3 Signs Your Workout Needs an Overhaul (and where to start)
August 3rd, 2011 | posted by Kimberly
Have you been banging out the same old workout for months now and feel like you are getting nowhere? Well you are probably right.
Here are 3 signs its time to change your workout…
1.You are skipping them. Nothing spells boredom more than ditching workouts. Your muscles are pretty smart and if you keep giving them the same old moves–they are bound to tell your brain “drive past the gym!”
2.You are no longer seeing results. Your muscles need to be challenged each and every time you workout. Some of the reasons you are not seeing results could be lack of variety in your sessions, low intensity (not going hard enough), using weight that is too light, and not training enough each week.
3. You don’t get that “good” sore after. Again, your muscles are screaming “show me what you got” and you keep coming up short. Adding weight, going faster, trying new moves, or even incorporating bursts of cardio between sets could activate those muscles again.
How to overhaul your workout
1. Revisit your goals. If you are trying to lose weight, where are you with it? Reminding yourself of goals will help you stick to those sweat sessions. Start a fitness journal to record your efforts and monitor your results.
2. Match your workouts to your goal. Not trying to lose weight but want to look more toned? Then progressively adding weight to each session will be important. No picking up light weights if you want to look more buffed! You have to make sure your training program is in line with your long term fitness goals.
3. Get an accountability partner. You need to pick someone who is supportive but firm. Could be a friend you meet up with for yoga twice a week, or the guys playing pick-up basketball at the gym. You could even hire a personal trainer. An accountability partner will hold you to those fitness goals and go in HARD when you don’t show up!
4. Try something new. Have you ever taken a boot camp class before? Or maybe even kick-boxing. Adding a new element to your workouts could be the jump start your body needs right now.
5. Time out. If you have been going pretty hard for a while, your body needs a break. Over training could be the culprit for boredom and lack of results. Every 4-6 weeks of heavy training scale back a bit for a week (stabilization mode) or so. Make sure you have a solid periodization program in place to ensure your muscles have time to repair and recover. This is the time your muscles actually grow and produce a positive change to your body composition.
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