Changing your workout

I have been working out. I didn’t try to make this a “New Years Resolution” but it did happen to fall on the New Year so I guess we can look at it that way.  I’ve been down this road many times.  I start to work out and have fabulous results and then … I either lose interest or I hit a plateau and

don’t know how to push myself further.  So, I’ve been doing some reading and trying to figure out how to keep myself on the right track this time.  Maybe you can learn something from what I’ve found out.

I’ve read in many places that to keep a workout fresh (as in interesting AND to challenge your muscles more) you should change it up from time to time.  But what does that mean?  Should I ditch my elliptical machine and buy a treadmill or what? And does it really work?

Well, reading dozens of articles about working out hasn’t changed how confusing this topic is to me.  Truth is, if you are bored then you can change what you are doing to make things more interesting.  Make some changes instead of walking away from what you know is good for you. The added health benefits of the change are less clear.

Most articles insist that changing your workout is the only way to prevent plateaus and to keep your progress optimized.  They offer different forms for familiar exercises and changing the intensity and duration of your workout routine.  In theory, the muscles become “used to” an exercise and no longer progress if they do the same thing for too long.

Other articles, including some from scientific journals claim that there is actually no evidence to support this widely accepted theory.  These articles explain that the rapid improvement that people see when they begin to exercise naturally levels off after a certain level of fitness is achieved.  When people no longer see the obvious results, they believe that the exercises are no longer effective when actually they are still working but are just less apparent.  One example that was given was world class runners who do the same exercise every day and who continue to improve their endurance and their skill.  Perhaps the truth is that people just don’t feel they are working hard enough if they aren’t sore and miserable.

So, I haven’t been able to decide with any certainty the direction I should take my workout.  I think I will try to switch things up when I become bored and I’m not going to worry about it if it is too cold outside to go running in the park or riding my bike.  I am going to try some of the variations of weight lifting exercises because I like the idea of working different parts of my muscle and I have tried it and it gives me that nice sore “Hey!  I’m doing something” feeling.  I figure, as long as I’m doing something I’m helping myself get a better body and healthier future.  What are you doing to keep yourself fit?  Do you do the same thing every day or do you like to change it up?

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