New Year, New Workout

Whether you're already committed to a fitness program or just starting out, we all get a little bored sometimes. Know this: if your mind is bored, your body is bored. You should change your workout program every 4 weeks should being the keyword here, because very few of us actually do. We get stuck in a rut, a routine, which is great, but you can't expect different results from doing the same thing. Logically, that just doesn't make sense.

So what exactly do I mean by changing your program. Well, this change actually entails multiple changes. First and foremost, do not be afraid to increase your weights. Often times, people become complacent in the weights they pick up, not realizing that their strength has increased. To continue to improve, you have to continue challenging yourself. With an increase in weight, you may need to adjust your rep range, i.e. go from 12 reps down to 10 reps.

Secondly, this change requires you find new exercises to do. Make certain to work every muscle group, but substitute exercises. For instance, if you are currently bench pressing to work chest and triceps, switch to dumbbell presses instead; instead of lunges, try split squats; instead of pull-downs, do inverted rows. The list goes on. You are still working the same muscles, just targeting them differently.

Lastly and possibly most importantly, is to up the intensity of your workouts. Granted, increasing weight is part of it, but this also means decreasing break time and using your workout time most effectively. The best way to do this, I've found, is by super-setting exercises. A super-set is two exercises done back-to-back with no rest, usually working opposing muscle groups. This increases the intensity of your workout and (even better!) burns twice as many calories.

So if you have found yourself hitting a plateau, it's time to change it up-- a new year, a new workout.