So as not to hijack this thread Does exercise feel physically good to you? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board with a not-widely-shared phenomenon.
How do you not get bored while exercising? Serious question.
I watch TV episodes. Each one’s just under an hour long, which is a good workout.
It depends entirely on where and how I’m exercising.
At the gym? I watch TV.
At home, without an exercise video? TV, music, or radio.
At home, with an exercise video? I look at the boobies.
Running: iPod, with either Podcasts or music. My iPhone gets Pandora flawlessly now, so that’s been a great option.
Riding stationary bike (at home): TiVo. I got a TiVo for the exercise room when I figured out the cost of the unit plus the $6.95/month for the second subscription was about a tenth of the cost of a gym membership.
Gym: You got me here. I gave up the gym membership because it was so freakin’ boring.
I’m fortunate enough to live in a place where there are interesting and beautiful places to walk, so that’s not a problem.
If I’m using the exercise bike, I watch TV or listen to music. My husband can actually read on the bike, but I find that uncomfortable.
I listen to my (non-iPod) MP3 player. It’s not boring at all. I love listening to music anyway, and the sensation is only enhanced with all those endorphins swimming around my brain.
I have tried to excercise outdoors and while the workout goes by a LOT quicker, I’m bored senseless, even when listening to music.
I personally try to work out during shows like *Gossip Girl *or somesuch. The skinny clotheshanger bodies motivate me.
Don’t get bored.
Most of my exercise is cycling, running, or hiking. I like all three quite a bit.
I like running, and I like hiking, but nowhere near the amount of time or at the speed required for a workout. An overly simplistic response doesn’t address the OP.
Definitely music. I don’t understand how people do it without music. I guess I could see how television would work okay on a bike or other stationary machine where only my legs are moving, but running or jumping around and trying to watch television seem like mutually exclusve things to me. TV’s got no rhythm!
I listen to music. With my mp3 player on, I can do anything, anything!
I use music for when I am trying to keep my heart-rate up, and listen to audiobooks for long hauls of walking on the treadmll. I listen to mysteries mostly. So I am motivated to work out just so I can find out how the story ends 
In the summer I run and bike outside, and I enjoy the scenery or the competition of it (long road bike rides with the hubby).
In the winter when I run inside, I listen to music or do intervals.
We have the VR Tacx set-up for our road bikes at home so we use that - I ride portions of the Tour de France (live video) or we set programs up and try to beat each other or our last time.
I also take classes and teach spinning.
If I ever get bored with an exercise, I try something else instead.
Not bad ideas, actually, however…
Can’t ride a bike worth a damn (really, I have x-rays to prove it). I ran (badly) until a doctor specifically advised me not to because of abnormally high heart rate. Hiking is what I do on vacation because the closest places to do it are several hours away. I could ‘hike’ stairs, but that would suck mightily.
I think this needs to be emphasized. I’m the same way.
I don’t care HOW much I like something, if I do it too many weeks in a row, it gets dull. I have to change things up.
So my year usually looks like:
Summer: bike, run, hike
Fall: run, hike, indoor bike, DDR
Winter: indoor bike, DDR, snowshoe, ski
Spring: run, start biking if the mud allows, hike if the mud allows, indoor bike
I watch tv, think about where I was when the song that’s playing was popular, or eavesdrop on the Perfect Butt Girls on the treadmills next to me. Their lives are so full of dates and shoes and new careers and sales on purses.
Sure it does. I don’t do things that I think are boring unless I’m getting paid to. You shouldn’t either.
The point was rather than stare at the ceiling in a gym, or at the wall on a treadmill, go find something active that you actually enjoy doing. It doesn’t have to be “exercise” either, as long as you’re moving and your heart is pumping then you’re doing better than most.
Yes! I try to get this point across to people all the time. Exercise is not just a bike ride or a run, it’s also a stroll around the park or museum, or taking the dogs for a walk, or playing the Wii. There are so many things you can do that are fun and beneficial to your health.
Then there’s this. It sucks if you’re limited like that, it does strongly cut down on your options.
Still though, I’d suggest that rather than looking to alleviate boredom, you work to find something not so boring in the first place. Not helpful, I know.
Amen to that. Words to live by.
Are you sure on that part? I used to have a job that kept me on my feet, moving fast, and lifting moderately heavy crap for 8-10 hours a day. I was still in below-average condition and the only thing that changed it was when I started doing ‘traditional’ exercise.
YMMV, obviously.