If you’re bored of doing the same old exercise routine, then there are lots of ways you can spice it up. As I mentioned before, I do a lot of running, but I always make sure I do other sports too just to keep things interesting. I always find exercise much more difficult if it’s boring, and I’m sure lots of other people feel the same way. Here are a few tips that I’ve found help to keep exercise fun.

Firstly, if you like a certain sport then join a local sports team. Playing sport helps you to keep fit, meet you new people and have fun. It doesn’t matter what your skill level is, as long as you find a club that is a similar level to you. Most sports have clubs for beginners as well as people who’re experienced. Some sports I enjoy include football, cricket and ultimate Frisbee. You could also try joining a fitness class if you don’t enjoy sports, although I’ve never been to one of these.

I always make sure I use a different exercise program every few weeks. If you do the same routine for a long period of time then not only will it get boring, but your body will also start to get used to it. The more you mix things up the better your workout will be

Also, make sure you don’t overdo things! This can lead to injury which will ultimately impact on your fitness levels. Build your fitness up slowly so that you can avoid injury while still enjoying yourself. No one likes getting injured, and it can take a massive toll on your body which is definitely something you want to avoid.

I do a lot of running (when I don’t have an injury, I’m injured quite a lot), so I’ve found some ways to make it more interesting. Some people just run on straight roads with the same route every time, but this isn’t the best way to get the most out of your run. Here’s some of my top tips for having run while running, which will allow you to perform better and be more motivated.

1. Listen to some good music. The right kind of music can make a run seem much shorter. I like music that doesn’t require you to listen closely, and is quite fast tempo. Experiment to see which type of music you like the best though.

2. Do some trail running. If you’re getting bored of running on roads, then doing some trail running always makes things more interesting. I run more on trails than roads, because going through the countryside is much more relaxing. If you’re going to be running on your own though, make sure people know where you are and that you run during daylight hours to be on the safe side.

3. Run with a target in mind. If you’re just running for the sake of it, then it can be difficult to stay motivated over a long period of time. It’s great to have an end goal that you can work towards. this might be to run a marathon, get your best 10k time or to run in a mile in a certain amount of time. As long as you have something reasonably difficult to work towards, you’ll find it much easier to get motivated for running.

Remember, any exercise needs to be fun if you’re going to be doing it over a long period of time.

I’ve tried to get into Xfactor – mainly because my girlfriend watches it each week – but apart from the cringe-worthy initial auditions I haven’t been able to enjoy it. The whole show is so manufactured and repetitive, that I don’t know how anyone can stand watching the whole thing in one go. Here are my top 3 reasons why the Xfactor isn’t worth watching!

1. The adverts

Adverts every half an hour or so is fine, but there seems to be adverts after most songs. I bet if you condensed the two and a half hour show down into just the songs and judges opinions it would be around 45 minutes long! This is the great thing about Sky+ of course, but you shouldn’t have to buy an extra box just to be able to watch a TV shoe.

2. The opinions are ridiculous

Let’s be honest, how many winners, let along contestants, have gone on to become big stars? Very few. And the ones that do aren’t exactly known for their musical talent, but for their brand ability. The amount of times during an average show that a judge says “I think we’ve found a big star here” is hilarious. The whole show would be much better if the judges were a bit more realistic.

3. It’s so repetitive

The style and genre of the songs chosen is usually pretty predictable – it’ll start slow and end in a powerful and “rousing” chorus. There’s nothing wrong with this type of song, but it would be great to have some variety. Usually if anyone even tries to sing something a bit different it fails. I think this is why girls tend to win more than boys – their voices are better suited to the songs that work well.

I’d love it if one of the challenges was for the contestants to write their own song – it would give everyone a much better idea of how musically talented they are. In my opinion there’s a difference between being able to sing well and being musically talented.

As you can tell, I think there’s a lot of reasons to hate Xfactor! I think the main problem is that such a big deal is made out of it. There’s even “live” updates on some big news sites, in the same way that sporting events are covered. These updates consist of “person X just sung song Y, I think it was good”. IN other words, completely pointless.