Fitness
7 Ways to Trick Your Brain Into Enjoying Exercise Again
Getting to the gym can be tough, we know that. You have a full-time job. A busy commute. Family and social commitments. And you’re tired. Fall-asleep-on-the-couch tired. When it comes to keeping up with your day-to-day life — and the latest season of The Last of Us — who has time for a 6 a.m. bootcamp class with Coach Keith?
And yet, sticking to your fitness goals is important. You know that working out makes you happier and healthier, even if it’s sometimes the very last thing you want to do. So how do you creatine a routine that will actually stick? How do you curate a workout regimen that’s both efficient and enjoyable?
I’ve compiled seven time-saving, workout-improving strategies, designed to help you exercise both smarter and harder. Call them hacks if you must. Play around with the tips below and you may find it’s easier than ever to achieve an optimal workout, especially when you’re at your busiest.
1. Start Snacking
Snacking might derail your diet and sink your summer bod, but in exercise terms, micro-workouts come highly recommended. Just ask Steven Dick, director and founder of The Fitness Group, who loves breaking his workouts up into smaller “exercise snacks” throughout the day.
“It really works for me,” he says. “A fair few health providers recommend this approach, in which instead of setting aside a full hour to work out, I’ll do short bursts of exercise, like five to 10 minutes of bodyweight squats, lunges or push-ups.”
You can do these between meetings, while waiting for dinner to cook or whenever you get chance throughout the day — meaning you can get your workout in without needing to block out an entire hour.
2. Learn to Superset
Fitting in an entire workout before or after work can be difficult, especially considering everyone in town seems to have the same idea. Even in the best gyms, equipment comes at a premium during busy times. So consider the superset, in which you’ll perform two complementary moves back to back, saving time and adding in a nice little aerobic hit alongside your weight session.
“A dumbbell squat and a lying leg curl will work both the quads and hamstrings,” says Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer at The Fitness Group. You can apply it to any body part (i.e., lat pulldowns and lat raises) as a quick and efficient way to work multiple muscle groups in a short span of time, without compromising performance.
In fact, a 2015 study found that short, fast workouts can be just as beneficial as longer, slower workouts. If you’re short on time, fast and efficient — yet still controlled and considered — may be a winner.
3. Go Backwards
When counting out your reps, think “10, 9, 8 and so forth.”
According to Kieran Sheridan, founder of Gulf Physio, “Studies show that downward counting creates a shorter perceived duration.” There’s a word for this sort of thing: “subjective time judgement.” By focusing on smaller numbers as the set gets tougher, you’re alerting your brain that the end is near.
4. Turn Up the Volume
Queuing up music doesn’t just have a massive impact on your enjoyment of exercise, but it can elevate your performance, too.
“Studies have shown that music is actually a vital part of any workout’s success, as it helps to improve performance by positively boosting your mood, which makes you more inclined to push yourself harder,” says Reiss Mogilner, a personal trainer at F45.
Mogilner says tempo plays a big part — he prefers upbeat songs to get him in the mood during his workout, putting him in the right frame of mind to hit personal bests. “Opting for uplifting music and songs that have good memories attached to them is the best way to give you the boost you need,” he says.
Pop and rap are shown to be particularly effective when it comes to both endurance and performance, so it might be time to dust off that Wu-Tang playlist.
5. Game It Out
You know what’s fun? Video games. You know what isn’t? Grinding through another set of EZ bar curls when you’d rather be anywhere but the gym. The key might be to bring some gamification into your workout, with one study finding modest short-term fitness improvements in those who track their metrics via a wearable.
But you needn’t stop there. It’s well proven that training with a buddy increases competitiveness, and the same applies for tech that turns your workout into a competition, be that your Peloton, Strava account or your gym’s connected treadmill.
“Gamification allows you to compete against other gym members,” says Dick of The Fitness Group. “You can be on the treadmill and your avatar can run past the avatar of the person next to you. What a way to unlock that inner motivation and keep you pushing past the final few miles!”
6. Hunt the Workarounds
If a certain movement drains your will to train, don’t white-knuckle your way through it — replace it with an effective alternative. Deadlifts not your thing? Try heavy farmer’s carries or trap bar pulls. Burpees feel like a chore? Sub in a kettlebell complex — a dynamic, full-body sequence that builds strength and cardio without the mental slog. Can’t face another long run? Opt for hill sprints or a zone-2 bike ride with a podcast.
There’s always another way to move. It might feel like you’re shirking exercises at first, but adaptability isn’t laziness — it’s strategy. The more these workouts work for you, the more likely you are to keep showing up.
7. Prioritize Fulfillment
“Find [a workout] that brings you the most enjoyment and focus on that,” says Bryce Hastings, head of research at gym chain Les Mills. “Whether it’s running, strength training or yoga, finding fulfillment in the activity makes the experience itself a stress reliever, turning exercise into a break from life’s demands.”
Still not feeling it? Instead of focusing on long-term goals, consider the immediate high you get from a well-performed rep. “Society promotes exercise and fitness by hooking into short-term motivation,” says Michelle Segar, director of the University of Michigan’s Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center. Focusing on the immediate moment instead of vague future milestones is a great way to celebrate your progress.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
It’s important to have goals in mind as you set out on your fitness journey, whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle or train for a race.skynesher/Supplied
January is notoriously the busiest time of year at the gym. A survey from Ipsos reported that a third of Canadians made exercise-based resolutions for the new year, with many folks working out for the first time or returning to fitness after some time away. If you’re new to exercise, the gym can feel like an intimidating place. But it doesn’t need to be. Below we’ve put together a few suggestions to help you get started.
Have a plan going in
For success at the gym, it’s crucial to have a plan. Before you start, it’s important to identify your goals. Are you looking to get stronger? Training for a race or competition? Do you want to improve body composition? While almost any consistent exercise is going to improve your overall health, specific results require specific training.
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Those completely new to working out may want to invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. A reputable trainer will be able to put together a plan based on your preferences and skill level, while walking you through the proper form for each exercise. If cost is an issue, many gyms offer a free intro training session as a sign-up perk. There are also hundreds of different workout programs you can find online and video tutorials outlining proper form.
If you’re intimidated to exercise on your own, a fitness class allows you to follow along with an instructor while getting some quick pointers on how to properly perform the workout. Many gyms offer discounted or free classes to first-time visitors.
Trying to do too much, too fast will burn you out, leave you injured or both
When you’re motivated by a new year’s resolution, it’s tempting to pencil in long gym sessions multiple times a week. But that kind of regime is rarely sustainable. If you’d like to make exercising a habit beyond January – and you’ll need to for any kind of lasting results – it’s best to think about what you can do in the long term.
“You can either do an hour of weightlifting a few days a week, and actually do it, or you have these imaginary 10-hour training sessions you’ll never actually have time for,” said Dan John, strength coach and author. “I try to focus on [programs that are] doable, repeatable and reasonable.”
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Similarly, trying to immediately push beyond your physical limitations is a great way to get injured. For weightlifting, it’s important to consider proper warm-ups, active mobility exercises and learning the right techniques before trying to lift anything too heavy. For cardio, Canada Running Series offers a Couch to 5K plan that eases newcomers into jogging by starting small and gradually increasing the length/difficulty of each run.
Follow basic gym etiquette
The gym is a shared public space. Everyone there is trying to get in a good workout. That’s harder to do when people are having phone conversations, listening to videos without using headphones and refusing to wipe down their equipment after use.
In March, fitness trainer Paul Landini wrote an article explaining some unofficial rules to follow when going to the gym, including being mindful of other people’s space and making sure you’re not monopolizing equipment during busy hours.
Try to find what you like about the gym
Changes in body composition, strength and overall health take time. They also need upkeep over the long term. Building a consistent fitness habit is something that will help with all those goals. One of the best ways to do that is finding something at the gym you genuinely enjoy doing. That can be working out with a friend to add a social aspect to exercise and accountability to show up. It can entail learning a new fitness-adjacent skill such as boxing or training for a competition like Hyrox. It can be rooted in the sense of accomplishment that comes with getting stronger. Whatever the reason, finding the joy in exercise is going to be key if you want to move beyond short-term motivation.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
Share your experience
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