INTERVAL SPRINTS. I love the running playlist I have on my iPod, but no matter what, intervals always makes the time go faster for some reason. I run a mile to warm up and those eight minutes are always the longest and most arduous, but then the minute I switch into sprint mode, it seems like the workout flies by.

My gym has 7 flat screen TVs hung in a line facing the whole cardio area. I know by this point which TV (always on the same network/cable stations) has a show I want to watch at the time I'm there. I actually time my arrival to coordinate my cardio time with the show I want to watch. I like it.

listen to my music, do alot of deep thinking, sometimes read the headlines on CNN at the bottom of the screen and do interval sprints as well. Mainly it's music and deep thinking though - I often have to jot things down when I'm done so I can remember to put it in my journal later lol.

I get a lot of my reading done at the gym. I catch up on all my backlogged issues of the Atlantic Monthly, and I've finished, on average, of one three hundred-page novel per month—all at the gym! I can't stand watching the plasma screens at the gym. It's usually tuned into sports or local news, both things I kind of dislike.

I can't really read anything with plot or else I'm not working hard enough but I like to look through magazines like People, read headlines and look pictures.

Another good thing is listening to language podcasts on my iPod -- you can learn a new language while you work out!

I'm having a hard time with this lately too. Sometimes I'll watch the news at the gym. I would LIKE to read magazines, but my gym puts them all in these big obnoxious binders that just get in the way. Since stupid Apple can't ever get it together enough to put a radio in their ipods, I rely on workout mixes. I think I'm going to try out audiobooks next.

music, for sure. an mp3 player is essential! Also, secretly competing with people beside me and intervals helps too.

I am with laellavita - Interval Training make the time go faster. I cannot run as fast as laellavita though. I normally warm up with 5 min - after that I go by this:-
4 min - run normal - about 6.6 (9 min per mile)
1 min - sprint - about 7.0 (8.6 min per mile)

Time go by really fast. Having said that, I still prefer outdoor running instead of treadmill during the summer time.

Listen to music or study for the bar exam - I've got my MP3's of substantive law review on my iPod, so I don't feel that the time is wasted.

I read books. I read a novel each week (about 400 pages).

Listening to my ipod, reading a book when I'm only fast walking or watching the little tvs on the treadmill.

My (free) gym has no TVs and I can't read while working out or I get a headache. Music was getting to be boring too. Then I discovered podcasts! I love Pheddipidations (about running), Wait Wait Don't Tell Me ("the NPR news quiz") and various wedding planning podcasts. New ones come out all the time, so be sure to check iTunes every so often.

The rare times I work out in the mornings, I listen to music or podcasts. When I work out in the evenings, I watch repeats of NCIS on USA. I can get through the treadmill with no problem.

TV, magazines, iPod - sometimes all three.

i have this pandora application on my phone and i create station like "nsync" for my workouts. it's like a guilty pleasure, and the music actually gets me going

I watch TV and during the commercials I read my magazines. The gym here is really small (as in, I'm usually the only person in there in the morning), so it's not a big deal to have the channel on whatever you want or as loud as you want.

iPod + NPR. Works every time.

Don't go on cardio equip and you won't get bored

lydialee - I don't keep that speed up the whole time, I drop it down a lot. My usual interval workout is something like this:

8 minutes - run one mile, at about 7.5 (incline set at 1.0)
1:15 minutes - jog at 5.0-5.5 (incline set at 3.0)
0:45 seconds - sprint at anywhere between 9.0-10.0 (incline set at 3.0)
1:15 minutes - drop it back down to the jog

But sometimes I have to walk at 4.5. Either way, it really gets my heart going

I wish that I could read books, but I find that I can't focus on a line of text when I'm bouncing up and down.

My big strategy is that I get hooked on a tv show and then only let myself watch it at the gym. Sometimes I'll download the episodes to my video ipod and watch them that way if it's not something that I can watch on the big flatscreens because it's on a tv channel my gym doesn't show.

I also like podcasts such as the NPR radio program This American Life, although sometimes it's really sad and I start to tear up at one of the stories -- totally embarrassing!

I do sprints and my ipod is a must. Sprints really make the time go by faster, especially with heart pumping music playing!

I'm usually listening to music so I just try to find a mix that keeps me interested. I also do a lot of mental rehearsing and visualization...rehearsing for moments coming up that I think I'll need strength and visualizing what I'll look like when I get to my goal weight!

I listen to music and/or day dream about beating the competition.

I completely agree with the people who say intervals make the workout time go much faster. When I'm doing a long, more even-paced endurance run, I try to distract my mind with a problem, making plans, or almost daydreaming (something like iamsfgirl). Also, I like to turn all the screens on the treadmill to non-progressive numbers (like pace instead of calories) so I can't "watch the clock" all the time.

HLN and sprints. I can't go as fast as laellavita either. My short legs have to jog at 4.5 mph, and my sprint is about 7.5 mph.

I also like to mix up my cardio with strength training: five minutes on the treadmill, then five minutes with the free weights.

TV or ipod.

And of course if I'm out on a jog, or walking my dog, there are plenty of things to look around at

Intervals help too.

MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC anything with a massive slamming tume currently grounds for divorce by elbow

listen to music...if i'm not running, i read or play on my iphone. but once i start running, i can't read. so i just listen to music from then on.

Bring my iPod - when that doesn't work I watch TV. Thankfully my gym has TVs attached to each cardio machine so I don't have to watch TSN on mute - I can plug in my headphones and watch "Departures".

I always have an iPod, but I'm happy being a clockwatcher.

i've got a laptop, so i put on a new episode of whatever TV drama - House MD, Grey's Anatomy or Lost, and put the laptop on the shelf in frot of my crosstrainer. won't get off the trainer before the episode is over, that's granted

Music and intervals, I run 4 min + 1 min spring is the best, my favorite song for running is Pump it, from Black Eye Peas, the goes really fast I run 40 minutes every other day

This sounds dumb, but it's true, and it's the same principle as intervals (which I use other cardio machines for): I push myself just hard enough that I don't get bored.

Working hard doesn't allow me the comfort to get bored and it helps time fly by. All I know is the beat of the music on my iPod, my breathing and the occasional sip of water.

I couldn't read at the gym, how do you do that?! I wouldn't be working hard enough if I was able to focus on a book.

I use intervals on the treadmill and set the crosstrainer to "random" when I use that during my warmup. I have a special "running" playlist with upbeat songs I don't need to switch when they come on. Trying to change song on my iPhone has become perilous since my iPhone headphones gave up the ghost !!

I have never been able to read anything when working out, including magazines. I workout at home, so I usually pop a DVD in when I am doing cardio. Before we set up our home gym, I would usually watch the music videos at our gym or whatever news station they had on to get caught up on the news. As others have said, I pretty much always do intervals when working out so that I don't get bored. A steady pace the whole time bores me even if I'm watching a good movie.

If I'm at home, I take advantage of having season DVDs of my favorite shows! I used to burn through two episodes of "Scrubs" each workout, then switched to hour long shows like "Tales From the Crypt" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

At the gym, I have my headphones and I'll prop my Sony Reader on the display to read while I work on the elliptical and stationary bikes. Bonus: I won't concentrate on the display! If I don't focus on how long I've been working out or how much longer I have to go, I can work out for much longer.

I watch What Not to Wear

I also always do workouts that require me to either change my speed or incline ever 2-5 minutes so as to never get bored.

i agree with papertiger05. I DVR so many shows, but will save them only for the treadmill.

I have a program that has me constantly changing the incline and speed. I always watch The Food Network. On days that I am going for a steady pace, I jog/walk/recover during commercials and run fast when my show comes back on.

I read if I am on the bike.. On the treadmill, ski machine, or elliptical, I plug my headphones in and watch Food Network! Lame, I know..
I like to go when the gym is crowded, because I mentally "compete" with the person beside me too..

I couldn't bear the treadmill until I discovered interval sprints. It really does make the time fly by and you get a better workout! The TV and my iPod help pass the time too...

i always have my ipod on but if i'm on the bike then i also have a book which REALLY helps since that's a less intense machine and can get boring .

When I work out with a friend, talking makes the time goes by quickly. Otherwise, books on ipod. The only time I can read is on the bike.

Music and daydreaming!

My favorite thing to do is to watch a tv screen (whether it's on your treadmill or just hanging in the gym) but don't listen to it.... instead, I make up in my head what the people are saying. It keeps me thinking and distracted enough to not be staring at the clock. Also, usually what I make up in my head is far more interesting than what they're actually saying.

I set up a playlist of songs with a fast beat that I can fall into a rythm with. Since I play guitar, I can also try to figure out what chords the rockers are playing, and sometimes I just daydream about me being the one to play. Its nothing close to reality, so I play with my imagination. I also cover up the time marker with paper towel and tape and only take a peek at the end of each song. I run for 20 minutes on a 9.5 at a speed of 5.6

I love my ipod, but I recently bought an AM/FM radio to use on the elliptical... I just like the variety on the radio, you never know whats going to come on next, I have some good playlists but if I dont update them on a weekly basis then it gets supoer boring.

i chose the one in front of a window - my last gym had amazing huge windows that overlooked art university and football field - so i was people watching. but i was mainly occupied by motivating myself mentally.

Intervals and great songs on my ipod make the time fly by.

Some days I watch The View some days I listen to my iPod. The time seems to pass better when I listen to my music though.