How to Overcome Boredom in the Gym: 3 Ways to Make the Gym Your Adult Playground
One of the biggest barriers that stops people from reaching their fitness goals is boredom in the gym. For some, going to the gym is routine enough that it can be done without second thought. It’s as much a part of the day as brushing teeth and going to work. For others, it’s hard to find the motivation. For many, it starts off enjoyable, but after awhile it loses its appeal and gets boring. Some can’t even get start going to the gym because the whole concept of lifting weights and using machines for 3 sets of 10 over and over sounds monotonous and unappealing.
Even the most hardcore gym-goers often endure a dry spell where the regimen gets old and loses its enjoyment.
This is a common yet normal complaint. The gym can get boring. It’s okay to admit that.
However, just because the gym can be boring doesn’t mean it has to stay boring. Trying something new, mixing up the routine, and stepping out of your comfort zone can turn the boring gym experience into an exhilarating, enjoyable one.
Here are three ideas you can try to overcome boredom and turn the gym into your adult playground.
- Take a Class
Classes at the gym are the perfect way to overcome boredom while still getting a challenging, effective workout. It’s almost impossible to get bored when you don’t know what you’re going to be doing until you walk in the doors.
Classes are often one of the big selling points when staff pitch gym memberships, and for good reason. Highly-trained and energy-rich instructors bring enthusiasm and accountability, structure encourages full-body engagement, and camaraderie ensures you’re not enduring the session alone. A room with upbeat music, instructors who’ve consumed one too many energy drinks, and classmates equally as terrified of what’s to come, is plenty to ensure your experience will be enjoyable.
Most big chain gyms like LA Fitness and Crunch offer standard classes such as yoga, Zumba, and pilates. Sports and performance gyms will often offer athlete classes and high-intensity training. Smaller gyms often specialize in their niche, and can include some interesting classes that big gyms don’t offer. Crossfit is a thing too. There’s something for everyone, even if it’s not what you’d normally go for (seeing massive bodybuilders attempting tree pose in a yoga class is often enough to cause a few chuckles).
If your gym doesn’t offer classes, there are a plethora of options online and on Youtube for follow-along classes that can be performed on your own in the gym. It’s not quite the same without the in-person instruction and crowds of fellow class-takers, but it still offers an excellent alternative to the usual training that you got bored of.
Break up the routine of what you normally do and try a class to help break the boredom rut.
2. Pick a Goal, and Train For It
So often, we start out going to the gym to reach a certain number on the scale, or a certain physique when we look in the mirror. While motivating factors like these are a great way to start going to the gym, they’re often unsustainable in the long term. The single-best way, in my professional opinion, to counteract that is to identify a specific training goal that you’d like to accomplish and structure a training program to achieve that goal.
There are countless examples of training goals that don’t involve scales and mirrors. Some examples include:
- Completing a 5k, 10k, marathon, etc.
- Achieving a Personal Record (PR) in bench press
- Doing your first push-up or pull-up
- Holding a plank for 2 minutes
- Completing a spartan race
- Being able to maintain a handstand
All of these goals can be worked for in the gym, and all of them require some form of structured training program to be able to achieve these goals (in a healthy, efficient manner at least). By choosing a goal you’re excited about, you can structure your training in a way that you can work to achieve it. Hiring a trainer or a coach (like me) can be valuable if you’re not sure where to start or if you need a little more of a push later down the road. Ultimately, you’ll have a new approach to training that will help you overcome boredom and start to enjoy training again.
3. Cancel Your Gym Membership
Yes, if you get bored with your gym and no other ideas sound appealing enough to consider, cancel your gym membership. It’s better than wasting money on something you’re not going to use and enjoy.
Try out different gyms, and see if a new environment with new people, equipment, and vibes can help you break out of your boredom rut. Even the best gyms can lose their appeal if you spend months and years there, doing the same things over and over again.
Perhaps a switch to a boutique gym or a class-based gym can help if you’re tired of the box gyms. Perhaps you’ve graduated from planet fitness and are ready to move on to Gunnar’s Battle Warrior Iron Death Bar Strongman Gym. Sometimes, changing the style of gym and the training that you do can spark a new interest. At the very least, it can facilitate the next step in the evolution of your fitness journey.
Finally, for some people, a gym membership just isn’t necessary. There are so many options for exercising outside, especially for those in places that are warm year round. Perhaps outdoor calisthenics or triathlon training is the next step to breaking boredom. Also consider the rise in home-based training programs since the COVID-19 pandemic began; there are endless options for things you can do without stepping foot in a gym at all.
Bottom-Line
Going to the gym can get boring, for the most frequent gym-goers, for those who have only stepped foot in the gym once in their life, and to everyone in between. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay boring.
Trying a new class, training for a new goal, changing the environment you’re in, or even abandoning the gym altogether, are all excellent ways to break your training rut and find new excitement in your training.
Ultimately, the best form of exercise is the one you enjoy enough to do consistently.
If you’re struggling with boredom in the gym, or need help training for your new fitness goals, click here to see how I can help you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading this article. If you’re interested in more from me, check out my other work here.