Training Boredom

One of the challenges facing many people on their path to fitness is periods of feeling bored or stale with their training. You do your normal weight training routine or cardio session and think to yourself – what am I doing? I’m just going through the motions.

Here are a couple of ideas to help shrug off the feeling.
1. Take a couple of days off training and do something different
2. Start doing a new class – dance, yoga etc. (this is for the guys too)
3. Train somewhere new.
4. Increase the variety within your normal workout – spice up each individual workout with a change of exercises, tempo, intensity etc.

Have fun.

Beyond the squat, bench and deadlift

When training in a good weight training facility, I am a firm believer in doing basic exercises that work multiple bodyparts. When talking about the basics most people automatically think of the squat, deadlift and benchpress. These are all great exercises but for the more advanced trainer, there are a multitude of other exercises and variations that will keep your training interesting and make you work hard.

Some exercises to consider are snatchs, cleans, push presses, Romanian deadlifts, front squats, and hack squats. No machines or fancy equipment is required, just good instruction, well-developed movement patterns and hard work. Most of these exercises have been around for ages, but most modern trainers have never used them so you might have to hunt around for someone to show you the movements. Just remember these exercises are generally not recommended for beginners – you should have developed good lifting basics and kinesthetic feedback before attempting these old school exercises.