Even though I’ve got headphones on, I generally can’t keep my mind quiet and all sorts of thoughts rise unbidden into my frickin’ consciousness; from the trivial to the emotional to the profound.
What about you?
Oh yeah. My brain goes all sorts of places.
Sometimes it’s what I’m going to eat for dinner that night, or other mundane here’s what I need to do today kind of things. Other times I rehash weird situations or come up with the “damn, I should have said such and such to so and so” responses to things in life. I swear, I’ve solved the world’s problems (or at least all of my own) while exercising, but for some reason once I stop or get off the equipment, it all disappears and I forget all that wisdom. 
Which is why I sometimes opt for reading a book while I pedal…
Transcript of my thoughts:
Wherever. I work out with a set of videos. If I don’t know the routine very well, I’ll think about doing the exercises right. But if I’ve done one a million times, then my thoughts go to the same places they do if I’m walking down the street or zoning out on the couch. In other words, just about anywhere. What’s funny is that sometimes I’ll totally ignore the video, and I’ll suddenly realize that I’m doing the wrong routine. Several times, I’ve almost fallen over as I tried to correct myself.
“hmmm… I think I’m gonna die.”
i hate this i hate this i hate this god this sucks don’t look at the time don’t look at the time don’t look at the time DAMN IT WHY DID YOU LOOK AT THE TIME i hate this i hate this i hate this, repeat.
“This sucks. This really sucks. This sucks. You know what would be better than this? Cake. Mmm cake or maybe brownies! This sucks. This sucks. This sucks.”
Usually, it’s “Why the hell don’t I do this more often?!?” Followed by, “Oh, yeah. Having a toddler clinging to my legs at night after work makes running difficult.”
Other than that, it’s “Thirty more seconds, twenty more seconds, ten, nine, eight…Okay - increase incline. Pant pant pant Hmmm. Ow. If I did this more, this wouldn’t be this hard. Oh, thank God. Good music just came on. Oh yeah, that helps. Cool. Yeah, baby! I feel all powerful. Maybe after this I can go upstairs and paw my husband.”
I’ll be honest. I can’t use a workout video unless there’s at least one woman in it who’s really attractive. It’s not like I get, ahem, distracted while working out, but I think I need something to keep my attention engaged beyond the “this is good for me” thing.
Well, when I’m rowing, I’m thinking about rowing. It’s a technique heavy sport and there’s always something to fix: slow down the slide, sit up, fast hands away, roll up over the knees, backsplash, dammit sit up, bring the knees to the chest, stop dumping into the finish, stronger finishes, sit up, sit up, sit up.
When I’m erging (rowing machine), I’m trying not to think about how bored I am. If it’s a tough piece, I’m literally counting strokes to 100 and then starting again, trying to work out the math on how many strokes 'til I’m done, how many strokes in 1000 meters, an I 5/8 done or 2/3s? An easy piece, I’m thinking about technique and concentrating on getting through to the next song.
Running, I set goals along the trail and think about the people I see pass me and things I see. So it’ll be, Ok, sprint to that light post, and then an easy jog. Man, that woman really needs a more supportive jog bra. Sigh, he’s 15 years too young for me. Man, I hate it when people walk five abreast and block the trail. I want a puppy just like that one. If I’m really bored, I work on plots to novels I will never write.
I have lots of songs and a fair amount of poetry memorized. I cycle through those when exercising (or when otherwise trying to endure pain–yeah, I should exercise more regularly).
Workout routines–concentrate on doing them correctly. (I don’t do routines anymore)
Running (don’t do anymore)–nothingnothingnothinggodIcan’tbreathesidehurtsgaspgasp. Gettingbetterpantpantpantokbreathebreathebetterkneehurtsshoelacelooseneeddrinkokohnothedamnednumbers1234567891011121131516171819201234567891011…
I count to 20(somtimes 40) multiple times while running. I have no idea why. I once ran a 10k, counting like a crazy person. It’s very boring to do that.
Now I try to bike ride to do my errands as exercise. My thoughts then: Niceday, wind’s a bit cool. Hands are cold. Butt hurts on this seat. If your butt wasn’t so big, it wouldn’t hurt so much. Is the gear slipping? Here comes a car. Squirrel. Osage orange. bump–damn! BUMP! Oh, better stop for intersection. Thirsty. Used to ride no handed when I was a teen, now I can’t even get the water bottle off the holder without wobbling. Pathetic really…
I despise treadmills. When swimming, I usually end up counting strokes between breaths or thinking about boobs. When lifting weights, it’s usually “don’t screw up and crush yourself, fool”.
When on a cardio machine : this is for warmups, so I read.
When running : 1600 steps to a mile, so I count. Then I compare when I pass the landmarks to see how close I am. This puts me almost in a meditative state where it doesn’t hurt to run. Except on a bad day.
Swimming and biking : Same thing with different numbers of course.
I like counting 
I focus on how it makes me feel, which is powerful and sexy…even though I am sweating like crazy and have my hair up in an ugly ponytail. Mostly I just revel in the sensation of pushing my body to its limits.
Cycling is what I do primarily and when I’m doing it, I will typically zone out except for the parts of brain necessary to accomplish the task at hand. This is if I’m relaxed and the group of people I’m riding with are not pushing it. If the pace goes above what is relatively comfortable, then I will be thinking how not to get dropped from the group on the next hill, staying aero, breath deeply, watch the wheels in front of me so that a big gap doesn’t form, when to respond to accelerations by others, etc…
If I’m cycling alone, I often think about how strong I’m getting with my training, whether I should go harder or ease off, and I like to think back to good races I’ve done and how I dropped other people with shear power. It’s very motivating.
I ride too, and I just enjoy the ride. It’s what I like to do, not exercise. It’s not like it’s not hard (it is) or I don’t suffer(I do) but I do it because I enjoy it.
Here is a hint to anyone who thinks exercise is a chore: if the activity that you do for exercise can be done competitively, then try to do it competitively. Chances are there are age or experience categories that make it fun. Even if it’s done in a friendly environment, competition changes how you approach your workouts. It’s not exercise, it’s training. How you do during competition gives you training goals.
In my case, it was a mental change. Sure, anyone can apply for and get a beginner bike racing license, but once you actually have it you think of yourself as a racer and step up the training accordingly, even if it is modest. I imagine that many physical activities, especially individual activities, offer entry level competitions.
For instance, if you run, just don’t run but sign up for 5K or 10K races and try to do your best and improve. Even if it’s your first 5K, you’ll learn a few things.
Left foot right foot left foot right foot leftfoot rightfoot leftfoot rightfoot leftfootrightfootleftfootrightfootleftfootrightfootleftfootrightfoot breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe
I have a stream of consciousness monologue, wherein I work out a number of personal issues and my outlook on life. I almost always think of my pet life philosophy in great detail, then promptly forget it all 5 minutes later.
Which reminds me, I need to get back on the couch-to-5k program. My butt got big over summer.
I usually run on a treadmill because I tend to run at odd hours and I’m a big baby about the weather. I generally try to watch a movie or listen to a podcast when I am running to distract myself, because while I am perfectly normal at all other times putting on my sneakers seems to give me ADD. It generally goes something like this:
I wish I was faster, I’ve only gone how far?, this song sucks - change the song, check my heart rate monitor, I’ve only gone how much farther?, I wish I could get off this damn thing and play Guild Wars, I really need to get faster, don’t forget to pick up coffee at the grocery store, are we there yet?, bored of this song - put on a podcast, I really want chocolate, I think a snail on a walker just passed me, I’ve only gone how far? damn.