How to Find a Workout That Doesn’t Make You Die
Killing workouts give you bragging rights: can you believe you survived this? But you can sweat great without doing anything labeled “high intensity” or guided by a sadistic trainer. It’s okay if training is not perceived as torture, but only as work.
Moderate workouts are more difficult to find, however. High-intensity activities are skyrocketing in popularity: strength yoga, crossfit all the way, interval classes where your name appears on the leaderboard to spur competition. Ironically, we often choose classes over independent training because the class is simpler: nothing to think about, just do what the instructor tells you.
If you enjoy these killer workouts, enjoy! But if you’re having a hard time getting yourself into class – or if you’re designing super-challenging workouts for yourself but giving up when you get to the gym – give yourself permission to incorporate lower-intensity workouts into your life.
Here are some ways you can enjoy your workout more and die less:
- Think about what exercises you really enjoy . Work on this in your life. For example, if you enjoy training with a team, look for sports you can join . If you love cycling, who cares if you don’t race at full speed on every hill? Do what you like.
- Beware of coaches who push you too hard. Anyone who adds exercise as a punishment, as Colleen Stinchcombe notes, which one of her instructors did, can understand punishment, but they’re not that good with exercise. It’s the same with an instructor who insists that you do the workout as written, even if it doesn’t work for your body or your personal fitness level.
- Trust your body. If you are in pain or feel drained, give it up. If you feel like it’s going to hurt too much to move tomorrow, either pretend to be exhausted and take a break, or just tell your trainer: I’m doing well with this many repetitions, thank you. Establish boundaries around any kind of injury, be it recent or historical. If overhead exercises get in the way of your shoulder, you have the right to say no, don’t.
- Avoid improper competition. If your gym or class has a motivational leaderboard, don’t fall into it. Competition makes sense in a fairly narrow range of abilities: you and your partner may be running at about the same speed, so today you’ll see if you can get two to three seconds ahead of him. But if you are attending a cycling class where everyone else is in great shape while you struggle, this leaderboard gives you nothing but negative feelings about yourself. Unplug, find a class without a leaderboard, or at least block it, and focus on inner goals such as maintaining a certain sense of effort.
- Avoid exercising, at least sometimes. If all the options that fit your schedule are competitive and high-intensity, the trainer is angry and the other members make you feel bad … maybe just jump off that treadmill (real or notorious). There are softer classes out there, but you might want to rethink what you really like. Would you rather spend this time on a hike? Jogging? Doing an old school aerobics video?
Don’t worry too much about overlooking fitness. High intensity intervals may be shorter than good old steady state cardio, but steady state exercise still works . Remember that your body can only do so much. If you exhaust yourself at intervals and then collapse to rest before your next set, you may well be doing the same amount of work as someone who spends all their time running at a steady pace.
This is not to say that interval training and steady state training are identical — they are not — but overall the benefits are similar. Both will make you stronger and increase your aerobic endurance. Both are better than staying at home because you are afraid of your workout.