While it would be nice to be able to run outside every day, enjoying the glorious fresh air, unfortunately, New York weather is just not always so cooperative.  And as my mother used to say, “March comes in like a Lion, and out like a Lamb.”  So basically, we are all doomed to the gym for a little while longer.  But going to the gym doesn’t have to always be quite so BORING.  Even when you are pushing yourself, sometimes it’s just the last place you want to be.  So here are some helpful tips for jazzing up your gym sesh and staying toned during these gross next few weeks.

Getting There:

• Just plan it. Sometimes the hardest part of going to the gym is the simple act of walking in the building.  The best advice I ever heard was to literally write your gym sesh in your planner/iphone/blackberry calendar.  If you have that little reminder there, and carve out that time for yourself, you’ll be a lot more likely to go in general.

Staying There:

• Grab a good magazine. Nothing is more motivating to me than reading a good fitness mag (Women’s Health, Shape, Self, Health magazine…just to name a few favorites) and working out.  But that’s just me.  I find that’s it’s a great opportunity to catch up on reading of any kind.  Just make sure that it’s something that’s not so distracting that it will affect your workout.
• Listen to an audiobook. This is my new FAVORITE thing.  Lately I’ve downloaded books that I’ve been dying to read, and listened to them on my ipod while working out.  It’s a great way to kill two birds with one stone — get my reading in and workout at the same time.
• Take a class. A lot of gyms offer different and interesting cardio and strength classes nowadays, and not only is it a great way to supplement your fitness regimen, it’s also fun!  Case in point — I recently have started taking a class called 30-60-90 at my gym.  It’s an interval class that uses things like a medicine ball, step, weights and a body bar.  Initially I thought it would be torturous, but after 45 minutes I was actually enjoying myself and working different muscles that I didn’t normally get too.  While I was sore the next day, it was a good kind of sore – the kind you get from hard work.
• Make a date. I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the best ways to make your workouts more fun is to bring a friend.  It’s kind of a throwback to your playground playdates – except the machines aren’t monkeybars.  That extra motivation can make you work harder and knowing that someone else is relying on you to show up will make you less likely to cancel.  Just make sure to not fall into the pitfall of focusing too much on chatting and not enough on actually working out.
• Challenge yourself. Nothing makes working out more meaningful than when you actually are doing it for a purpose – not just to stay healthy.  Whether it be something as simple as a goal to be able to be able to a pullup or two (they’re hard!!) or training for a 10k, having a real, tangible goal can give your workout new meaning and a new sense of motivation.

Cheers to your next awesome and exhilarating gym sesh!