We’ve all gotten into a rut before. Habits, routines, whatever. The joy leeches out and suddenly something that had you pumped leaves you bummed.

It’s important to combat that in exercise. Steve Pavlina, internet self-improvement guru, talks about varying your exercise routine:

This isn’t the first time I’ve had a gym membership, but I’ve never belonged to one with so much variety. In the past I’ve also done biking, yoga, weight training, hiking, cardio machines (treadmill, stationary bike, stairs, etc), Tae Kwon Do, calisthenics, aerobics, and more. One year I had a personal trainer as well. I notice that whenever my workouts become dull and repetitive, switching to something new is a great way to liven things up. The newness makes exercise challenging again, and challenge makes it interesting. I found this especially true when I was learning Tae Kwon Do, which itself has a nice amount of variety (sparring, poomsae, board breaks, flexibility, etc).