Cardio training is well-known for many things, and unfortunately, being incredibly boring is often one of them. This is especially true when performed in a gym-based environment rather than outdoors. Either way, if you’re in need of some strategies that can help shake the boredom (and perhaps, even make it somewhat fun), then this article has you covered.

To reduce boredom with cardio, consider getting creative with how you use specific equipment, make your cardio activity meaningful, use music in strategic ways, vary the intensity of your sessions, perform interval training, having a cardio partner, and use a variety of different equipment.

What’s great about all of these boredom-busters is that they can each be applied in unique ways, which can help make your cardio sessions as enjoyable as possible, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that each of these is entirely fixed in stone. If you can get creative with any of the following tips, you have unlimited ways to develop strategies that are best for you!

If you want the specifics of each of these tips, which will help ensure greater success for breaking your boredom, keep on reading!

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Tip 1: Use multiple pieces of equipment in the same session
Tip 2: Do forms of cardio that are meaningful to you
Tip 3: Use THESE unique strategies with your music
Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to vary the parameters for each cardio session
Tip 5: Perform interval training to stay engaged
Tip 6: Get a reliable cardio partner
Tip 7: Try equipment that you may not be familiar with
Final thoughts

Related article: Motivate Yourself to Workout at Home: Pro Tips to Get Fired Up!

I’ll quickly mention that most of these tips are geared for those who are performing their cardio in a gym or other indoor environment. There are few things more boring than running on a treadmill for half an hour while staring at a wall the entire time.

If you’re lucky, you may have a TV in front of you, but this may not be an option, and it can even be too much of a distraction at times, taking away from appropriate exercise intensity.

So, give the following tips a try and don’t be afraid to tweak them and make them work for you!

Tip 1: Use multiple pieces of equipment in the same session

If you’re just performing your cardio as a general means to stay in shape (that is, you’re not training specifically for a sport or competition), there’s no rule saying that you can only use one single piece of equipment for the entirety of your cardio session.

Most gyms have a ton of great equipment that you can use, and there’s nothing wrong with using a few different pieces of equipment to get the total duration of your cardio completed.

Pro tip: I often perform what I call a “cardio triathlon,” where I perform 15 minutes on a treadmill, 15 minutes on an elliptical and another 15 minutes on a rowing machine or a bike. I simply hop from one to the next (after quickly cleaning off the equipment I was using). I can do this quickly enough without letting my heart rate drop too much. This makes my cardio sessions way more enjoyable and provides a great cross-training benefit!

Related article: 5 Awesome Benefits of Walking Sideways on a Treadmill (You Need These)

If you’re ok with staying on one piece of equipment, awesome, keep doing that. But if you’re getting bored out of your skull after a handful of minutes, hop off and quickly get on another piece of equipment. As they say, variety is the spice of life. Or, in this case, the spice of otherwise boring and bland cardio sessions.

Tip 2: Do forms of cardio that are meaningful to you

Cardio sessions can get painfully boring and meaningless when you can’t connect any meaning with the mode of exercise you’re doing. This is why endurance athletes and other athletes, in general, are often able to push through tedious and boring cardio training; they can make the connection between their training and how it will help them with their sport and performance.

If you’re not an athlete of any kind, fear not. You can still use this technique just fine. All you have to do is ask yourself if there’s an area of your life you’d like your cardio benefits to carry over to outside of the gym.

As an example: if you find yourself getting physically tired from climbing a lot of stairs to get to your office or up to your apartment, try using a stair climber in the gym for your cardio sessions. As time goes on, you’ll be able to see (and feel) the benefits of this form of cardio elsewhere in your daily life. Or, if you want to get better at walking up the hill on your way to work, try walking on an inclined treadmill.

Once you connect meaning to your cardio, you will be amazed by how much more engaged you will feel with each of your sessions. It still might not be the most enjoyable thing in the world, but you’ll have renewed vigour for tackling each one of your sessions.

Tip 3: Use THESE unique strategies with your music

We all know that music can drastically help with reducing boredom in a cardio session and can help provide motivation and energy for pushing through your sessions. As a result, we often assemble some pretty stellar playlists loaded up with our favourite music to make the session as enjoyable as possible.

But you can take it a step further and try some of these fun strategies…

The “parameter” playlist

Make a playlist filled with your favourite songs, and make the duration of the playlist about the same length of time as your cardio sessions. For each of your cardio sessions, pick an exercise parameter that you’re going to measure, such as how much distance you can travel on your cardio machine, how many calories you can burn, etc.

Start your playlist when you start your cardio session and finish once the playlist is complete. Record that parameter for your session (X calories burned, X miles travelled, etc.)

Then, when it comes time to do that cardio session again, repeat the process and see if you can maintain or beat what you achieved previously.

Since you’ll be listening to your favourite tunes, it will not only make the session more enjoyable, but each song will start to serve as a “guidepost” for how your session is going (X calories burned by the fourth song, X mile travelled by the seventh song, etc.)

The easy-hard playlist

Load up a playlist with your favourite workout tunes. Perform intervals entirely based on the length of each song. When the first song comes on, do an “on” or “hard” interval, where you push yourself at a pace that tires you out by the end of that song.

Once the song is over, use the next song as an “off” or “easy” interval, where you go at a relatively slow place to recover from the previous song.

Repeat this process for the duration of your cardio session or playlist, whichever you choose.

Remember: There’s no need to get really specific with the interval durations, so long as you’re just looking to train for the sake of staying physically fit and active. It can be a different story for competitive athletes but isn’t entirely necessary if you don’t fall into this category. Doing rather specific intervals can be great, but if you’re just generally wanting to make your cardio more enjoyable, give this musical method a try!

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to vary the parameters for each cardio session

Not every session of cardio has to be a carbon copy of the previous session. It can be if you’d like it to, but this gets downright obnoxiously boring for many gym-goers. The good news is that if you’re just performing your cardio to stay in shape (not training for a specific competitive event or activity), then you have lots of flexibility in how you perform each cardio session.

It’s ok to have some sessions that are shorter in length or sessions that are less intense as part of your regular cardio regimen. There’s nothing wrong with having a longer and slower cardio session one day and a shorter, moderate cardio session for the next.

As long as you’re moving and keeping your heart rate elevated, you’re making good things happen and beating everyone who’s at home sitting on the couch.

You may even have days where you just “wing it” for your cardio session. Again, if you’re not training for anything specific, it’s all good. Just find a way to keep your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time, and you’ll be doing good things for your body.

Tip 5: Perform interval training to stay engaged

Not only can interval training be a great way to break the boredom of traditional steady-state cardio sessions, but it often can burn more overall calories than standard, continuous cardio. The reasons for this are far beyond the scope of this article, but if you want to learn more, read up on Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), elevated BMR rates and the glycolytic pathway.

But aside from all of that, interval training forces you to stay engaged with the task at hand since you’ll be intermittently working at an intensity that requires you to pay attention to what you’re doing due to the effort you’ll have to put forth.

When your mind has to fixate on a task at hand, such as a challenging “on” interval, it stays occupied in a way that prevents boredom from slipping into the session. So, not only are you going to get a good cardio workout and burn tons of calories, but you won’t have to worry about being bored while doing so!

Tip 6: Get a reliable cardio partner

A good training partner can be a game-changer in making an exercise regimen engaging and even meaningful. Human beings are social in nature.

If you can perform your cardio sessions alongside a friend or partner, you’ll likely enjoy the session much more than if going solo. Even if you are both exercising at an intensity that makes it too difficult to have a conversation in the process, their company can make the cardio session much more bearable.

It can also be empowering and motivating to watch your partner push themselves, forcing you to push yourself a bit more as well. Having someone who pushes you and whom you can push as well can actually make cardio sessions pretty enjoyable!

Tip 7: Try equipment that you may not be familiar with

As mentioned back in Tip 1, variety is the spice of life. And since cardio sessions can be pretty bland (to say the least) at times, spicing things up is a solid move to make.

Thankfully, most gyms have quite a variety of cardio-based equipment. If you’re not familiar with some of the machines, give them a try! Most gyms have fitness consultants that can show you how to use any equipment you may be unsure of.

Exercise equipment such as a Jacob’s ladder, an Airdyne or Fan bike, or a curve treadmill are all really engaging (and effective) pieces of cardio equipment that are becoming quite common in many commercial gyms yet aren’t as well known to many average gym-goers.

You never know which piece of equipment may become your new favourite one to hop on for your cardio training!

Final thoughts

You’re not alone if you dread doing cardio (or skip it altogether) due to how boring you find it to be, especially if you perform your cardio sessions in a gym. Sure, having a TV in front of you can be one alternative. Still, there are plenty of other ways to make your cardio sessions tolerable and even enjoyable!

Try the tips within this article if you require spicing up your cardio training. Find what works for you, take it and run with it. In the end, your sessions will be more enjoyable, and you’ll see (and feel) better results due to more consistent and focused cardio sessions!