Switch Up Your Fitness Routine

You’ll know it’s time to switch up your fitness routine when you seem stuck on the same weight, no matter how dedicated you are to your workout and healthy eating program. Doing the same workout continuously allows the body to become more efficient. While efficiency is great at work or when you’re doing a project at home, it doesn’t work that way when you’re working out in the gym. It means your body requires fewer calories to do the same exercises than it did initially. It’s called plateauing and one way to avoid it is to vary your workout.

Injuries can occur from chronic repetitions.

Everyone has probably heard of carpel tunnel, an injury to the hand and arm from doing the same repetitive motion. That can happen on any part of the body. It’s repetitive strain. Runners, tennis players and martial arts participants that perform frequent kicking motions often suffer from it. When you change up your routine, you’ll be using different joints, ligaments and muscles or moving those muscles in a different way. If there’s a minor injury to a muscle, changing your routine prevents further damage.

Changing your routine keeps you more focused with less boredom.

If you’ve ever mindlessly gone through a routine, you know that is a sign you’re not into it and maybe even bored. You might even change the type of workout you’re doing. Instead of a tough workout at gym, consider using one of the exercise days for a different activity like yoga or kickboxing. Just changing to a new routine can also bring more enjoyment to your workout.

You’ll make sure all your muscles get a workout when you change your routine.

While you’re focusing on your larger muscles, maybe not all the smaller ones are getting the maximum benefit from your workout. You might need to exercise all your muscles on different planes to improve your overall fitness. Switching routines can help ensure that all muscles get a good workout on all planes.

• Sometimes it’s nice to make a change and join a group class. It can bring a more social attitude to your workout and even help you find some workout buddies that make exercise more fun.
• Changing workouts gives your brain more exercise, too. Learning new skills and movements helps boost the building of new neural pathways.
• Trying new things, new ways of exercising and new routines can boost your enthusiasm. If you go outside your comfort zone and try a totally new activity, you may even find an outlet you’ll love for years to come.
• Think F.I.T.T. That’s an acronym for frequency, intensity, type, and time. You need to change at least two of those every six weeks to keep your workout fresh and watch the pounds drop.