Don't let your summertime workouts get boring. Once boredom sets in, you're in the No Fun Zone, sticky and stuck. Who'd vote for that? Life is too short and the injury rate too high.

I have four hot tips to help you avoid exercise burnout this summer, when you and all your friends and family are in a sweat about so many things:

WORK OUT IN WATER. Too hot to go biking? Weary of another ho-hum five-mile run? Dive into a fitness routine that is gentle on the joints and high on the calorie burn: water workouts. You can walk, run or dance across the length or width of your local pool. Or you can head for open water, strap on a well-designed buoyancy device — I love my Aquajogger — and feel totally supported as you walk, run, samba, kick, lunge or leap. There really are no rules for exercising in the water (OK, there is one: Don't drown). Just stay in motion for 15-30 minutes or more, and embrace the resistance of water, but never to the point of pain. You can use a soundproof music system, or you can aerobicise in silence, listening to the sound of your own breathing. Have your best time. And if the thought of making up your own water workout sinks you into a state of oceanic paralysis, get help. Join a water aerobics class, or go fishing for water workout info at the library or on the Net.

WORK OUT WITH PALS. I call this Flex in the City. Round up some pals, and do something active as a fun-loving, fitness-minded group. Once a week, twice a moon, you decide. Find your location on a map, look around for the closest green haven (I don't mean McDonald's) — a park, a trail, a lakefront — and plan an active day that might include hiking, Frisbee, tennis, golf, badminton, softball, kite-flying, etc. Serious party planners can collaborate on a scavenger hunt with everyone setting off on foot and returning at a designated time. Beware! This might turn into an exercise in self-restraint on account of the irresistible urge to celebrate the End of the Hunt. Your Flex in the City event has so many possibilities. What about hiring a soccer/basketball/volleyball coach and creating your own one-day sports clinic?

EXERCISE YOUR COMPASSION. Check around and find an event this summer that raises money for some charity you care about. Diabetes? Breast cancer? Recovering Botox users? Participating in a competitive or fun run or bike ride for charity connects you to your essential good nature and your need to be grateful for what you have. You can also do it to honor someone or something you believe in. Bike for AIDS. Walk to Save the wild salmon. Run to end the war. There are so many worthy causes for you to choose from. Don't delay. Start practicing philanthropic fitness this summer. It's a win-win. You benefit from the training and the workouts, and the cause benefits from the cash. Citizen marathons to support Medicare? Let's hope it never comes to that.

EXPERIMENT WITH THE NIGHT. Most people exercise during the day, and that makes perfect sense. But what about daring to be different and plan some of your workouts for the nighttime, when the weather's cooler and the crowds have gone home? It's a brave new world. Bike at night, walk at night, or paddle at night. Be aware: Some experts say exercising too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep. And some say that gentle exercise before going to bed can actually help you sleep more easily. You won't know until you try. I know of a neighborhood walking club — there are many — that goes out at night as a regular thing, between the hours of 8 and 10 p.m. They are exercising their right to be on their street, enjoying their community. Members walk as much or as little as they want. If they weren't outside walking, they'd be inside watching TV, playing video games, shooting up with high fructose corn syrup and weeping the rewards.

REMEMBER: Summer is a time for relaxation and reflection, your time to do what the plants do and move toward the light.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! REFLECTIONS ON A WATERMELON

"Summer afternoon — summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." — Henry James

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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