has to use the same aerobics music, which might not be the kind of music you like anyway. Experiment with a few songs. If they turn out to be too fast or too slow, or for some other reason they don't fit what you are doing, keep trying new ones. New ones can be old ones you enjoyed hearing when you were in high school. This is a good opportunity to listen to them again.

The old advice to walk instead of drive is not always applicable in the suburbs, where nothing but houses exists for a mile. When you have the time to walk a mile to the post office or the drug store or some other place you need to go, it is a great way to get exercise, though. Common sense says not to walk a mile on a summer day to buy ice cream, but carrying home the things you do buy is another form of exercise.

Using stairs instead of elevators, another way to get exercise without doing exercises, should only be done in buildings you know are safe. Walking on escalators is another option. If two people are standing next to each other on a step and blocking everyone else's way, just say, "Excuse me", and walk between them.

Any way that makes getting exercise more interesting for you is worth checking. If it ends up being less enjoyable than the old way, changing back can make the old way interesting again.