For this weeks Weigh-in Wednesday, I'm going to share with you my top three reasons why switching up your routine is vitally important to living a successful healthy and active lifestyle.
1) You Can Overcome Plateau's:
Throughout my almost 3 years of being a really active person, I've discovered one thing has held true for me and many men and women I know; if you continue doing the exact same exercise every day, your body gets use to it and will hit a plateau. Plateau's are NEVER fun for people trying to lose weight or improve their fitness. You MUST switch things up to keep your body constantly guessing and adapting to what you're throwing at it. This is why people have really taken to interval training and are really enjoying the results.
My biggest suggestion, if you're a runner throw in some strength training and try a different cardio activity from time to time...maybe a Zumba class. If you're a weight trainer, try to mix it up with some cardio or do some intervals where you switch between bursts of cardio and weight lifting.
2) It Keeps Things Fresh and Interesting:
I know that there are a few people out there who can run 6 miles every day and never get bored with it, but I have a really hard time believing that's the majority of people who are living a healthy and active lifestyle. One huge advantage of switching things up is that if you start getting burnt out on one type of activity, you can replace it easily with something else. Unless you just absolutely and completely do NOT want to workout, you don't have an excuse because you always have something that will sound good to you.
Had an idea to go running after work and then cringe as soon as you get home? That's ok, just grab a fun workout DVD and do that instead or attend one of your local gyms group classes instead of visiting the treadmill. I personally do this all the time! In the morning one activity will sound good to me and by the evening I've decided on something different...the best thing is that I'm still doing SOMETHING.
3) It Can Improve Your Fitness Level on Your Favorite Activities:
I personally don't have any real evidence this has worked for me because I've never really been in training for anything. However, it's a highly known fact that football players that do ballet are better at performing their positions than ones that do not and runners who lift weights and improve themselves in other areas push past limits that they never thought they could. Of course there are specific types of activities and weight training that are better for each passion, but they are out there and should definitely be utilized!!
My challenge to you?? Go to Pinterest or Google and search for weight training for runners, or cardio for weight lifting, or ab work for the zumba goer, etc... You'll be amazed at what you find and how beneficial they actually are!
What are your thoughts on switching things up? Do you agree with my thoughts? Do you enjoy switching things up or sticking to the activities you love the most? What other benefits do you see with switching up your normal routine?
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