Nothing can derail a workout program quite like that slowly simmering feeling of boredom. At first, you’re excited to lace up your shoes, fire up your playlist, and take on everything your routine throws at you. But soon you find yourself dawdling a bit more to get started because, well, you’re just not that psyched to do it.
A workout program isn’t going to be loads of fun all the time, but it definitely should be something your body (and mind) enjoys. A quick scroll through Halle Berry’s Instagram shows that adage seems to be something that governs her routine too. Her joyous, passionate connection to fitness seems like so much fun that we needed to know more about it (and maybe shop online for some boxing gloves so we can follow along).
Berry is so committed to her workout program that she’s become a fitness entrepreneur—she launched fitness and wellness platform re-spin, and just partnered with Amazon Halo—and has plans to keep expanding those workout options by adding new things to the mix. A big part of that effort is to keep her workouts from feeling like, well…work. She hates the ho-hum as much as any of us, and makes sure movement always feels fresh.
Here she shares some of her tips for making working out something she wants to do, and we asked some trainers to chime in with some ways you can incorporate those tips too.
1. Embrace the awkwardness.
When you first start any activity, you’d be lucky if you don’t feel ridiculous. Berry’s taken on a range of exercise modalities, including MMA-style fighting, yoga, martial arts, boxing, strength training, and more—and she admits to feeling like a total beginner for each of them, because that’s exactly what she was.
“I think we all feel uncomfortable when we’re not good at something right away, because you want to be,” Berry tells SELF. “You make yourself vulnerable and, honestly, risk looking stupid. That’s all part of the process, and maybe it helps to know that’s a good thing. It means you have a lot to learn.”
Feeling that discomfort can also make it all the sweeter when you do start to feel like you’re becoming more proficient, according to Araceli De Leon, an ACE-certified personal trainer and health coach based in Carlsbad, California.
“It takes courage to be the new person and to try something new,” De Leon tells SELF. “During this time, it’s important to break your efforts down into ‘bite-size’ pieces since that keeps your motivation high and your experiences positive.” That’s because trying one new thing, and not too much of it, can make it much easier to gain mastery—which can keep you energized—than attempting an entire movement overhaul, which can feel daunting.
2. Give yourself permission to pivot.
There’s no “right” exercise for everyone—it all comes down to what you enjoy. A few years ago a friend told Berry she had to try running because it’s so amazing. So Berry said she gave it a try. Hated it. Gave it a few more attempts, playing around with different distances, speeds, and locations. Nope, nope, nope.
“It was just not for me,” Berry says. “I think there’s a fine line between challenging yourself and forcing yourself, and it’s important to know the difference.”
One solid tip is to start any new activity with the intention of discovering what you really like about it, suggests Kourtney Thomas, CSCS, a personal trainer based in St. Louis. Instead of feeling like you have to do something because it’s good for you, see it as more of an experiment, she tells SELF. You’re just gathering data, taking time to determine whether it seems fun or falls flat, and extending a whole lot of kindness toward yourself along the way.
“We don’t have to beat ourselves or our bodies up,” Thomas tells SELF. “There’s no one right way to do any of this.” To get an idea of your actual level of passion for what you’re doing, try Berry’s method of giving it a few attempts and being honest about whether it’s lighting your fire to do more. For instance, if you tried kickboxing and felt awkward, but a second session is making you intrigued to learn more moves, stick with it. If you dread your next session, though, maybe it’s just not for you.
Another way to use that data gathering is to pinpoint what you liked and disliked about each activity. Maybe you loved the punching in that kickboxing class but hated the kicking. That likely means you may benefit from trying something like boxing instead, or another activity with plenty of upper-body movement.
3. Set more goals, make them achievable, and keep stacking them.
Yes, goal setting is a common tip in the fitness field, but it’s worth repeating because goals actually really work to keep you engaged and enable you to enjoy what you’re doing. (And setting goals you can achieve can be easier than you think too.)
For example, Berry says she is currently working toward her purple belt in jujitsu and that goal helps drive her to keep learning new techniques and put in the practice time.
“Every time I set a new goal, it makes me feel empowered, like I’ve created a new path in a journey,” she says. “Also, when I think about the goals I’ve reached, it makes me feel empowered.”
New goals, especially multiple types, are also important for changing variables within a workout, adds Thomas—for example, gradually progressing the amount of weight you lift or your number of reps and sets. Not only does that keep it more interesting, but it also helps move you toward whatever results you’ve been working to achieve.
4. Tease out your fitness “why.”
There are tons of health benefits from exercise, and new studies seem to come out every day about how fitness improves mental health, mobility and flexibility, cognitive function, immune system function, and so much more. But what does it really do for you personally? What’s your “why”? Finding that will be like a pilot light, Berry says.
“For me, I want the best life possible, I want to be around for my children, I want to feel amazing,” Berry says. “When you think of this as a lifestyle, not an activity that you check off your to-do list, you take out the mundane aspect of it. You turn it from a ‘have to do’ into a ‘want to do,’ and that’s a fundamental shift. When you start finding out how good you can feel, it’s impossible for that to be boring.”
Related:
- 10 Ways to Build an Actually Sustainable Workout Routine You Love
- 5 Ways to Add Eccentric Training to Your Workouts So You Get Even Stronger
- 25 Fitness Truths I’ve Learned After Teaching for 25 Years