Deb Brown, NSCA Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Wellness Coach
It’s wonderful when you can make fitness an ongoing and important priority in your life. As the months (and years) go by, you may find you get tired and burnt out on your fitness routine. Below are the top ten ways to avoid getting burnt out on working out:
- Start with a solid foundation – your fitness activities should be enjoyable and safe for your abilities. One of the quickest ways to burn out is start something too fast or too intense, only to end up sidelined with an injury.
- Think about doing multiple activities to work your body in different ways. Doing the same thing over and over is boring and hard on the body. For example, if you are a road cyclist, how about trying mtn biking or running?
- Create goals around your fitness activities to keep you motivated and on-track.
- Sign up for an event – nothing gets you motivated and focused like signing up for an event. There is something about spending money when signing up for an event that gets you very committed. Check out www.active.com for events in the Denver area.
- Try something new – what have you always wanted to learn? What did you like to do when you were a kid? Harness that passion and try something new – it will feel great to learn a new skill and will jump-start your enthusiasm for movement and fitness.
- Change workouts with the season – Hike and bike when it’s warm, changeover to swimming indoors and cross country skiing in the winter; keep things fresh!
- Pick up some weights – resistance training will give you more energy to do the things you love (and that’s just one of the many benefits!).
- Enlist the help of personal trainer – a good trainer will keep your fitness routine fun and creative by changing things up every 4-6 weeks.
- Do it with friends or family – Make it a social occasion with friends, or time to bond with your loved ones and you will remain committed. Plus, it will make your activities seem easier and more fun.
- Take planned breaks or a longer hiatus if needed – take a week or two off during the year and just relax. It will do your body AND your mind good. You will return refreshed and ready to hit it hard!