Fit in the City - Leigh Ann Root
When it comes to Fitness - Mix it up!
The body responds great to exercise, but even better to having a variety of exercise. Doing any type of physical activity is commendable, these days, but the most effective way to exercise is mixing it up regularly. By doing the same type of exercise always, people will stop reaping the same benefits they once did when they began. This is because the body is great at adapting and becomes accustomed or "trained" to what is asked of it. The body no longer has to work as hard as it once did. People can hit a fitness plateau because less energy is being expended to complete the same workout. In turn, their results become less. People also run the risk of injury by over using areas of the body in the same manner all the time. The mind likes to be challenged, as well. When a person continues to do the same form of exercise, boredom can set in and soon it becomes less interesting. This is the time when some will fall off the "fitness wagon".
So what do you do about it? If you walk, walk faster, longer, or add hills. If you strictly do only cardiovascular workouts, add muscle conditioning. If you concentrate only on weight lifting, add some cardiovascular work into your routines. If you already have balanced workouts, involving strength training, cardiovascular training and flexibility training; add some variety. Try a new sport, add new machines, take a fitness classes, or add some different exercises to your current routine. You can also increase the intensity and duration of your workouts, in order to challenge yourself more. By changing up workouts, your body will constantly be asked to work to it's potential. Fabulous results will naturally follow. You'll continue to be excited and interested in your workouts.
I found this out, once again, a couple of week ago. I need to practice what I preach a little more often! I'm just like anyone else, I had fallen victim to doing the same old routines. I had become comfortable. I wasn't even aware that I had been stuck in fitness rut! It wasn't until I began meeting friends at the gym, that I realized this. These friends were new to the gym, so I was showing them around and trying out many different areas of the club. This is when it became obvious I had been repeating the same workouts week after week. I guess it had become easy and convenient for me. Basically, I'd been maintaining my healthy but no longer challenging myself. By adding some different strength training techniques and taking a few new fitness classes, I have rediscovered the areas of my body I'd been neglecting! Ironically, these options have been right in front of me, ever day, while I work at the gym! We attended the Zumba class. Wow, what an amazing workout. It's great to do something, in which you don't realize you're working because it's so enjoyable. I need to practice letting myself go a bit more, but nevertheless, it was great fun and therapeutic to laugh at myself along the way. This is the exact challenge my mind and body were craving! What a welcome change this class brought me, just the opposite of being stressed and uptight. Next we tried the Kickboxing class. Apparently, I had some built up aggression, I was unaware of! It's all gone now, what a release. This class allowed me to work my body in ways I hadn't in some time! I rediscovered all of my back muscles the day following that class. The real challenge in exercise is to find those things you enjoy doing. These are the workouts that make exercise not feel like work but feel like fun. This week I'm planning on going to the Yoga class to quiet my mind and relax my body. This is the variety I'm talking about. I can't tell others to do it, if I'm not actively doing it! By participating in a variety of different activities over the last couple of weeks, I'm once again, appreciating the effects a varied workout plan can have.
Whatever you do to exercise your body, try changing it up regularly. You'll recognize the rewards both physically and mentally. When we stop challenging ourselves in anything, we become stagnant and don't move forward any longer. Here's to moving forward, or as my son would say, to infinity and beyond! Because there's no end to where you can take your workouts!
