This is one of the most self-defeating habits people develop. Whether you lift weights, enjoy running, do Yoga or Pilates you want to continue making progress.
One of the central concepts behind fitness training is constantly exposing the body to new conditions. Just as intensity is important to maintaining progress, so is variety.
Weight Training
Most people tend to stick to the same exercises day in day out. But there are literally dozens of different exercises and variations to be done for each muscle group. Everybody has slightly different biomechanics, so no two people will respond identically to the same exercise. It’s important to experiment to see what’s right for you.
Once you've figured out which exercises work well for you, it helps to find small variations on those exercises. The optimal plane of motion (the plane on which the weight travels) and range of motion (the distance the weight travels) will be different for everybody. In order to fine-tune exercises to your own body you need to make subtle adjustments.
Above all, it’s important to remember to vary your rep/set scheme. Throw in heavy as well as light weeks and try new exercises. If you’re always training in the same weight range you will plateau quickly.
Yoga and Pilates
Classes typically run for a pre-determined length of time, usually around 45 minutes to an hour. Try playing with the duration of your workout on your own time. Go for an extra 15 minutes after you would usually stop.
Of course training longer isn’t always the answer. You could increase the intensity of your workout instead by concentrating on and repeating the poses or movements that you find particularly challenging.
Another great technique for shocking your body is to combine exercises from different systems into a single workout. It doesn’t have to be complicated; you can improvise a unique workout by combining some basic elements of each. A little Yoga here, a little Pilates there and you’ve got yourself a whole new workout!
Cardiovascular Training
It’s easy to get into the routine of doing 30 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill. This may seem fine and well but the body has a tendency to adapt to training stimulus. This is one of the most common reasons why results taper off.
Instead of doing another 30 minute jog on the treadmill, try the rowing machine or hitting a punching bag for 30 minutes. It’s incredible how combining different types of cardio shocks the body.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a popular method of cardio used by athletes to improve performance with short training sessions. Using the HIIT method you exert maximum-intensity efforts for short periods of time, separated by brief rest intervals. In other words you might perform ten, 1 minute sprints with 45 seconds rest in between each sprint. If you’ve never tried interval training, think about incorporating it every now and then.
Maintain Progress
If you’re an active gym-goer you already know that fitness isn’t something you can buy. You’re already committed to making the effort. But ensuring that your efforts are rewarded is the tricky part.
If you’ve hit a plateau or are stuck in a rut and you’re training harder than ever, but still can’t get past it, change your routine. No matter what your fitness goals are, if you’re always training the same way, the same number of reps, the same amount of time, the same intensity, you will never break through a plateau.
Experiment and work on fine-tuning your routine. Adding variety will help you reach new heights.
