The 10-10-10 Workout

If I don’t have a workout planned or a class to attend when I show up to the gym, I have trouble focusing. I’m not the type of person who can make up a workout on the spot. I do better with structure or instruction. I need a plan. Otherwise I’ll end up checking emails on my phone in the locker room or head to the steam room because I couldn’t think of anything better to do. These are the days I feel particularly unmotivated, because I just don’t feel like being at the gym.

It’s inevitable though. There will not always be a class that fits my schedule. And I will not always have a workout handy when I’d rather be eating cheese. Or napping. Or watching Biggest Loser. Or doing anything really except for getting a workout in.

For these days, I have a go-to workout that my gym buddy Jess invented. We call it the 10-10-10.

It’s really simple, which is why it’s so great; it requires no advanced planning. We spend 10 minutes each on three different cardio machines. We usually hit up the elliptical, stair machine, and treadmill. Lately I’ve been adding the rowing machine and jumping rope to the mix, too.

It works for those days when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated because all I have to do is focus on one machine for 10 minutes. And anyone can do anything for 10 minutes, right? And then when those 10 minutes are over, all I have to do is get through the next 10 minutes. After that, I only have 10 minutes left! And after running willy nilly to a bunch of different machines, I’ve suddenly put in my 30 minutes of cardio and can call it a day.

This 10-10-10 workout might seem like a lot of starting and stopping, but breaking the workout into three sections makes it easier to tackle. And, it keeps me from getting bored because there’s no time to get bored. By the time I’m bored with one machine, it’s time to switch to the next. Even still, I use the 10-10-10 workout sparingly because I don’t want to get bored with it! Otherwise, I’d have to come up something new to keep in my back pocket when I’m not not in the mood to exercise.

How about you? What’s your go-to workout to keep you motivated?

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Betsy Mikel | betsymikel.com