Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 2 of 5): Mixing It Up

The second key component to an effective fitness program is:

MIXING IT UP!
The majority of the time, when people are working out on their own, they wind up doing the same thing—over and over—for weeks, months & even years. I was guilty of this in my 20's. For years, I ran the same course, every day. I got to a point where my body stopped changing and I wasn't getting any faster. I just assumed I had gotten as thin, fit & fast as I ever would. (Wrong.)

Then, when the running took its toll on my knees, I started taking spin classes—5 days a week. My body changed. And, the cardio was different from the steady-state cardio I had been doing, so it was challenging. But after months of doing the same thing, once again, I stopped progressing (and now my thighs were bigger from spinning so much). But, I continued to spin—day after day, week after week—thinking I was getting a great workout and I had just reached my peak.

Don't get me wrong, I do think spinning is a great workout, and, I do enjoy a long run. But, if you do any exercise or workout program over and over, your body becomes more & more efficient at it. Therefore, you burn less calories and will see less and less differences in your body as time goes on.

One of the quotes up in my gym is "You can't change your life without making changes". This is true for your body. When I started mixing up what I was doing (which included lifting weights), my body started to change. And, I was shocked by the changes.

I know you're comfortable in your routine. I know you love running / spinning / kick class, and the thought of stopping it and trying something new freaks you out. It freaked me out. But, if you've been doing the same thing for an extended period of time and have "plateaued", you need to at least mix it up, if not take a break from it for a while.

Try something new. Lift weights; take a boot camp class. Hopefully, you'll find new things you enjoy doing and, in the process, make changes that may shock you!

Check back tomorrow for the 3rd key component to achieving a better level of fitness :)