I have an ongoing problem with my exercise routine. I will faithfully exercise five times a week for 40 minutes on my treadmill, however after two weeks I find it harder to stay with it. This leads to me not doing anything for about a month.

Can you give me any motivation techniques or alternative suggestions? I am only able to exercise within my home. I am a full- time student, mother and worker. Please help.
--Ms1913

Gee, Ms1913, I would lose motivation too if I did the same exact routine every workout. My fellow exercise addicts and I constantly change our routines to stave off boredom.

Since you don't have many cardiovascular choices within your house, your best bet is alternating the length of your sessions. Why not shorten a couple of sessions by 10 minutes or so and try to lengthen a couple of sessions? Alternate between longer and shorter workouts. Try doing a 40 minute workout one day and 30 minutes the next, and 50 minutes on the third day.

You're already used to walking for 40 minutes, why not see how much faster you can walk when you only have to stay on the treadmill for 30 minutes? On the flip side of the coin, when you know you have to last for 50 minutes, you can slacken your pace so that you can complete the workout comfortably. You'll still cover more distance. Walks of 40, 30, 50, 30, and 50 minutes still add up to 200 minutes total exercise time for a week. That's the same amount of time you spend now on the treadmill.

Who says you have to work out five days in a row? I tell most people to take a day off if they've worked out on three or four consecutive days. If you train three days in a row, take a day off, train two days and take a day off - you'll still have five workouts in seven days, just as you would if you did five in a row and took two off. Either way, you're back working out on the eighth day.

If you really can't get out of the house to exercise (for a run or a brisk walk), how about adding a new piece of equipment for variety's sake, like a stationary bike or cross-country ski machine? Get some dumbbells and add a little strength training to your routine.

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