Consistency and Boredom

Hey League!

At Wild Gym, we often talk about how important consistency is. If you can maintain consistency, you’ll see results over time, no doubt about it! We also talk about how a healthy lifestyle requires a lifelong effort. It’s not a case of putting in a few months at a time and then stopping, but getting to a point where you view your health as a life-long pursuit. Sometimes “life-long” can feel daunting, at least to me!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I struggle with the “boredom” of consistency. When it comes to hitting my health goals, I do best with a routine. But I also get bored. Over the years, I’ve learned some tips and tricks to keep my workouts different enough so I look forward to them while maintaining vital consistency.

I am not someone who thrives on 5-minute planks or 30-day pushup challenges. While I appreciate the value of a process and reaching a goal, I don’t really have a reason to want to do 200 pushups in a day. I often can stick to a workout routine for about a month before I need things to change. Or, if I am doing something like a plank or a wall sit that is timed, once I get to a minute or so, I need to find ways to change it up otherwise I get bored. Planking while waiting for the buzzer to go off just irritates me!

Here are a few ways I’ve found over the years to change things up so that my workouts feel new and I look forward to them, which allows me to stay consistent with my goals.

Make it Harder

Once I can perform 12 reps of a movement, or hold it for a minute, I change it up. I might increase the weight so I do the same movement with more weight and only do 6-8 reps instead of 12. That allows me to keep challenging myself, which I enjoy, and also to ensure my workouts are progressive. Generally, once I can do 12 reps I need to add weight. Beyond that I get bored and get sloppy. I’ve seen programs that want you to do 40 reps before you move on, those just aren’t for me. I don’t want to do 40 reps of anything multiple times a week! For the occasional challenges it can be a fun exploration, but not as a daily workout. I get bored and dread the workout which causes me to make excuses that I’ll do it later or double up tomorrow…and that always results in me not doing my workout.

I have been working on my quad strength and am now up to 90 second wall sits. They are at that point I get bored, so I added a kettlebell that I hold straight out in front of me, which adds not just a challenge but requires me to focus.

Add a Variation

This is one of my favorites because I often find moves I’ve never tried before. When I get bored with a plank, I change it up. You can do a standard plank, forearm plank, body saw, side plank, incline or decline planks, shoulder-touch planks among many others. It’s the same for things like squats or pushups. You can do pike pushups or slow-motion pushups. Or sumo or goblet squats. Just those small changes keep me engaged in my workouts, anticipating them, and I get more variation of movement than just doing the same standard versions all the time. Variations are available for almost any move you can think of. I sometimes swap dumbbells for ruck plates and even that adds some changes.

Change Your Route

This boredom and need for something new also applies to walking. While my husband will walk the same route, the same direction, forever, I get so bored that I don’t want to go. Sometimes I drive to a new spot to walk just to avoid having to do the same route out of our neighborhood. I’ll do a loop the other direction. I’ll take my shoes off and walk in the grass or gravel instead of on paved trails. Sometimes I’ll even change to walking backwards briefly, or laterally (side-stepping). Rucking backward up a hill is a whole different movement! But do check out your space well first, don’t risk stepping into a hole or falling down. Landing on a ruck plate would suck. In areas that allow, I go off-trail when I am hiking so I can see things others miss. I take different routes when I walk to do errands in town or take a longer route through the hospital/clinic complex to get more steps in.

Have a Plan for Off Days

Sometimes life just gets in the way, or I’m heavily resisting a workout. I keep a few workouts that I really enjoy tucked away so that on those days that I have less time or just need something entirely different, I have some options. I screenshot some of the workouts in the Wild Gym Ecosystem workouts to save, for example. Or I look online for an interval workout that looks fun.

I typically do upper, lower, and core days for strength but I also created a combined (upper+lower+core) workout to do on days I am short on time or when we are traveling and I can’t get in a full workout every day. It allows me to hit the things I value most while maintaining consistency. Next week, my husband and I are taking a much-needed trip and I don’t want to lose the consistency I’ve only recently re-gained after my hip replacement. I will be taking some of my gear with me, using the hotel gym, and doing the combined workout along with plenty of walking.

It Works for Nutrition, Too
I am also not a person who can eat the same bowl of oatmeal every day for weeks or months. I change it up by looking for different ways to eat oatmeal. You’d be surprised what is out there! One of my favorite oatmeal recipes is from a Zen monastery cookbook that has dried apricot and grated sweet potatoes. Sounds odd, but is quite tasty! I’ll post the recipe at the end for those interested. Throw some pumpkin or sunflower seeds on a salad to give it more crunch. Try a different flavor of protein powder. I recently picked up the Dymatize Fruity Pebbles flavor and it tastes like 1985 Saturday mornings! Add some spices to your coffee. I put a teaspoon each of turmeric and ginger along with some black pepper in my coffee most days. I might throw in some chaga, cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom, or all of them together! Add kimchi to a salad or sandwich to spice things up. So many options!

Here’s that recipe! I usually halve this as it’s quite a large amount otherwise. I also like more fruit so I add a bit more.
Oatmeal with Sweet Potato and Apricot from the 3 Bowls cookbook

2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated (about 3 cups)

4 dried apricots, chopped

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring 5 ½ cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in oats, sweet potato, apricot, and salt and return to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until oats are tender and sweet potato is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Eat as-is or add maple syrup, honey, milk, cinnamon, other dried fruits, nuts, coconut, and/or sesame or sunflower seeds.

There are a lot of ways we can get around the belief that consistency means boredom. Even small changes can change how a workout feels or a meal tastes to give it some freshness and novelty. Enjoy experimenting with changing things up to avoid the boredom doldrums!

Make it a wild weekend!
-Kim

Consistency and Boredom

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