What's your jam?

I get bored easily, so in order for me to stay committed to a fitness routine I need external stimulus, it's a MUST.  So here are 3 of my favorite most trusted tips:

-The "I'm tired" agreement with my body- each season I make an agreement with my body about how we will handle working out on the days I JUST DON'T feel up to it.  My usual agreement is that even if I don't feel up to working out I agree to ride the recumbent bike for 20 minutes at a moderate speed.  20 minutes is NOT a major time commitment.  I workout in the morning so the conversations goes like this:

          brain "It's time to workout"
          body "I just don't feel up to it"
          brain "oh come on... just get up!"
          body "No! I don't want to...ugh"
          brain "Ok.  But I thought we agreed... come on just 20 minutes on the bike..."
         
The key thing is to SECOND GUESS your body.  Chances are if you get up and workout 10 min into the workout you will be awake.  Once you are awake you will want to make the best out of the 30 - 40 minutes you set aside to workout.

-Timed workout play lists - I love listening to music as I workout, it's a great motivator and it helps to make my routine workouts seem not so routine.  Take some time over the next weekend to create some timed play lists.  Create a 20 minute, 35 minute and 50 minute play list of your favorite music this is a great way to workout without having to keep your eye on the clock.  Start your workout with the first song and you are done when the last song ends!  Let the last song be a really upbeat song to help push you through the last few minutes of your workout.  If you do this often enough your brain will become trained as o which song signals the end of your workout and will send an automatic jolt to PUSH THROUGH to the finish. 

-Pick a show...any show- Another technique I use to both have a timed workout and to overcome boredom on the treadmill or stationary bike is to workout while watching one of my favorite shows.  This work in the morning and evening.  I am a Law and Order girl, so I pick a show and say I am going to run "X" miles or run until my TV show goes off.  Try to pick a show that is 60 minutes long, I have found that the 60 minute shows are long enough to keep me engrossed to the point that I forget that I am working out.

I hope these tips help.  What are your most trusted fitness tips?