How to make the gym 'not boring'

Today's article was written for Dialled Mag

When I tell riders to hit the gym and lift 
weights to get stronger, faster and fitter on 
the bike one thing I often get in response is
the : 

"But the gym is so boring"
Now I never expect the gym to be as fun as riding
your bike. Obviously.
But if you find you don't naturally enjoy the gym I have 
some recommendations for you to enjoy it a little more - 
- Go with a mate
Training with someone else makes it much more interesting as 
​​​​​​​you can have a chat in your rest periods, spot each other and 
​​​​​​​push each other harder than you might on your own
​​​​​​​- Remember you feel better after
You don't train in the gym to intrinsically enjoy it 
while you do it. The more you train, the more you'll enjoy
it...but it's how you feel after a workout that feels great. You 
​​​​​​​can feel your muscles having worked in completely different 
ways to when you ride. You can get hooked on that satisfying 
feeling after your workout 
- Have a plan
​​​​​​​Training in the gym with no plan sucks. It all feels pointless, you 
​​​​​​​don't know why you are doing what you are doing, and you won't
see any results from it. Having a solid plan to stick to will 
make a massive difference - you'll feel what you are doing is all 
for a reason. When you do a Deadlift - and feel exactly how it mimics
pivoting your hips back and forward on the bike. Or when you do 
​​​​​​​split squats and feel how it's super similar to a pedal 
enjoy it more because you know it will benefit you.
A lot of people who find the gym 'boring' have only been once or 
twice (or maybe not at all) and then written it off.
The benefits of weight training are so So SO worth getting over 
that initial hurdle of not being a fan of the gym
​​​​​​​Matt Mooney