Tom starts his journey super-motivated. He follows his new workout routine religiously. He arrives at the gym at 5pm every day. He hits the treadmill, lifts weights, uses the Nautilus equipment, then the cardio machine. He does this five days a week. And Tom hates it! He’s sore and exhausted, but not seeing much change in his body. He doesn’t feel any motivation to go to the gym. Before long, he starts looking for excuses to not be at the gym.
Sound familiar? If it’s any consolation, you’re not alone! Workouts can get monotonous and downright boring very quickly. Further, getting stuck in a rut causes your intelligent body to adapt and become accustomed to the workout, gradually burning fewer calories and building muscle less efficiently.
The result? You go through boring hours of intense exercise, which does little to no good in the end. This can throw you off-track if you’re working out with specific goals. Boring traditional exercises will help you stay healthy, provided you can persevere through the boredom. But if you’re exercising to lose some flab, baby weight, to reach your ideal body BMI score, those monotonous workouts will get you nowhere fast.
VARIETY REALLY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE, MORE SO WHEN YOU EXERCISE
Working out with a friend or a new group of workout buddies alleviates boredom and motivates you to push yourself harder. However, a routine sport or activity will affect your body with fewer positive effects as the same muscle groups are required every time. It’s a good idea to introduce variety in your workout routine.
Add outdoor activities with friends, family members or pets, such as jogging, hiking, trekking, or bicycling, which gives your works different muscle groups, entertains the senses differently, and carries other benefits like fellowship with others. If you’re running already, change your route, or choose a more steep slope for the workout. Similarly, switch schedules, routines, intensity, and length of workout and “cheat” days intermittently to have your body un-learn the stimulus. Aim for a switch every six weeks at least.
MARTIAL ARTS IS THE END OF PAINFULLY BORING WORKOUTS FOR ADULTS
To bring the fun back to your fitness routine, introduce martial arts into your weekly workout routine. Martial arts training is the fun way to give your whole body, including muscles that typically don’t get exercised on the treadmill, a thorough workout. You’ll lose body fat while increasing the health of your heart, lungs, blood vessels, and body tissue. An average person expends 600 calories in one hour of martial arts!
But this is not all. Martial arts training also helps learn valuable life and survival skills. You learn
how to respect and tolerate others, how to keep your cool but command respect, and how to fight for your life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness when needed. You learn patience and perseverance while building discipline, integrity, knowledge, and honor. So say goodbye to boring, ineffective workouts by replacing them with exciting, fun-filled, stupendously beneficious martial arts training.