When you’re living with a skin allergy chances are your condition often prevents you from sticking to your workout routine. A rash breakout on Tuesday might keep you from working out on Wednesday and the rest of the week. When that happens, you might find yourself going through six months without hitting the gym.

But don’t let this deter you from ever working out because there are ways to help you get over that slump and get back on the saddle, or in this case on the treadmill.

So here are simple tips to get over your workout slump:

Treat the rash breakout as a layover

When we experience a rash breakout while we’re working out, the tendency is to think that exercise is the stopgap and our allergies are the norms of our lives. It is but natural because we’ve been living with our allergies for most of our lives so we’ve come to an understanding that our allergies are more part of our lives than exercising.

But don’t look at it that way. Rather, see your allergic reactions as the layover and consider working out as your final destination. This way, whenever you have an allergic reaction that prompted you to stop working out for a while you’ll be eager to get back on your treadmill as soon as your rashes are gone.

Do something else for a change

If you’ve taken to swimming because it’s good for your health and it doesn’t trigger your eczema or any of other skin allergies, you might find it invigorating at first until your 20th time in the pool. When you’ve been swimming for more than 20 times in the local pool, chances are you’ll be sick of the chlorine and your freestyle strokes.

Rather than avoid exercising just do something else to elevate your heart rate and keep you fit. The problem with people with sensitive skin is that there’s not a huge list of alternative workout routines that are friendly to your skin. But there are still some alternatives like yoga or Pilates, which are good for your heart and muscles that won’t overheat your body and lead you to a rash breakout.

Try some other exercise and just pace yourself so you won’t stress your body too much and trigger your skin condition.

Ask a friend to join you

Working out with a friend is an effective way of getting over your slump because either one of you can serve as the motivator to keep on pedalling or running to better health. Also, exercising with a friend helps prevent your routine to be monotonous if you and your friend are the type of people who likes shooting the breeze while working out.

Give yourself a reward

Sometimes staying on track can be hard all because there’s nothing at the end of it to make us realize that the pain and effort we’ve been feeling and exerting are worth it. Give yourself a reward when you’ve done a thousand push-ups or when you’ve completed a marathon and you’ll be eager next time to set the bar higher.