Running in the ‘Meda: Changing things up

What should you do if you’re bored with your fitness routine?

This is a common problem for many of us. It is especially hard if we made a New Year’s resolution related to fitness and now find ourselves two and a half months into the year without the results we were hoping to achieve. We finally make the effort to commit to a program of physical fitness (which we know is a good idea), but then, after some period of time, it gets monotonous. We begin to find excuses to not go to the gym, do our four-mile jog, or cycle around the Island.

In order to continue to maintain our fitness, it is critical to find a way to not bore ourselves back into a sedentary lifestyle. The best way to achieve this is to frequently change that routine. For some people, simply varying the way they do the same exercise is enough to keep them interested. For others, making a more significant change is needed.

Let’s say that your routine involves walking, running or cycling, and your usual workout covers the same route. The easiest way to make a change in that routine is to do that route in the reverse direction. If you’ve never tried this, do – you’ll feel like you’re discovering an entirely new route. The next easiest option is to actually find a new route. In Alameda, this is easy enough – if you usually use the Bay Trail on Bay Farm Island, you could, instead, use one of the interior paths. If you’re not sure where you’re going, don’t worry – it’s kind of like Venice, where getting lost isn’t that big of a deal, since it’s not exactly San Francisco.

Another example is for those among you who consider yourselves gym rats. I’ve been doing …read more

Source: Alameda News From The Alamedan