Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Most of us don't like change - but our bodies sure do

Image Credit: UNCO.edu
Admit it, there are times when we don’t want to go to the gym and work out. That holds especially true when it’s been a while since you were there last. You look around and it seems like everyone you see knows what they’re doing in every exercise, it’s easy to feel lost and overwhelmed. Now, on top of that, it’s suggested that we change our routines every so often. This means more learning, more exercises and more chances to feel “lost”. But it’s not so bad when everyone is in the same boat as you. We’re all in it, learning, together.

The Club recently relaunched our Group exercise classes complete with brand new choreography, music and exercise moves to help refocus the body and muscles. This relaunch occurs every three months as a way of keeping our members excited to work out.

There are various reasons behind WHY changing a workout routine is good.

By changing the exercises your body has become used to, it “shocks” the muscles into working harder than they were when they were doing what they had gotten comfortable with in the past. According to medicinenet.com, when your body is doing something it is uncomfortable with, such as running for the first time, not only will your muscles hurt and work more, but your breathing and posture will be inefficient in the beginning. It is only with time and practice that your body can work efficiently in a workout, and along with the new-found efficiency, there is less effort being made, and fewer calories are being burned.

Excitement is another reason to change a workout routine.

Let’s face it. Going to the gym and working out isn’t always the most exciting way to spend your night, but if you change up what you’re doing while at the gym, at least there are new situations to learn about and new exercises for your body to get used to. If anything, changing a workout routine isn’t going to be boring.

Now that we’ve covered the important answers to WHY, next let’s talk about HOW.

How often? There is no set answer to this. It can be anywhere between every few weeks to every few months. Or even just simply when you reevaluate your body and decide you would like to focus on different goals. These are all dependent on what exactly caters to your needs. More importantly, if you think what you’re doing is working just fine, listen to your body.

It’s better to change a few moves in a work out than to make everything different at once and risk getting injured!

Something else to consider is the idea of simply adding some additional exercises as well as keeping the previous routine you had.  According to MayoClinic.com, an additional 30-minutes to your regular workout routine could be enough to kickstart your body out of its plateau.

Take this information into consideration when you’re joining us at The Club and consider trying that new fitness class you’ve managed to put off.