First of all, good for you for exercising. Good for you for putting in some work (I know it ain’t easy) into staying healthy and taking care of yourself. After that pat on the back, let’s talk about what you’re doing. It’s hard enough to get in the gym, do a home workout, or whatever you’re doing, let alone planning (and doing) different workouts. But it’s important! Doing the same old routine day after day can kill your mojo!
Why is it important to switch up your exercise? The body is always trying to get to homeostasis, meaning to a point where it has to do as little as possible to keep at a steady state. Humans are also great at adapting. Put those together and your body will try to get used to workouts as soon as it can. Once it “gets used to” a workout, it won’t have to work as hard. Which means YOU won’t burn as many calories, your heart rate won’t go as high, your muscles won’t get worked as intensely as they used to. Are you feeling what I’m saying now? You have to keep your body on its toes!
It’s actually easier than you think. For many people, it’s intimidating to try something new. But, let’s start small. If you just go to exercise classes, try doing a different group class. Then, try doing a basic machine, like a bike. After that, try the stationary machines and following the instructions you see. Literally any different exercise you do will make the difference. Even if you’re a huge bodybuilder and you decide to take a ballet barre class, your body will be like, woah, what’s going on! And work harder!
This doesn’t just apply to people who are new to exercising, in fact, it applies to the folks who have been working out for years. If you realize you’re one of those people who have the same routine, even if you go to the gym every day (good on you), you should really switch it up. You may have noticed you haven’t made progress recently (also called plateauing). This means your body has gotten to a point where it is used to the exercises you are providing and is no longer working as hard. If you’re not sure what other exercises you could be doing, look for workouts on our site! In this case, the world is your oyster. Go and shuck it! Change up your workout to stay hungry and fit!
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