One of the top reasons people say they don’t exercise is that they find it boring.
This is no doubt encouraged by the common falsehood that exercise means running, and running means jogging for two hours a day. Yes, doing that is extremely boring and probably one of the worst ways to get in your activity.
Good fortune has it that there are many other, and mostly more productive, ways to move your body, promote good health, cultivate a prize-winning fizeek.
Sometimes, though, you just have to do the work. No way around it. Otherwise you end up like those women in the Tick Tock video doing weird bungee-cord gymnastics to keep things Fun! and Exciting!
I’m a results-first guy, so I don’t care about any of that mess. Point me at the big levers and let me pull them and get home.
One of the bigger levers I’ve discovered is the steep incline treadmill walk. Set it to 12 degrees or higher and a brisk walking pace turns into productive fat-chewing enterprise.
The downside: after 20 minutes it gets boring. 30-40 minutes is the good target for a minimum dose. What to do?
Boredom is the mental equivalent of an untrained body confronting resistance for the first time.
Day 1 lifting weights might leave you a quivering mess sore for the next five days.
By year 3 you can lift daily with no ill effects.
It’s about the cycle of stress and adaptation. The more you challenge yourself and recover, the better you get at it.
Boredom is the result of an unfocused mind unused to doing uncomfortable things.
The target is want a focused mind used to doing uncomfortable things.
The only way to get there is to keep moving. Even when your chattering monkey-brain is shouting at you, screaming, begging, crying for stimulation from your doomscrolling device.
You say “No” and keep walking.
That’s what hit me this morning around minute 27. Sitting in the boredom is how you learn to tolerate the boredom.
On the other side of toleration, there’s thriving in it. Saying “Yes” to the boredom because you know it’s bringing you closer to your target.
Fatigue is an illusion and so is boredom. The real limits are far beyond the simple tiredness and discomfort of a workout.
That’s where the cool stuff happens.
Note: This is not a lesson about working out.
Matt Perryman
https://matts.email