Every day when I go to the gym, I always start on the elliptical for thirty minutes. Every five minutes I stop, take a drink of water/use my towel and switch the mode (hill, cardio, etc.)

When I reach about ten minutes, I can barely go a minute or two without stopping, drinking, and toweling off.

I always listen to upbeat music when on the elliptical, but I still find myself struggling to make it through the next five minutes of my workout.
I can watch TV while at Planet Fitness, but that's it. Watch. The little things they have that you can plug your headphones into do not work, so I can't listen.

I just need something more to keep me going. Any suggestions?

I read!! I can get involved in a good book and lose 45 minutes on the bike or elliptical, easy!

I don't go on the elliptical, but I bought a treadmill and stuck it behind my TV. I watch The Biggest loser while I try the C25K.

HOWEVER!

Before That, I would read. It's hard when you move a lot though, so it doesn't work very well. Sometimes I would look at the time and just think "10 minutes to go..." but... that gets taxing. I discovered the gym wasn't for me. (Hence the buying of the treadmill). I can't work out if I want it to end. So, pick things you DO like.

Instead of the gym machines, try the gym classes. Go for Zumba instead of the elliptical. Go for a hike instead of a treadmill. Ride a bike outside and find a new trail versus the gym bikes. Try the shred instead of weights. Etc...

After you get used to exercise you can tolerate, the ones you can't often don't seem so big because you get in shape and it's normal to work out.

You can also try downloading comedy shows or stories for your Ipod. Who knows maybe listening to Harry Potter being read is the distraction you need.

I listen audio books. A good mystery gets heart pumping and legs going

I have never been able to understand how people can read while working out. I am the biggest bookworm but I can't focus with the page bouncing up and down. I keep losing my place and end up reading the same sentence over and over...

I think I'll attempt to listen to an audio book now that it's been suggested, as well as try for a comedy show, too. Reading an actual book would add to the difficult with the moving for me, personally. Great suggestions.

I move my feet around a lot and try to keep them from going numb. Cuz that's what my feet do on the elliptical. So I stopped doing it. But when I used to power through it, if I was hating it more than usual, I would only do 10 minutes on the elliptical, switch to the treadmill, do 10, then switch to the bike or stair stepper and finish it out. Sometimes I just couldn't stomach that much on one machine.

I loooooove the elliptical!! I usually put on some good upbeat music to get me going or an audio book. I do HIIT so it's a little hard for me to hold anyhting in my hands, though I am jealous of my fiance who reads his comic books. lol

Recently I've been using treadmills that sit in front of the window overlooking the pool. It seems silly, but I listen to music and stare into my own face the entire time. If the current song isn't pumping me up, I switch, and I've got lots of workout mixes ready to go as necessary. When I start getting really tired I basically stare at myself in the window and remind myself that I can finish. Also, I don't know if it would make a difference for you, but I don't stop at all until my workout is done. If I plan to do 15 minutes, I do 15 and then drink my water. If I lose my momentum for even a few seconds it's almost impossible for me to start up again.

I'm currently attempting to try for ten minutes without stopping in order for water, so fifteen will definitely be a goal of mine. If only PF had a pool, then I would definitely try that.

If I read on the elliptical I fall off. Ha! It has happened more times than I'm comfortable admitting.
Upbeat music doesn't do it for me. I have netflix on my phone so that helps....I also bought the biggest loser seasons and have them on my phone!!! That has been really inspirational. Time flies when you're watching other people suffer, right?

I cannot exercise due to an muscle injury but when I did the elliptical, I usually watched TV shows and movies, just listen to the ipod or both, lol. I would love to set up something where I can read books on the elliptical. Hmm, maybe a DIY project sometime in the future.

I'm confused are you stopping because you're bored or because you're tired?

Also - why are you doing cardio? Do you want to have more endurance? If you're doing it for fat loss you would be FAR better off (in my opinion) doing weight lifting instead and I don't mean the 5lb pink dumbell arm curl lifting.

3x a week full body workout would be far superior (and is far more interesting) than cardio when it comes to fat loss. As an added bonus it will do a whole lot more for the shape of your body if you happen to care about that kind of thing.

To answer your question - when I am doing cardio (because I want to improve my endurance) I will do 45-60 minutes and watch a TV show or movie on my phone or ipad.

I totally agree with this!!

I'm not OP, but the ONLY reason I do 'cardio' is because it's my down time. The gym has childcare and I use it for quiet time. I'd be sitting reading, anyway, might as well do it while moving around a little bit. (After I knock the weights around for a while). I think it's relaxing. I don't really consider it cardio, anymore. Sprinting, yeah... bike/elliptical... not really.

i get bored on the elliptical so I blast my music and do intervals to challenge myself and keep it from getting old.