# Advice requested. Working out bores me.



## Rakshasa (May 26, 2012)

This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.

So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


----------



## yankeemofo (Feb 14, 2013)

Perhaps try a supplement that helps with focus? Jack3d, Gamma, C4 all will give you the motivation and focus you need to hit those weights!


----------



## unINFalliPle (Jul 8, 2012)

Incorporating music and dance in it. 
Change location, work out outdoors. 
Work out with a friend. Make conversation. 
Switch your focus on something around you.
Eat healthy, feel healthy, be in a great mood and add some bounce to what you do.
Be pumped for it.
Maybe you're going too often, miss it then go back. Do it because you want to, not because you feel like you have to or that it's a choir. Pretend you're preparing for some big challenge, or actually challenge yourself.


----------



## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

Haha. I'm not sure how much a male INTP is going to enjoy incorporating dance and friends into working out. Maybe. Everyone's different. But it'd be a long shot.

One thing that helps me keep going is to find a new physical skill you're interested in which you could develop and train in. I enjoy martial arts, so I take Karate and Judo classes. Judo right now is the more challenging one for me since I'm much newer at it and have much more to learn. Going to the classes gives me an amazing workout, if not a scientifically targeted workout. What keeps me motivated is perfecting the movements, studying the strategy (my instructors refer to it as human chess), and developing my skills over time. That "developing a new competency" mentality goes a long way for NTs. Physical competencies are every bit as valid and valuable as more academic competencies.

Find a physical activity you feel would be valuable to add to your arsenal of skills and knowledge-- something with a rich trove of strategies and techniques to study so you can feed your brain as well as your muscles while you're working on it. If you're at all interested in martial arts, BJJ would be awesome for this. Otherwise, something like tennis or racquetball would also be great-- there's the initial learning of the movements and how the positioning of your body affects the quality of your hits and where the ball goes, then there's the strategy of the game itself-- cutting off the angles and so forth. It's a very mental game.


----------



## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

Rakshasa said:


> This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.
> 
> So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


Give yourself small rewards after exercise sessions. Your brain will start to associate exercise with the reward and release adequate hormones that will make the exercise itself feel rewarding. Your favorite snack would be ideal. Food is possibly the fastest way to conditioning someone... Or pain. But pain is bad, M'kay?


----------



## Aavex (Mar 5, 2013)

I my self have had the same problem with working out. I find it repetitive, boring, and a chore. I'm just curious are you looking to bulk up or just get physically fit. If you are trying to get physically fit I would recommend climbing. Its a great alternative to karate or any other martial arts. I find it a great way to work out because it is challenging both in mind and body with out being tedious and repetitive. It gets challenging for the mind because in addition to trying to staying positive and believing that you can do the moves you have to contend with fear of falling and problem solving. I say that there is problem solving involved in climbing because every one has a different body type, physical strength, and flexibility. This leaves you to try to figure out how to complete a route based on your abilities. For the physical side, climbing is a great way to tone your body while getting stronger and more flexible. For all the years I have been climbing I haven't seen any unfit climbers(talking about regular climbers not ppl who just drop in once a year).

Btw. There are two types of climbing you can do in climbing gyms. Either top roping or bouldering. Top roping requires that you have a partner to belay you and is more of an endurance based work out while bouldering you can do by yourself and rely more on strength and flexibility. Another big difference between bouldering and top roping is the height you can climb and and the equiptment needed to get the job done. With bouldering you just need your shoes and some chalk to dry your hands with. Top roping on the other hand requires belay equipment such as ropes and a harness on top of your shoes and chalk. Obviously since bouldering doesnt require you to wear any ropes or harness you cant go as high. You can still get injured if you take a bad fall. Thats where the crash pads comes in. It's used to break your fall. If you go bouldering outside you need to buy one for yourself, but other than that climbing gyms are built with crash pads on the floor. One last cool thing about bouldering is that it offers more challenges because you are never held back by ropes. So the problems in bouldering is more diverse in which you can climb side to side or even upside down to complete a particular problem.

THE END


----------



## MrShatter (Sep 28, 2010)

Rakshasa said:


> This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.
> 
> So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


Adventure sports


----------



## Rift (Mar 12, 2012)

There's plenty of adaptive and integrated exercise programs...

you could combine it with play and video games -- avoiding the tedious by going for the entertainment games instead of the exercise games.

Bar Room Brawls - back in the day, a few of them used to hold fight nights. 

Getting a mini stationary cycle or fitness stepper that can fit under your desk 

Getting a stationary bike generator -- eh, so you can't shoot lightning from your fingertips, but you might be able to charge a cell phone.

chatrooms, keyboards and treadmills -- keeping up with conversation means keeping up with the pace.

throwing together clips of your favorite physical scenes from movies and exploring the ways you can safely recreate them yourself.

Toys and children games - just toss in a few extra aggressive moves. 

hijack a playground - add on a couple ankle weights for the swings.

trampolines. 

doing science experiments in the park -- which usually involves a fair bit of running in the age of hysteria, public permits and accidental property destruction.


----------



## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

Hip hop dancing!


----------



## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

yankeemofo said:


> Perhaps try a supplement that helps with focus? Jack3d, Gamma, C4


I would've agreed, but USPlabs and the people who make C4 have changed their recipe and they no longer provide the same focus they did last year. Personally I recommend taking about 200mg of caffeine and a gram of arganine. It gives me the same push I got from Jack3d's original formula.


----------



## brittauzenne (Feb 8, 2013)

Rakshasa said:


> any suggestions on making exercise less tedious


instead of working out just go out and play. maybe change the way you see it. i know that i dont think i could enjoy working out if it's too structured; i just do what brings me that "surge" and i consider that to be enough. you don't need to be as liberal as me, but as i already said, you could change the way you think of it. and maybe its not for you. i don't necessarily believe that its for everyone, so maybe you could consider that as well. if you need it or have decided that you will do it, just create some other priority that will be a better motivator so that you don't approach working out with a defeated attitude (not saying that you do, just trying to speak for different possibilities). but i do think that its good to do some kind of physical exercise. but, my view is that you should make it fun to fit your personal values, whatever they may be, and then the likelihood that it would seem tedious would probably go down.


----------



## claude (Aug 20, 2009)

I don't know what level or kind of fitness your looking for but certain things make working out more fun for me. Instead of just cardio for like an hour or so do intervals like sprint 30 seconds/jog 45 seconds etc, your workouts will be quicker and you'll probably stop from exhaustion rather then boredom. Other then that try to make them fun I guess, like sledgehammer and tire workouts or other things that are not so well known.


----------



## wk05 (Aug 26, 2012)

Rakshasa said:


> This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.
> 
> So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


Where are you working out? Are you taking solitary trips to the gym? Following the prescribed workout of 15-45minutes cardio and then hopping on the weight machines? If so, I don't blame you. I am someone who bores of things very easily, this can be said for all aspects of my life, so I can understand your challenge to find something that stimulates you. 

I've found variety to be my best weapon. I'm primarily a runner, so that sort of plays background to everything else, but even then, I get sick of running. I highly recommend squash to anyone who gets bored. It incorporates explosive movement,s and it's really as hard as you want to make it. There, that's your cardio done.

For strength training, I don't really know what your fitness goals are so it's hard to say - but maybe try do some exercises/classes that incorporate high intensity cardio with strength training. Then, you can always supplement this with extra weightlifting if you wish.

I hate gyms. Cannot stand them. And I'm a hermit at heart. So, what did I do? I bought a bunch of free weights and a spin bike and set it up in front of my TV at home. I don't have to leave the house, I can dance around in my pjamas and still get my heartrate up and see great improvements.

I'm a terrible swimmer..and that's an understatement. When I bore of running and my normal routine, I start up swimming training for however long it takes me to tire of that. It's a whole new arena, one which tests me to no end. But, the challenge is what drives me. I know I'll never be a great swimmer, but if I can see improvements, I can prove to myself that I am capable of more.

I also just started cross fit (no, I'm not the stereotypical arrogant fitness psycho) and I love it because it's in an interactive environment. If you don't feel like training that day, it doesn't matter, you just have to. That's it. You can distract yourself from your own workout if you want to, by focussing on others and turning otherwise mundane movements into a competition. 

Anyway, moral of the story: Variety! (and as mentioned, pre-workout supps can help too, sometimes)

Though, again, I don't know what your fitness goals are so all of that could have been irrelevant.


----------



## Up and Away (Mar 5, 2011)

The answer is 9 times out of 10, make it a social activity.

Even if we like working out, we still go in phases where we get bored with our routine, take some time in figuring out another one, etc...

The only way to prevent that is to make it a social activity in my experience


----------



## Kore (Aug 10, 2012)

I have done weights and online workouts like bodyrock.tv etc. The most fun I have EVER had working out is:






Because of the 80's feel, it makes you feel silly and if you can laugh at yourself you'll have even more fun! I personally love the style of music used and the constant attention needed to follow the choreography. It's something that I have stuck with non-stop because of how exciting I find it. Best of all it's free from this youtuber, I hope this helps you! 

Side Note: The dancers decided to do this aerobics DVD workout because of the popularity they gained from the "Call on me" music video by Eric Prydz that they starred in.


----------



## walker5881 (Dec 18, 2012)

Rakshasa said:


> This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.
> 
> So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


It doesn't take a one to two hour workout to get your body in shape for "a small range of physical activities." You need 15-30 minutes every other day (to start off) and just find a workout you like online. Find one that focuses on what you want to focus on and stick to it. After a few weeks, you'll have made it a habit and might want to look into adding more. 

I personally do 12 minutes High Intensity Interval Training every other day and love it. I used to work out for 1.5 to 2 hours at a time in college when I wanted to be stronger than all my friends, but I could care less about that now. Now it's about not looking flabby like the other dads, so it's body weight exercises and watching what I eat.


----------



## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

Do something fun that keeps you in shape unless you really need to be a model. I like trail runs, combines hiking & nature with fitness. If you have kids play on the playground equipment, hey you're just being a good dad, right? Tennis, soccer, basketball, etc are great things to have fun with while getting some exercise. Try something like a 5k mud run, those are fun. If you want a bigger challenge sign up for a Tough Mudder Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet which will get you motivated to stay in shape if you want to survive and not look like a wimp in front of your team .

I never have much time for organized workouts with a group, I've always heard making the workouts a social thing is the best as some of the other people have suggested. My wife works with a personal trainer, that really helps her just because she feels like she doesn't want to let someone else down.

Just stay moving a half hour a day or so & you'll stay pretty fit. Good luck!


----------



## Danse Macabre (Oct 30, 2009)

Rakshasa said:


> This is my first time on this board so forive any faux pas I may make.
> 
> So pretty much the OP. I want to be fit, and enjoy a small range of physical activities. Most of these activities demand a high level of physical fitness, among other more concrete investments. So as much as I want to look and feel better, and indulge my more physical nature I simply cannot stand working out. It's tedious, which is worse than painful. It comes down to a decision to improving my skill and knowledge base in a mental field, or spending an hour or two doing repetitive tasks to tear down muscle. So the simplest solution would be to make working out more interesting or immediately enriching. Just wondering if any of you have any suggestions on making exercise less tedious. Thanks in advance.


It mystifies me that people seem to think that getting fit requires approaching it as though it's a chore. Whenever I see people jogging along in the early morning or at a park working out looking like they're in a world of pain I get so confused. 

WHY!??!?!?!?! Hell yes it's tedious. IMO, any gym equipment is tedious. Treadmills, lifting weights... etc... you won't catch me dead doing that. You've got to find something that works for you. 

To give you an idea, here's what works for me and why:

*Surfing:* Man, it's such a good workout. Balance, endurance and quick thinking are very important. To even reach the point at which waves break entails some hard work as you paddle out. Once you're there you've got to pick the wave, pick the right time, and know when to bail if something's too difficult or dangerous. It's totally engrossing. It's also ridiculously good fun. 

*Snowboarding:* Like surfing in many ways but of course... suitable and possible in a completely different climate. Holy crap, the core strength required - wow. Balance and quick thinking are once again essential. Flexibility makes things a lot easier when you're learning too. 

*Bikram Yoga:*
Ahh. The perfectionistic nutcase in me positively foams at the mouth for Bikram Yoga. It's absolutely engrossing and such an awesome challenge. I love that I can see the results in the mirror as I go, and strive to have perfect form. You can never be too good at it and you can never be too shit either. It's all about what your body can do, and how you improve over time. Because I've been sick I haven't been to an actual class for 6 months but I could and still can literally do the splits simply from going to Bikram Yoga almost every day for a month. 
*
My favourite - Rock Climbing*

I'd recommend it for any type, but particularly for Ns.
It's so damn good. You have to think - it takes 100% of your concentration. You're given a wall, you've given a set amount of holds in a colour and at the bottom the difficulty rating (Any number usually from 5 to 24 where I go) and using those holds you've gotta get to the top. When they get difficult you've got to figure out how to get to the top, it's like solving a puzzle. 

It's different for everyone depending on their body type. Both being tall and being short have their advantages and disadvantages. Bulky meat headed guys who clearly go to the gym occasionally come in to the place I go and it's funny cause they always suck because they try and use brute strength. Not good enough for climbing. For someone who is average height for a girl and short limbed, but who's light with great balance and flexibility, I will find certain climbs far more easy and far more difficult than a tall, wiry and strong guy. 

You need flexibility, a good strength to weight ratio, and a brain. I've found there's a whole culture involved. Serious climbers will convene and watch one person attempt a particularly difficult climb, offer each other tips and strategies and figure it out together. 

The part that makes me smile the most is that me - a tiny underweight young woman - can excel at it and be among the best who is there at any given time because my strength to weight ratio is good and I'm a pretzel person cause I also love yoga. 

*Stationary Cycling

*This is my one exception to the "gym equipment is retarded" rule because while I cycle on my stationary bike, I play sudoku or read. Or watch tv. Too easy man.

*Krav Maga*:
An awesome form of self defence. I think all forms of self defence are awesome though, for the obviously practical application. I did a workshop for this one in particular though, and found it really interesting and smart. It's all about going for your attackers weaknesses and such. 

*Kayaking
*So much fun. Enjoying nature. It's so damn peaceful and meditative. And you can EXPLORE. yay. 

*Rowing
*Now this is purely what I've been told by my ex who was a champion rower at school and my friends from school who did rowing as well - it's fucking intense. 

*Gymnastics
*Dude gymnastics is awesome. I was an artistic gymnast as a kid, and last year I decided to check out if and where I could start up again. I found a place in my city which did adult gymnastics classes and it was SO MUCH FUN and so challenging. A lot of people go to those classes as a way to improve their Parkour skills, but in general, being able to do gymnastics is awesome. Even easy stuff like cartwheels and handstands are super fun. And when you start involving uneven bars, flips, rings and trampolines... I mean, dur. It sounds like fun and it is. It's also way more challenging than it looks. I went to the class feeling very confident that I'm super fit (Cause I was and I am) but even I found it very challenging and left thinking "shit man, I need to get in shape". 

We were practicing doing a handstand and trying to jump while in handstand position. I must have done something like 100 handstands and little hand hops while there and the next day I was in a world of pain. It was _awesome. 


_-----------

There. You can tell i'm passionate about this stuff, I guess. But seriously, if you can try every one of these sports and not get interested then... :shocked:

Exercise is friggin awesome. I'm not a fitness nut either, despite what it may look like. I'm a musician and a massive nerd, and a very thin pixie like girl who loves high heels and fashion. If everyone looked, I'm confident everyone would find several forms of exercise that work for them the way I've found mine. It's just a matter of trying stuff out, really.


----------



## Word Dispenser (May 18, 2012)

Zuzana Light's zwow and bodyrock.tv workouts search | litealloy.com

These workouts kept me interested for awhile. They were all very different, short and sweet, and I got results fast while actually enjoying it. I like to choose one at random, and just go.


----------



## Aslynn (Jun 2, 2012)

Word Dispenser said:


> Zuzana Light's zwow and bodyrock.tv workouts search | litealloy.com
> 
> These workouts kept me interested for awhile. They were all very different, short and sweet, and I got results fast while actually enjoying it. I like to choose one at random, and just go.


These routines are amazingly effective. I've stopped using Bodyrock, as it's gotten progressively more porn-y, but I still follow a lot of workouts at the newer site (zuzkalight.com, if ya'll are interested).


----------



## Laeona (Feb 20, 2012)

My workout routine? Life

When it snows, I shovel myself out. Anyone offers to use a snowblower, I tell them, "This is my workout. I don't want to get flabby."

I don't use a shopping cart to push my groceries around. Carry everything. When someone asks if I want a buggy? "This is my weight lifting. Thanks, though."

When the state park needs volunteers to rake sand, haul off logs and branches, cart stones, and generally clean up after storm damage, I'm all over that. I envy landscapers. I'd love to be one.

I'll walk all over the neighborhood, picking up trash as I go. I try to walk to my errands (post office, library, bank, etc) instead of driving.

I love moving furniture around in my house to clean.

I always take the stairs instead of the elevator.

I will take on crazy gardening projects. Give me a shovel and stand back.

That piece of furniture needs to be refinished? Give me old-fashioned sandpaper and let me go at it.

I've found, if I can be doing something useful while I'm getting a workout, it makes it thoroughly fulfilling. My body and mind both get something out of the deal. Life provides all kinds of "free" ways to build muscle, not to mention variety.


----------

