Friday 22 February 2013

Making your workouts fun

Everybody knows the usual stuff like listening to music or exercising with your friend, the other fun things I do are
Challenge yourself for every workout (I mean every workout..every day...)
Before I enter the gym or start my workout I challenge myself, nothing great just small changes like I would increase my treadmill speed by 2 -3 % and challenge myself to jog at the higher speed for a minute in every 5 minutes and towards the end of my run I keep increasing the speed till I reach a sprint, then next time I enter the gym I decide I want to cover a distance in a specific time.
So everytime I workout I do atleast one thing better than my last workout, ofcourse if I'm sick things will chnage but otherwise this is my mantra.
Let your imagination go wild
This is something I do when I workout in the gym or go jogging, it might sound weird to most of you but when I exercise sometimes I think like I'm a very fit person, a person with good strength and stamina. The minute I start thinking like this subconsciously I change my form, I run for longer and my energy is up for longer... of course it’s not easy to think like this all the time, reality does creep in but if I can manage to think like a fit person I definitely get more out of my workout.
Friendly competition
Find somebody better than you and compete...either silently or if you are friends then you can push each other. I always notice people who are doing something better than me, I don’t stalk them but I keep an eye out for what they are doing or how they are doing it, then I try and keep that as a bench mark till I can reach it...(again these are small things like I used to do half push - ups now I manage a few (very few) proper push ups). I also compete with T we see who can hold a plank longer (I can I can ;)..I wanted to boast!!) or who can run longer and faster...he can but because I compete with him I have improved a lot.
Always dress the part
I always feel more confident when I’m dressed well, doesn’t mean anything fancy, just smart and comfortable. I always tie my hair back (nothing on my face distracting me, when I’m working out), if I go for a spin class I wear capris no yoga pants, if I’m jogging I use my running shoes. I’m not saying you need to spend too much or waste an hour getting ready for a workout, For me if I dress the part I feel like I belong and I’m more comfortable so I workout better.
Share your workout plan with your friends
I like talking about my workouts. Initially I would feel awkward and worry about my friends getting bored but I noticed as I started sharing so did they and I got to learn new exercises and techniques, even though we don’t work out together it’s good to talk about working out and trying new things
Do you have any fun things you do to enjoy your workouts more?
Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

9 comments:

  1. I agree with each part that you mentioned here! I often, especially when it comes to running, try to challenge myself to go a bit faster for at least a certain portion of the run. As for my imagination, I have so many different scenarios that I play in my head to get me motivated and get my heart pumping. This especially helps when I'm practicing my boxing :)
    I totally agree with the dressing the part - it definitely helps!!
    I'm not sure I do anything else different than the things you mentioned here.

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    1. I thought I was the only one imagining and having fun :)

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  2. Hi Tanvee! Another great post! Yes, the gym is our playground. It can be super fun. I love all my music. I enjoy all my gym buddies. I have very fun t-shirts, such as my Pac-Man ghost t-shirt, to wear to the gym. (No yogurt colored workout clothes for me!) I do the strange-r and funnier exercises that make me feel like laughing. I do the exercises that make me feel like a rockstar. I actually wear a little makeup when I work out because gym is a social event for me. When I weight lift or do yoga, I like to look my best. So all of this ends up making every workout super fun. What a great point to raise--we make our workout be what we want.

    :-) Marion

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    2. Hi Marion, thank you :)I love getting ready for the gym too..I always feel like an althlete when I get ready for the gym..I think there is a bounce in my step when I'm walking towards the gym :D

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  3. Best for me was the friendly competition portion of your post, but I compete with myself. I set myself a monthly exercise goal (in minutes), I have a ticker on my blog sidebar, and I LOVE to knock those minutes off, and when it's a month like this one where I reach my goal DAYS before the end of the month, woohoo! It really speaks to my Inner Uber Competitive nature.

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    1. Hi Gwen,I'm competitve too, everytime I reach my goals I feel like I have achieved something :) even if the goals are small..that's why I have mini goals everyday...

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  4. Wow, its like you are in my head! Great post.

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