Working out is extremely fun and motivational in its own right, and you have probably never dreamed that it could at any point become stale, monotonous, or boring. However, it can happen, and you are not the only one who can suffer from gym monotony. In fact, professional athletes regularly battle this condition during their long contest preps and training periods.

But for you, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. If your goal is to be the best in the world, to be an IPF medallist or to beat Phil Heath at the Olympia, then there is no way around it, you have to stick to your rigorous regime and push through the tedium.

However, if your goal is simply to get as strong as possible and build a physique YOU love, then you can break this cycle by simply following the tried and tested tips below.

Switch it up

One of the biggest reasons people grow weary of their workout and diet routines is that they don’t incorporate variety nearly as often as they should. This means variety in training as well as variety in their diet. You want to switch it up every once in a while in order to maintain a steady rate of progress and, well, stay sane.

Therefore, if you have a rigorous diet plan, incorporate re-feed days into your routine. This doesn’t mean cheat days, it means eating to re-feed your body with healthy nutrients to facilitate your goals. Likewise, if your training routine is feeling stale, just switch it up for a week or two. Shuffle the exercises around, incorporate new movements, do variations, change the rep scheme - the gym is your playground.

Update your tunes

People don’t think of this often enough, but the music you listen to while working out makes all the difference. When was the last time you updated your workout playlist? You need to keep your phone supplied with motivational tunes; otherwise you will be left at the mercy of the local gym DJ. And you don’t want to find yourself attempting a new PR with Adele rolling in the deep next to you.

Bring your crew

The gym is not what you would call a sociable place. There’s no bar, no beer, and most importantly, your crew is not there to keep things interesting, so it can get boring working out on your own. Fortunately, going to the gym and lifting weights is one of the healthies and most rewarding things you could do, and by sharing your enthusiasm with your friends, you can inspire them to come to the gym with you.

If all else fails, just tell them that they’ll look great and get tons of girls, that should do the trick.

Don’t lazy about

One of the biggest reasons why your workout is becoming boring is not because there’s something wrong with your routine, but because you are relying on your training routine too much to supply the fun.

This means that you can’t simply live off of going to the gym, you have to be active on your rest days as well. Remember, laziness breeds laziness, so if you’re lying about on your off days doing nothing, chances are you’re not going to feel all that inspired to crush your workout the next day.

You want to be active as much as possible, so go outside, do something different, go rollerblading, cycling, skating, or do something that’s more challenging like climbing an indoor rock wall or jumping around on trampolines with your friends, just do something to keep the blood flowing by exercising your mind and body as well.

Find your inspiration

Finally, you want to keep things interesting by looking to others for motivation and inspiration. Look to your role models, follow professionals from your sport and marvel at their performance and success. You will immediately find that you have regained your willingness to work out and crush your goals.

Working out is infinitely fun, especially if you’re in pursuit of a clear goal. However, it can get mentally exhausting sometimes, so be sure to implement these changes into your lifestyle in order to bring the fun back into your workout routine and turn your fitness dreams into reality.