I did it!!! And came up with a great head game!!!
 

So I went to the gym BEFORE pilates and wanted to do at least 40 minutes of cardio. I start out on anything but the treadmill and go as long as I can...which is usually about 10 minutes with half of it struggling. I actually lasted 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer and then did 20 on the treadmill.

I kept playing head games with myself. I had my iPod on so I would say to myself, just get through this song. When the song was over, I would say just make it to the next XX minute interval. When that came up, I would look at the tv and read the closed captioning and say to myself, just till the next commercial break. You get the idea. It worked great.

I also found myself, doing intervals of jogging on the treadmill or upping the incline.

It was a good day. Also, yesterday and today were the first days that I haven't been sore in weeks.:)

:carrot::carrot::carrot:
:D
Kira

I love doing this. Especially with the "til the song ends, then the next minute" back and forth until I have done a lot more than I initially planned on.

Monotony is a big buzzkill for me, so I try to switch up everything. On the elliptical it will be "2 mins forward, 2 minutes back, 2 minutes at a higher incline" etc. etc. It makes the time fly by!

I will have to try this. Thanks for the idea

I do this too, and it DOES work really well. And when I don't feel like going to the gym at all, I say to myself, "Just dress as if you WERE going to the gym, but you don't have to actually go..." and 99.9% of the time, I end up at the gym!

Yeah....sometimes you really have to play little games with yourself to stay motivated....hey, whatever works!!!:carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot:

Great tips! Thanks everybody!

Here's my new trick that I fool myself with...

My gym has these nifty earphone jacks in the cardio machines so you can hear the tv...my latest headgame is to watch whatever mindless hour long crime drama is on....I do my normal pace during the show, and ramp up my speed and incline during the commercials. Since there are so many commercials these days, it really does seem to make a difference.

That's a great idea!!!

Thanks for these!

I get so bored on the treadmill, I end up counting particular things in the room to occupy my mind or play a particular song in my head. I tell myself that if I get to the end of the song or the next 5 minute mark and I want to quit, I can. I very rarely do!

I need to revisit the tunes on my I-Pod I think. Music makes all the difference!

There are plenty of podcasts on iTunes you can subscribe to for FREE that are good exercise routines as well

I've been playing head games for the last 24 years, since I've been exercising... They're always different but they always work :yes: ....

The only time I cannot play a head game is when I am running and it's hot I always give up because of the heat... Any suggestions on what to do?