Your body is like everything else in life, it responds to change. Adding variety to your exercise routine challenges your muscles in different ways, delivering a mental refresher and preventing burnout. Additionally, continually mixing up your workout will help you avoid overuse injuries since it changes how your muscles are worked. As an added bonus, studies have even shown that by mixing up your routine now and again you’ll be more likely to stick with it!
With all of these benefits, who wouldn’t want to shake up their exercise routine?! Here are five ways to get you started.
- Do the opposite.
Choose a week and do the opposite of what you normally do. If you normally have high-energy workouts, slow things down with yoga, pilates, or meditation. Contrariwise, if you usually participate in slower styles of workouts, give kickboxing or Zumba a go. - Cross-train.
Cross-training is an excellent way to condition different muscle groups, rock new skills, and kick boredom. When your body repeats the same movements day in and day out, your muscles become quite efficient performing those same movements. That is great for certain aspects of exercise, but when you’re looking to spice things up and improve your performance, cross-training is the ticket. - Grab a buddy.
If you’re feeling a tad burned out or lacking motivation, a workout buddy could help! Mix things up by planning some workouts with a friend. You’ll have a newfound sense of motivation, you’ll challenge each other, you’ll work harder, and you’ll most likely have more fun. - Add intervals.
Normally workout at a specific pace? Add in 30-60 second bursts. If you generally run a steady pace, break into a sprint for 30-60 seconds and then return to your regular pace. Do that 5-10 times throughout your workout. Interval training will increase your stamina and bump up the number of calories burned. - Try something new.
What’s that workout you always wanted to try but simply wouldn’t dare? A Barre 30 class? A KettleWorx class? Hot yoga? Go for it! Exercise routines are great, but there’s always room to spice things up. Not only will you challenge your body, you’ll also challenge yourself mentally and might even wonder why you waited so long.