MICHELE MOULTON: Tips for avoiding workout burnout

I have a couple of close gym friends who have been struggling recently with that feeling of being burnt out with their workout schedule and the gym in general. It happens to the best of us. It’s hard to continuously stay motivated and excited about working out. As a fitness instructor, I go through periods of feeling less than motivated about teaching classes. I will admit … it’s hard to stay on track all the time. Sometimes you just want to go home, lay on the couch and be lazy.

It’s a good thing that January is just around the corner because January is the month of resolutions. The gyms will be packed with people having high hopes and good intentions of getting fit. It’s easy to feed off of the energy in the gym during January.

But it’s December, and the holidays are just around the corner. Gym members tend to slack off between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. There are Christmas parties every week, and everyone has shopping that needs to be done. It’s so easy to blow off a workout that you don’t really want to do to begin with. It’s dark early, and it’s cold outside. Let’s just stay at the house and put on our comfy clothes. Do you ever feel like this? How do you fight that urge to skip your workout?

Maybe you should head home. I know what you’re thinking. You’re afraid that taking a day off will turn into two or three days off and that you’ll really lose your motivation. Or that doing a little less exercise will turn into a downward spiral, making you lazier and zapping your “new year” willpower. Not to worry. You’re more likely to fall off the wagon from burnout than you are from following a reasonable and moderate fitness program. Here are my top four tips that will help in preventing that unwanted burnout:

1. Get a dependable workout partner. Find a friend or family member who is as dedicated to fitness as you are. Feed off of each other. Take turns creating workouts for the two of you to do. My husband and I work out together. Some days he just isn’t feeling it, and I kick him off the couch so we don’t miss a gym workout. He does the same for me when it comes to cycling. He loves to ride and will motivate me to get on my bike on those days when I could easily find something else to do around the house. Plus, a little friendly competition always helps to keep you motivated.
2. Take a day or two off each week. Your body perceives exercise as a stressor, and sometimes you do need a break. And sometimes you just need a day or two away mentally. Use this time to give your body time to recover after a few days of heavy lifting or strenuous cardio. You don’t have to lie on the couch all day to recover, either. Find an active recovery activity on these days if you prefer. Try a new yoga class. Take a walk around the neighborhood with your kids. Unwind.
3. Vary your aerobic workout intensity. Some of the guys on the cycling team that I direct think that they have to go wide open every time we go out for a ride. They don’t realize that you don’t have to always push it to the max to benefit from a workout. The same goes for cardio time in the gym or running on the road or whatever your cardio exercise of choice may be. Instead, mix up your cardio sessions day-to-day with a combination of intervals which vary high and low intensity in a single workout, steady pace workouts that you can maintain for 30-60 minutes and occasional short but very high intensity workouts. I do this when I create class profiles for my Spinning classes, and it helps to keep the classes interesting.
4. Vary your workout program. If you don’t seem to be seeing the results that you once did, try switching up your exercises. Cross-training will bust boredom, prevent burnout and help you use your muscles in a variety of different ways so that they stay surprised. I am actually trying some different workouts in the gym this week, and I’ve been sore from every workout. I’ve enjoyed doing different routines and seeing how my muscles react. Try a new class. Use the internet! I am not ashamed to admit that I use the internet to find different workouts. It feels good to get new ideas. You don’t want to eat the same food every week, do you? Your body doesn’t want to do the exact same workouts week after week. Switch it up!

Don’t let burnout sabotage your fitness. Look for the signs, and don’t be afraid to change things up. I’ve been working out for twenty-five years, and I push through periods of burnout every year. It’s natural, but it doesn’t have to ruin your workouts.

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Michele Moulton is a certified group fitness, boot camp, TRX and Spinning instructor with more than 23 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. She is the lead instructor at Impact Sports and Fitness. She also is the mother of two boys, Austin and Harrison.