As we wage this metaphorical war called daily living, we tend to overlook the most useful weapon: our mind.

Last week's article gave some insight on how to wield that weapon when your adversary is the enemy I call exercise ennui: a listlessness and dissatisfaction with the whole exercise process that makes it easy to give up on workouts.The suggestion was to recognize that you really are blessed to be able to do what you really don't feel like doing at that moment: begin your workout. The way I count my blessings is to recall those who long to but can no longer ride a bike.Last week, I mentioned the good friend with a heart abnormality, but sometimes I'll also recall the acquaintance who was riding across the country to raise money for cancer victims, was hit by a car, and is presently paralyzed from the waist down. Even the former racing adversary that I never knew was a drug addict until he relapsed, overdosed, and died.While similar thoughts could get your workout started, what's going to supply the drive to keep it from being nothing more than a perfunctory passing of time? When I need to increase my drive or survive an especially demanding ride, I engage in mental imaging.I still enter about 20 bicycle races a year, and I can still win a few of the age-graded ones contested on hilly terrain. To do so, however, my training needs to be sometimes lengthy and intense, even when I'm forced inside by inclement weather.Now I could never complete a three-hour indoor ride with two-thirds of that time at or above race pace if I watched television or only listened to music. What gets me to ride that long and that hard is that I see things in my mind as I ride.That gradual, never-ending climb where I previously applied the pressure and pedaled away from the other old guys. That shorter, steeper climb where the more powerful riders can put a hurting on me.If I can recreate a single scenario vividly, it seems as if others just come naturally. But sometimes I'll simply decide to repeat a single section of a course as a way to prepare for an especially difficult segment in important race.When I engage in visual imaging really well, I not only lose track of time but also find my intensity increases. I'll glance at the computer and see that I'm riding a mile faster or producing 15 more watts of power than before I entered the reverie.While you in all likelihood do not race a bicycle or possibly even do a sport competitively, you can still use visual imaging.Even if you just run for fun and have no ambition to race, there's probably a segment of a course or a hill that you ascend that proves difficult for you. See that in your mind, the next time you're forced to run on a treadmill inside and feel less than motivated.See the road, feel the road, imagine a strong sun being the cause of the perspiration dripping off your forehead. The more specific and detailed the vision, the more likely you'll get lost in it.The more you get lost in the vision the harder you will work, yet the reaching the targeted time will seem to occur quicker.Constantly changing the intensity and effort of a workout is another way to get more out if it. Too many people who are exercising simply to maintain good health forget that the body has the ability to acclimate to anything.The classic example is jumping rope. Do so for 20 minutes after not jumping for months, and you'll feel totally trashed. And the caloric burn is tremendous.Jump for 20 minutes three times a week for a month and that last workout is not nearly producing the same effect. You won't feel fatigued at the end, and you won't burn as many cals as you burned during workout number one.So the obvious way to create variety is to alter the type of workout. There's nothing wrong with the concept of cross-training if you're a competitor in the off-season or exercising for reasons other than preparing for a competition.But if you need to stick with a single form of exercise in order to make specific progress in it, you can still add variety. Intervals where you increase your normal intensity are the best way to do this.While non-competitors might shy away from something that sounds so demanding, keep in mind that the increase in intensity doesn't have to be great. A slight increase only makes the exercises slightly more demanding but it does serve two other purposes: it alters the rate at which you are engaged in the motion and it changes your focus.Both go a long way to keeping a working going when just a few moments ago all you wanted to do is go home.