If we take the right steps for dealing with exercise burnout, we can regain our enthusiasm and decrease our chances of actually quitting our fitness program. Remember, the only thing that can stop us from reaching our fitness goals is if we quit.

Try These Tips for Dealing With Exercise Burnout:

Exercise Burnout - It happens to nearly all of us from time to time who are serious about getting our bodies in shape and reaching our fitness goals. It goes beyond merely getting tired of our fitness routine. We get tired of exercising in general. We burn out. It’s important that we anticipate this and know what to do about it so that we persist with our fitness goals.

If we take the right steps for dealing with exercise burnout, we can regain our enthusiasm and decrease our chances of actually quitting our fitness program. Remember, the only thing that can stop us from reaching our fitness goals is if we quit.

Tips and Recommendations for Dealing with Exercise Burnout:

-- First of all, make sure that you’re dealing with burnout (a psychological issue) and not mistaking it for overtraining syndrome. Read more about overtraining syndrome here.

-- Once you’ve established that it’s burnout and not overtraining, sit down and try to figure out what’s going on in your head. Write down your thoughts. See our article on keeping an exercise journal.

Are you just sick and tired of exercising in general? Or you tired of just a particular exercise routine that you doing (such as jogging)? Are you feeling depressed about another area of your life and that is carrying over to your physical fitness routine? Are you feeling discouraged because you are not seeing any results?

Whatever it is, write down those thoughts! Get those psychological blocks clear in your mind. Read about a mental technique we developed for dealing with psychological blocks. You can deal with the monsters when they are out in the open. But when it’s just some vague thought such as, “I don’t want to do this anymore,” then it’s more difficult to get to the bottom of its cause and to eradicate it.

Once you’ve discovered what you are feeling, develop a plan of action to deal with it.

-- Do not push yourself too far, too fast. Beginners should always start slowly. We cannot overemphasize this. When we talk about burnout, we usually refer to people who have been doing something for quite some time. But, if you dive headfirst into a new fitness routine, going full boar, you risk burning out a week later.

Fitness clubs and gyms across America have made tons of money on new members who get all pumped up about getting in shape. Click here for tips for finding the fitness club / gym that’s right for you. One month later, many of them have already dropped their regular visits to the gym. We believe one of the reasons for this is they push themselves too far, too fast. Psychologically (and physically), they don’t want to deal with physical fitness anymore. Burnout happens even to those at the beginner level of fitness. The definition of burnout does not have to just apply to the hardcore fitness freak or the Olympic hopeful.

If you feel that your fitness routine has become like the treadmill you’ve been walking – endlessly boring and never ending, then it’s time to take action. In fact, it’s best to anticipate this and to be prepared to take corrective action even before the systems of burnout first rear their ugly head.

-- Vary your exercise routine from time to time to help ward against burnout. Try to mix up your exercise routine. Consider cross training.

-- If you feel that your fitness program is so routine that it has become a drag, you’re bound to get bored with it after awhile. That is why it is important to mix in some variation. Variety is indeed the spice of life. Mixing in some other exercises and routines on occasion will also work your muscle groups in a way that they are not used to being worked – which is good as long as your exercise form is correct.

Ever noticed how when you do an exercise you haven’t done before or haven’t done in a long time you feel a little sore in those muscle groups the next day? That is because you are shocking your muscles with new movements (which is good). Your muscles had grown accustomed to your exercise routine. By mixing up your routine with new exercise movements, you are promoting new muscle growth.

-- Mixing up your routine from time to time is also good for your nervous system. And consider this: Even something as simple as brushing your teeth with your opposite hand from time to time is good for your brain and your nervous system. You’re forcing your nervous system out of its normal routine, and lighting up your nerve impulses.

Instead of jogging one day, play a game of racquetball. Instead of your normal walking, hit the links for a round of golf. Instead of the stairmaster, go for a bike ride – or go for a swim.

The point here is that it is good to vary your exercise routine from time to time. Not only is novelty important for helping to avoid burnout, it also reawakens your brain, your nervous system, and your muscles.

-- If it helps, use the buddy system and find a good workout partner. A good workout partner will push you and keep you slightly entertained as well. Jogging, walking, lifting weights, and other exercise routines are all more fun when done with a good workout partner.

Be careful to avoid a workout partner who has you just idly socializing more than actually exercising. Many times when two or more friends work out at the gym, they do much more talking than actually exercising. Socializing with friends certainly has its place, but those people that make socializing at the gym a priority never seem to get any results with their fitness goals.

-- Listening to music while you exercise can make the exercise time much more enjoyable. The Sony Walkman, invented in the 1980s, was a godsend to joggers. Is it any coincidence the decade of the 80s saw such a fitness craze. Today we have iPods to help us get through our workouts.

-- If you’re on a treadmill, stairmaster, or a exercise bike, multitask by watching your favorite TV show or the ballgame. This serves two purposes – you’re exercising while watching television (rather than just vegetating on the couch), and you’re making the exercise time much more enjoyable.

-- Many of the above recommendations can be summarized into one suggestion: Keep exercise fun. If your fitness routine has lost its excitement, try a different routine for change. Try a workout partner. Do whatever it takes.

Physical exercise is necessary for our good health. But that doesn’t mean it has to be drudgery. Far from it. Use your imagination to come up with ways you can make exercise more fun and avoid burning out.

Sometimes the best thing to do is just to take a day off, especially if you’ve earned it. Read our article on setting up a reward/ incentive fitness system for yourself. When you have consistently worked hard to your fitness goals, take a day off on occasion to reward yourself. This will help to keep you from burning out on exercise.

Related Mind Fitness Articles:

What's Stopping You from Reaching Your Weight Loss Goals and Other Fitness Goals? Try this Mental Technique.
Your mind plays a huge role in whether or not you will lose the weight we want to lose, sculpt the lean body you desire, build the muscle we want to build, or another other fitness goal you may have. Try this technique we've developed for blasting through our own mental blocks.

The Fitness Reward / Incentive System for Behavioral Modification
We've personally used this system to shorten the time it takes to reach fitness goals, drastically improve our personal lives, and to break some bad habits that stand in the way of reaching our goals.

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