Fitness Boredom

With so many people that do not get into fitness at all it seems almost absurd to talk about fitness boredom. Indeed, boredom comes after doing the same thing over and over again to the point of making one think that all of the effort is futile. How can anyone who cannot even get into a basic fitness lifestyle begin to relate?

It may seem that the beginner and the seasoned athlete are wholly different people,but boredom occurs for both groups. It is just that the problems  are different.

The beginner tries and tries to get into a fitness routine, but never seems to get anywhere doing so. He or she does their best to diet properly, stay on their vitamins and get to the club. Yet none of this ever seems to work. Somehow an excuse always comes up to cause a deviation from what is known to be best. This is the main reason for the yo-yo phenomenon in dieting.

On the other hand, the seasoned athlete works hard at his or routine never missing their supplements, never deviating form a proper diet, and never missing a workout. But the gains just do not seem to come. The body builder still has the same shape after six or more months. The runner still has the same time for the marathon after two or three years

Experiences such as these cause both groups to encounter boredom fantasies, which make actually quitting a reasonable decision. Humans just cannot stand to be detached from what they are doing, especially if the believed causes are of a constitutional nature. The beginner may wonder if they are simply not biologically predisposed to be on a regular fitness routine. The athlete may wonder if age is simply making any more physical changes or better times impossible.

The danger for both of these groups is to take these feelings and accompanying fantasies or thoughts seriously. If that happens, giving up will become the only reasonable thing to do. That should never be allowed to happen.

A good coach or personal trainer would insist that beginners as well as seasoned athletes get bored when they go through plateaus. Therefore these feelings ought not to be acted upon They merely are indications that the entire system is gaining enough strength to reach the next level.

The standard advice during such periods is to make a change–mostly this means modifying a routine, but sometimes it means trying a different set of supplements or changing a diet. Assuming  these disciplines were well-thought out beforehand, one should never do that. One should simply stay at their disciplines just like an Olympic athlete. That very simply means ignoring the boredom; or, even better, thinking of it as nature’s message  that cellular growth is occurring at deep imperceptible level.

For more about staying at it through the plateaus in spite of boredom order my book “Think and Grow Fit.