Burn MORE Fat! (and other benefits) by Making Continuous Changes

If you’re like most fitness enthusiasts out there (me included), you can certainly relate to that feeling of getting very ‘comfortable’ with our workout routine.

It is always the case… we set a goal for ourselves, make that commitment to sacrifice our time and effort by starting an exercise program - then a few months in, we’re seeing the results of our hard work - so we keep doing what we do - eating right, exercising consistently… rinse, and repeat.

But keep doing this long enough… and you’ll either end up getting bored out of your wits, or hit a wall, with stalled results. You see, our bodies are really good at adopting to the workouts.

It is very easy for us to get comfortable with:
- Our choice of exercises
- the order of exercises in our routine
- the same loads/weights
- the same rest periods between sets
- length of workouts
- Workout times
- and even the things we eat!

I guess why I’m bringing this up today is because I have hit a wall MYSELF - yes, me, a personal trainer, who spends most of my time looking at various workout routines I write for my clients everyday - finding ways to create variety for OTHERS - have failed to realize that my routine too was in need of a change.

It is so easy to get caught up with the whole “exercise/eat healthy/repeat” routine that we will miss it if we don’t consciously set aside the time on a routine basis to see if what we’re doing can be improved or changed.

For example, if you’ve been running on the treadmill at the same speed for the same duration all the time - you can easily break out of the monotony by bumping up either your speed or duration by as much as 10% - which isn’t much, but do that on a weekly or monthly basis, and you’ll be constantly challenging yourself.

In my opinion, it is much easier for those who are doing a strength training routine to fall into a dull routine. We rely too much on that single workout routine which we have read and memorized from a fitness magazine. It is so much more ‘easier’, and more ‘comfortable’ to just do the same exercises, use the same machines, and perhaps occasionally try to increase the weight when we are ‘in the mood’. If that’s you… then hey, you’re missing out on so much.

If you’ve been doing the exact same thing at the gym for let’s say, 3 months - I strongly suggest that you implement some form of change to keep your body in a continuous state of adaptation.

To help spice things up, try these tips:

- Shift the order of your cardio and strength training session - maybe weights first and cardio later, or vice-versa.

- Try a 15 minute outdoor jog for a warm-up! Look out for traffic!

- Replace one exercise with a new one for every muscle group - for example, replace barbell bench presses with push-ups for awhile

- Add in something new - if you’re working out your legs, add in a bodyweight workout such as prisoner squats or maybe even sumo squats towards the end

- Modify reps/loads for strength training workouts: Doing bicep curls? Maybe one day, try 10 reps with 10-pound weights, and then the next 20 reps with 5-pound weights - or whatever weight that feels right for you.

- If you’re hardworking enough, try a new workout routine altogether, such as Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training. Craig’s approach to fat loss is unique, and is achieved through weight training and minimal cardio (and minimum time!). More on Turbulence Training here:
http://www.dailymuscle.com/turbulencetraining.

The above are just some examples I could think of. Basically, what you should take home with you today, is that a little change, can go a long way to help you achieve your goals - whether it is fat loss, muscle gain - or simply to increase your fitness levels.

And start today.

Read also:

1. Cardio or Weight Training - Which comes First?
2. How to Workout (and Burn more Fat) at Home - No Gyms and No Equipment Needed!
3. Keeping to your workout Rep Range