Beat Workout Boredom

Annoyed with the Elliptical

Instant replay: Take your workout in a different direction. Literally! After 4 minutes at a steady pace, set the resistance to 8 and do 4 strokes forward, then 4 strokes backward, repeating for 2 minutes before returning to your original pace for another 4 minutes, Norcini suggests. Bonus: Every time you change direction, you work your core to maintain balance.

Gear shift: Strap on a Polar heart-rate monitor like the RS200 ($170, polarusa.com) and give your elliptical session a goal. The monitor's easy-to-read screen lets you know how hard you're working on a scale of 1 to 5 -- try to maintain a level 3, or switch up your resistance and speed regularly to see which zone you jump into.