Transform Boring Workouts

If you’re growing bored with your daily workouts, you have options. You can start cross-training so that you work different workouts on different days. The benefit of this is that you are varying the muscle groups you use, which reduces the potential for injury.

You can also enhance the enjoyment factor of your preferred modality by putting on your creative thinking cap on. I prefer swimming over other forms of exercise and often swim four or more days a week. I pool swim in Tucson (where Masters workouts are too early for me) and sea swim in San Carlos, Mexico (our second home). Once I started swimming alone, boredom began to creep in. At first, I felt a little down at the beginning of my workouts. Eventually, I adopted some strategies that have made my swims more rewarding than ever.

I spend my warm-up time, which for me lasts for 20 to 25 minutes, praying for people. I pray individually for each member of my family and often extend the circle to friends and the world as a whole. I find that I’m able to pray better when my body is in motion because my focus is better and my thoughts are clear. I always feel my best when I’m in the water. I also find it uplifting that I can send these loving thoughts out to people I care about during a time when I’m also doing something to benefit myself.

After this warm-up period, I do an interval training set that I conjure up or download from the U.S. Masters Swimming website. Keeping track of my intervals and times helps me push myself more. Obviously, interval work was more enjoyable when I swam with a group, but I am still enjoying my workouts.

When I’m sea swimming, I start with my prayer interval and then do some fast intervals – 4/4 8/8 and 20 strokes fast/20 slow for example and mix it up with different strokes. Sometimes I’ll pretend I’m doing an open water race and try to keep the tempo high for a long period of time. I actually visualize the competitors around me and imagine that I’m trying to stay up with them.

Whenever the pod of bottlenose dolphins shows up, I stop to interact with them. They’re so fascinating. They’re always friendly and often curious, swimming around me, and looking me straight in the eye, and communicating their thoughts to their pod family with clicks, squeaks, and other chatter.

Staying creative helps me stay inspired during my swimming workouts. Every day, I exit the water with a smile on my face, feeling like I’ve gotten a good workout and uplifted others at the same time.

You can also enhance the enjoyment factor of your preferred modality by putting on your creative thinking cap on. I prefer swimming over other forms of exercise and often swim four or more days a week. I pool swim in Tucson (where Masters workouts are too early for me) and sea swim in San Carlos, Mexico (our second home). Once I started swimming alone, boredom began to creep in. At first, I felt a little down at the beginning of my workouts. Eventually, I adopted some strategies that have made my swims more rewarding than ever.

I spend my warm-up time, which for me lasts for 20 to 25 minutes, praying for people. I pray individually for each member of my family and often extend the circle to friends and the world as a whole. I find that I’m able to pray better when my body is in motion because my focus is better and my thoughts are clear. I always feel my best when I’m in the water. I also find it uplifting that I can send these loving thoughts out to people I care about during a time when I’m also doing something to benefit myself.

After this warm-up period, I do an interval training set that I conjure up or download from the U.S. Masters Swimming website. Keeping track of my intervals and times helps me push myself more. Obviously, interval work was more enjoyable when I swam with a group, but I am still enjoying my workouts.

When I’m sea swimming, I start with my prayer interval and then do some fast intervals – 4/4 8/8 and 20 strokes fast/20 slow for example and mix it up with different strokes. Sometimes I’ll pretend I’m doing an open water race and try to keep the tempo high for a long period of time. I actually visualize the competitors around me and imagine that I’m trying to stay up with them.

Whenever the pod of bottlenose dolphins shows up, I stop to interact with them. They’re so fascinating. They’re always friendly and often curious, swimming around me, and looking me straight in the eye, and communicating their thoughts to their pod family with clicks, squeaks, and other chatter.

Staying creative helps me stay inspired during my swimming workouts. Every day, I exit the water with a smile on my face, feeling like I’ve gotten a good workout and uplifted others at the same time.