It can be hard to stay motivated in the gym at the best of times, so when you finally find that particular class that you love you tend to stick at it for as long as possible. Here’s the thing though, your body adjusts to your favourite sweat sesh after just a few short weeks and it starts to master what you’ve been training it to do.
Keeping your body guessing during your workouts is what allows your metabolism to stay fired up to ensure you’re still getting the same results now as you did when you first started. Because our brains are so clever, it’s your job to trick it into learning new exercises and movements to stimulate your growth in the gym.
Don’t panic, you don’t have to rush out and try to find another class that you even remotely like. That said, here are a few reasons why mixing it up is actually good for you and will help you get the most out of every sweat:
You don’t want to plateau;
Our bodies are creatures of habit - they constantly seek routine behaviours to settle into and once your body recognises a routine it actually reduces its own effort in order to glide on by. Naturally, by sticking to the same fitness regimen for too long your body learns it and no longer has to work as hard to complete it (and in turn, burns less calories).
The best way to shock your body back into gear is to either increase or decrease your intensity. Try swapping out that third HIIT class for the week with a yoga session or alternate your reformer Pilates with a boxing burn.
If you do the same intense workout each day, you won't be giving certain muscle groups enough time to heal between each workout, which means you increase your chances of being injured. By making sure you have low-intensity workout days between your intense workouts, you will prevent your body from becoming overtrained. Overtraining is one of the main reasons people don’t see the results they expected to see from their training regimen.
If you’re giving 110% on that morning run, then you don’t need to be running every morning. Try alternating it with a swim or yoga for lighter impact.
You don’t want to burn out girl;
Slowing down could be the answer to seeing the results and progress you are after. When we finally find the regimen that we actually enjoy, many of us are guilty of going from 0 to 100 and training 6 days a week, which is not manageable in the long term and isn’t vital to seeing results.
Listen to your body and take that rest day without feeling guilty. Because you know what, you deserve it!
Keeping your body guessing during your workouts is what allows your metabolism to stay fired up to ensure you’re still getting the same results now as you did when you first started. Because our brains are so clever, it’s your job to trick it into learning new exercises and movements to stimulate your growth in the gym.
Don’t panic, you don’t have to rush out and try to find another class that you even remotely like. That said, here are a few reasons why mixing it up is actually good for you and will help you get the most out of every sweat:
You don’t want to plateau;
Our bodies are creatures of habit - they constantly seek routine behaviours to settle into and once your body recognises a routine it actually reduces its own effort in order to glide on by. Naturally, by sticking to the same fitness regimen for too long your body learns it and no longer has to work as hard to complete it (and in turn, burns less calories).
The best way to shock your body back into gear is to either increase or decrease your intensity. Try swapping out that third HIIT class for the week with a yoga session or alternate your reformer Pilates with a boxing burn.
If you do the same intense workout each day, you won't be giving certain muscle groups enough time to heal between each workout, which means you increase your chances of being injured. By making sure you have low-intensity workout days between your intense workouts, you will prevent your body from becoming overtrained. Overtraining is one of the main reasons people don’t see the results they expected to see from their training regimen.
If you’re giving 110% on that morning run, then you don’t need to be running every morning. Try alternating it with a swim or yoga for lighter impact.
You don’t want to burn out girl;
Slowing down could be the answer to seeing the results and progress you are after. When we finally find the regimen that we actually enjoy, many of us are guilty of going from 0 to 100 and training 6 days a week, which is not manageable in the long term and isn’t vital to seeing results.
Listen to your body and take that rest day without feeling guilty. Because you know what, you deserve it!
