I regularly go to the gym, but find it really boring. Is there anything I can do to make working out more fun?

If you’re getting bored, you need stimulation, either through changes in your activities or cranking it up a couple of notches. First, get motivated again, reminding yourself why you started going to the gym in the first place, be it to drop a few pounds, get fit enough for that race day or to beef up. If you joined to build up your muscles, perhaps it’s time to re-focus on agility, and vice versa. A change of pace and tack can fire you up again, as can new exercises, fresh workouts, and a different playlist to accompany your workout.

Alternatively, perhaps it’s not so much what you’re doing as your surroundings. Can you do any of your workouts elsewhere, in the open air for instance? Being stuck in the gym on a summer’s evening might make you feel like you might as well be at work. If you enjoy climbing workouts, try rock climbing, if you’re on a rowing machine, take to the water, if you prefer exercise bikes, try proper cycling. And if regular cycling loses its appeal, try spinning, a cardiovascular routine that doesn’t stress joints and helps you burn calories fast. Maybe the solutions are right there in the gym.

Having set up a schedule when you joined, you’ve stuck with it ever since. Have a word and the staff may put you right, even if it’s just by pointing you to the kettlebells, for instance. Alternatively, your gym may offer boot-camp, boxing, martial arts, Pilates or Zumba classes. You’ll never know what suits until you try. And in the same way runners may benefit from joining a club - making new friends and training partners - the same applies in the gym. There could be someone else lacking that necessary motivation. If so, it’s time to spur you both on.