The same old exercise routine can get a little tired after a while, but there’s more to keeping your exercise sessions fresh than simply boredom. On top of limiting your motivation, it’s important to keep things fresh so that your body works hard every time and doesn’t get used to the movements. If you want to stay fit and healthy, as well as keep on track with the exercise portion of your weight loss programme, staying motivated and interested in what you’re doing is vitally important. But how can you mix things up without paying a fortune in exercise classes every week? The good news is that there are ways to achieve a fun and varied workout – here are some ideas that may help you.
Try taking a dance class – dance often gets overlooked as an exercise option, but it’s a fantastic way to burn calories, tone muscles and enjoy yourself. It’s also a wonderful way of teaching ‘old muscles new tricks’ – in other words, using areas of your body you wouldn’t otherwise exercise. From ballet and tap to jazz and swing, there are so many different varieties that you’ll be able to try a new style every month for ages! A great way to keep things interesting. And if you can’t afford to go to a class every week, you can always spend a half hour session in your living room dancing to your favourite music. It doesn’t matter where you do it, as long as you keep moving. Along the same lines, try getting a library card and work out at home with exercise DVDs – it’s far cheaper than joining the gym yet you’ll still be working out. You might even find a new style of exercise that you love that you’d never considered before. This is a great way to try exercises out without committing to a programme or course.
Tai Kwon Do, Karate and Tai Chi are all great martial arts exercises that could really tone up your body and strengthen your muscles. You can also try setting yourself challenges when you work out to keep things interesting – for example, you can try grabbing a pair of dice and rolling them twice. The first number is for how many crunches you have to do, and the second it for how many sets. Sometimes it will be a low number and you’ll get lucky, and other times you’ll need to work a little harder. You can also try doing star jumps or crunches during each ad break of your favourite TV show to help you workout when you’re at home of an evening. If you’ve got kids, take the opportunity to combine a workout with quality time and take them down the park for a kickabout or a game of tag. Bring a couple of tennis racquets or bring the dog with you can play catch. The possibilities are endless.
You can also go cycling or hiking in your local area – studies show that working out outside improves the sense of wellbeing we have and makes us happier. You can be as creative as you want to be – the trick is to make sure that each week is different. Write out a list of different exercises or workout regimes you’ve always wanted to try and work through them each, trying a different one each week. You’ll start to see the benefits of a varied workout in no time at all, and you’ll have more fun along the way!