Do you often feel like your workouts are boring ?
And maybe you need something “ invigorating?”
If so, that’s a usual problem and in this email, we’re going to address it.
In fact, I was just on a call with a private client on Monday and we were addressing this same topic.
For him, it was about doing his rehab work vs. his kettlebell work.
His kettlebell work is significantly more fun and because of that, he was having a hard time doing his recovery work because it was “boring ” in relation to the KB work.
So, let’s start where he and I started:
1- PURPOSE:
What is the “ goal ” of your training?
Get stronger ?
Trim down?
Relieve pain?
Notice how each of these 3 things - along with any other result / goal is a objective .
In the case of those 3 destinations, once you reach them, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something - because you have.
2- PROCESS:
Each result … ambition … endpoint … has a process…
Steps that you follow, like a roadmap to get from here to there - where you live, to the other side of your country…
From San Francisco to New York City for example.
There are various ways - all of them head from west to east.
The one you take is dependent on how fast you want to get there.
And of course the mode of transport you want to use - your feet, bicycle, car, plane - walk, bike, drive, fly.
(And of course each vehicle has a cost relation - the faster you get there, the more it usually costs financially, and vice versa.)
Workouts - Training programs are alike.
3- PARADIGM:
A view is your opinion on something.
Now that we’ve been prompted that workouts are for a particular purpose - goal achievement…
We need to shift our paradigm - our perception of them - our frame of reference.
If workouts are to be “ enjoyable ” - which is what we’re really saying when we’re saying “these workouts are boring …”
Then we’ve forgotten perspective of their purpose.
I told my client that if his workouts were tedious , then he was missing the whole point of them.
This gets us back to the purpose.
Their purpose is to accomplish a goal.
I also told him what I’ve been telling people for the last 2 decades :
If your workouts are unstimulating, your life is likely lacking true excitement and you need to go find that apart from your workouts.
Examples would be a pastime or a game - stamp collecting, hiking… That sort of thing.
And this is why so many people stay stuck year after year …
They bounce from workout plan to workout plan - always quitting - and end up with nothing to show for it because they’ve lost sight of the purpose of that plan -
To reach their stated goal.
And to me, that’s the very definition of monotonous -
Doing check here the same durn thing and never having anything to show for it.
This making sense so far?
I hope so.
So, what’s the easiest way to “alleviate ” boredom in your workouts (besides finding a hobby or sport or activity)?
Use focused diversity .
What’s that?
Straightforward.
It’s variations and options of the same exercise.
Let’s take the Press for the example …
You have the -
Single KB Press
Double KB Press
Single KB Push Press
Double KB Push Press
Single KB Bottoms Up Press
Double KB Bottoms Up Press
Kneeling Single KB Press
Kneeling Double KB Press
Half Kneeling Single KB Press
Half Kneeling Double KB Press
Single KB V-Sit Press
Double KB V-Sit Press
Each one of those has its own benefits and limitations , but it’s all overhead work that overloads the upper body musculature in the vertical plane .
Make sense?
Good .
Now, next time you feel bored in your workouts, remember the purpose of your program - to get you to your goal.
Worst case scenario, throw on some better music.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.