Busting Boredom with Strength Training

Posts: 579
1/18/12 1:16 P

For short intense strength workouts checkout bodyrock.tv. They post a new video each day so you never do the same routine twice. It is great - it is very intense, over quickly, and you see results fast!

Posts: 21
1/18/12 11:54 A

Treddi - I don't have any problem with cardio. I love to dance (and walk and just generally move) so I play a lot of the dance games for Wii in the wintertime or when it's raining or generally unpleasant outside. Let me tell you what, the Michael Jackson Experience game can kick your behind!

Thanks for the tips, everybody else (especialy Motivated and SergeantMajor)! I'll keep some of the DVD suggestions in mind when doing the strength exercises on Wii fit stop hurting. I did them last night and I think they're effective for now, though I'm sure I'll have to move up to something else in a month or so. I am (pleasantly?) sore today.

Edited by: AMADEO2010 at: 1/18/2012 (11:55)

Posts: 12,391
1/18/12 9:46 A

By doing compound exercises that work several different muscles at once, you can get in an all body workout in just a few moves. An example would be:

* squats/lunges
* planks
* pushups (modified/wall pushups if necessary)
* pullups/lat pulldowns/dumbbell rows

By lifting heavy/selecting a genuinely challenging exercise, you can fatigue your muscles in 12 reps or less. Strength training is all about quality, not quantity, and it is actually more effective strength training to lift heavy and fatigue your muscles in 6-8 reps, than it is to do 15 reps with a lighter weight.

So by selecting compound exercises that are genuinely challenging, you should be able to get in an all-body workout in 15-20 minutes, before boredom has the chance to set in.

M@L

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1/18/12 2:14 A

Amadeo!
I just learned from a blog that were are human and we do not do everything perfect! Its ok to be human. Good blog. Anyway...I learned early on not waste time b/c of my boredom with exercises. I stop as soon as symptoms arise. Dont force it. You may make yourself truly hate it if you do!
I break up my workout. Not including five minute warm up and 5 min cool down...I do 10 minutes..minimum requirement. I'm really shooting for 15. I take a walk in the afternoon. and try motivating myself for another session later.
I have a plan B. If I don't feel like doing standard cardio, then I do a fast pace session of jumping....skipping, running, walking, hopping, jacks, rocket kicks, kickboxing kicks, the maniac, dance moves stolen from james brown, mj, tina, etc.
Sometimes I have to restrict my reps to 20 seconds!
Plan C is to dance all of the way through. disco, salsa, etc. Strap on some shoes. Pump that Celia Cruz! And it is on!!!
I hope that helps!

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1/18/12 1:28 A

I second the 30 day shred, it is really fast paced and short, so you shouldnt get bored! Other than that I am no help because I hate strength too.

Posts: 6,046
1/17/12 11:41 P

In my opinion if you spend more than thirty minutes doing a strength workout you are working at a proper level of intensity. Too much time and too many exercises are anathema to getting strength results. Only bodybuilders who are making themselves pretty but not fit or strong need to spend hours doing weight training. Six full body exercises and compound movement exercises with challenging weights done with minimal recovery will get you worked out and out of the gym in forty minutes when you add a five minute warm up and five minute cool down..

More is just more, better is better exchange quality for quantity and intensity for duration and you will never be bored.

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1/17/12 5:21 P

Do strength exercised on a stability ball. They're really cheap - can easily find one for $10 - and you can find free routines on the internet (i.e. sparkspeople). I LOVE using the stability ball and dumbbells. It's so much more interesting and you are working your core out at the same time. It's perfect multitasking

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1/17/12 3:45 P

Try circuit training! It is fast paced and varied. Check out the Spartacus workouts in Mens Health. (Don't let the fact that they were in a mens magazine throw you. They were designed by Rachel Cosgrove of Results Fitness and a good workout is good for either gender!) Below is a link to the second Spartacus workout. You can google the first one and the third was just published in the magazine.

my.menshealth.com/workout/The-Spartacus-Wo
rkout-2.0

You can do a different one on different days to keep things varied. I really enjoy these workouts. If you want a good DVD, try Jackie Warner's Circuit Training DVD. It is also pretty fast paced, very few rests!

Posts: 2,699
1/17/12 12:18 P

I don't know about adding weights while using the Wii, but try one of SP's ST programs. And, by lifting heavier, I meant lift heavy, not just small handweights. As soon as I get the equipment, I plan to put away my handweights and go heavy.

I've never done 30 day shred, but I do own Shred it with Weights (Jillian Michaels). I never get bored, it's fairly intense circuits. Check out your local library's fitness DVD selection and see if anything strikes your fancy.

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Posts: 165
1/17/12 11:55 A

Try the 30 day shred. It's only 20 minutes and Jillian is awesome!

Posts: 21
1/17/12 11:15 A

I'm open to the idea. How do you suggest I go about doing that? I can do the strength training things on Wii Fit OK. Do you think I could add weights while doing them?

Posts: 2,699
1/17/12 11:12 A

Get a shorter, more intense video. Or, create your own program. I often have a show on in the background and do a strength program I've vreated. Lift heavier weights for fewer reps, then the workout may be done sooner, too.

Posts: 21
1/17/12 11:07 A

I do a lot of cardio right now, about 40-45 minutes three to four times a week and I know I need to add strength training, but I have a problem.

I get incredibly bored with repetitive exercise. I can get my cardio in because I can walk, or play a dance game on the Wii and I can get by with the cardio segment of P90X. But the minute I begin one of the strength training segments with all the repetition and nothing else, over and over again, I lose all interest and can't finish the hour long video. About 20 minutes to a half hour in I just give up the ghost and move on. I just get that bored. It's for the same reason I can't hang out on any exercise machine without a book or a video in front of me.

Help? Thoughts? Suggestions?