Q: I think I am in a rut with my exercise. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I run five miles. On Tuesday and Thursday I lift weights at the club I belong to. On Saturday I play tennis. I usually take Sunday off. I have been doing this same routine for a year and I am bored. What else can I do? - C.B., Scottsdale, AZ

A: Well, C.B., there is a whole world of fun and variety waiting for you to discover it. Doing cardiovascular activity three days a week is great. Now let's see if we can mix it up a little bit. Swimming, biking, hiking, group fitness classes, and cardiovascular machines are just a few activities you could try. Maybe run one or two days a week, if running is important to you, and add one or two other cardiovascular activities to your workouts. Cross-training like this is a great way to stay in shape and have fun. It really helps reduce the boredom factor. In addition, it allows you to change your workouts every couple of months so you don't get bored and your exercises remain effective for you.

When weight lifting, you might try working your upper body one day and lower the next. You could also select specific muscle groups for each workout. Throw in a weight-training circuit or a group fitness strength-training class for fun and variety. One week do a heavy workout with weights and the next go light and work on endurance. Find a workout partner and experiment with different exercises for the different muscle groups. Maybe get a personal trainer for a workout or two and discover new ways to work the muscle groups.

Let your imagination loose. There are no set rules or boundaries for what qualifies as a workout. Listen to your body and have fun with your workouts. If you had planned to run Wednesday and your body says it wants to go swimming instead, go swimming. Or maybe if it wants to go for a hike in the surrounding mountains, grab some friends and go - or go by yourself. Pack a lunch and make a day of it.

Feed your senses as well as your body with your workouts. If you enjoy your workouts, you will feel better about them and yourself. Keeping your workouts fun, fresh, and new will help you reach your fitness goals and keep you motivated. In addition, mixing your workouts up helps prevent or move beyond the well-known and dreaded workout plateau. If your body does not have time to completely adapt to a workout routine, it is very difficult for it to reach a plateau and stall in development.

Source: fitlinxx.com