5 Ways to Make Exercise Less Boring

In this excerpt from their upcoming book, I Know I Should Exercise, But...44 Reasons We Don’t Move and How to Get Over Them, psychologist Dr. Diana Hill and movement expert Katy Bowman explore one reason we find exercise so hard—and what we can do to savor the movement in every moment.

By Diana Hill and Katy Bowman December 10, 2024

Exercise feels monotonous and boring, and it’s the last thing I want to do with my free time.

Sound familiar? Believe us, you’re not alone if you feel this way. It’s hard to drum up motivation when you think something is boring. Nobody wants to spend their free time doing monotonous and tedious tasks! So, how can we make movement less tedious and more enjoyable—something you look forward to?

Savoring is a psychological tool that can help with changing our perspective. Let’s unpack this to transform “Exercise is boring” into “I’m motivated to do this!”

How to Savor Exercise

You can make movement less boring by bringing awareness to the full experience of moving your body…and savoring it. Savoring is the act of intentionally paying attention to, appreciating, and enhancing the positive aspects of an experience. When you savor your experience, it increases your positive emotions, helps with stress reduction, and can turn even the most mundane experiences into pleasurable ones.

The key here is to be fully present with pleasurable aspects of what you are doing—flexibly shining your attention spotlight on the good stuff. This doesn’t mean ignoring discomfort; it’s more about attentional shift—which involves perspective-taking and being present. You get to choose where you place your attention.

Try this right now: 

Let your chin drop toward your chest, then gently bring your right ear toward your right shoulder, then slowly take your left ear to your left shoulder.  Notice: Where is the movement restricted? Where is it easy?  Linger on the spots that could use a little extra love. Breathe into and around the areas that are tight and relax your shoulders. Close your eyes and luxuriate in the chance to rest your mind as you roll.  Have gratitude for this moment to be with your body. Even the most monotonous things can become interesting when you are present for them and savor them.

There are five ways to savor an experience, according to Erika Miyakawa, a Japanese psychologist who researches savoring: thanksgiving, basking, marveling, luxuriating, and knowing. They all involve being fully present with your experience. Let’s explore how you can apply each of these to your movement or exercise.

5 Ways to Savor

Pick a physical activity that you usually find tedious or repetitive (for me, Diana, this is walking in circles around the airport while waiting to board, or waiting during my son’s baseball practice while he’s doing drills). Now try to apply each of these types of savoring to it. Notice how it changes your experience.

Thanksgiving: Appreciate the opportunity to move your body. Feel gratitude for this chance to move. Appreciate the place, people, and activities you get to engage with by moving your body. Basking: Take in feelings of pride at growing stronger in your body with movement. Feel the accomplishment of living out your values, finishing a challenging workout, or meeting movement goals. Marveling: Let yourself feel awe through movement. Be amazed by the beauty of nature, surprising sights, and the capabilities of your human body. Luxuriating: Enjoy the physical and sensory pleasures of movement. Enjoy the good feeling of stretching your muscles, the release of tension and stress, the flow of your body, or the creativity of movement. Knowing: Savor the wisdom that comes through moving your body—the knowledge you gain from interacting with new places, fresh faces, experiences, and challenges, or the knowledge gained by learning about yourself and your capacities.

The next time you find exercise a drag, dear reader, try this savoring skill and focus your attention on the positive aspects of movement. The most important factor is being fully present—shifting your attention to here and now, and the good that can come with moving your body.

This excerpt is from Diana Hill and Katy Bowman’s forthcoming book I Know I Should Exercise, But…: 44 Reasons We Don’t Move and How to Get Over Them (Uphill Books, March 2025) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher.