Fitness Together Brecksville: Trainer Tuesdays: Should I Repeat the Same Workout Routine Or Change Things Up?

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

Should I Repeat the Same Workout Routine Or Change Things Up?

Jenn Noggle: When you do the same workout routine over and over again, your body will adapt and it will become easier and easier. Easier might sound appealing, however, as your body becomes stronger and more efficient at those particular exercises, you will eventually only use a fraction of the energy you initially used to complete the workout. This often leads to the dreaded plateau, at which point you may stop seeing results/progression. The best way to prevent this, while preventing injury, increasing strength, and improving overall performance is by using periodization. Periodization is a way of training that breaks your program into smaller organized cycles, each with a particular goal and duration. Fitness Together's Aspire 8 Programming is a perfect example of using periodization. Each phase/cycle is composed of 3 different workouts (A, B and C) based on a particular category and the individual's current fitness level and goals. Over a roughly 6 week period, the individual will cycle through these 3 workouts 4 times each. At that point, the body will have begun to adapt, and it will be time to move on to the next 6 week cycle with new goals and exercises. Following this method will ensure that your workouts are effective and efficient, while also preventing boredom and over-training injuries.

Steven Madden: Whether I'm with a client, or working out on my own, I never recommend the same exercise routine over and over. The human body is impressively adaptive. Over a rather short period of time, say 4-6 weeks, your body will get used to the stressors placed on it by your exercise routine. When your body adapts, you see less results. Regardless if your routine is a split routine, or a three day total body circuit, change is important. Even altering your exercises over the course of your three days of workouts will prevent your body from plateauing. Then after 4-6 weeks, completely altering your routines is always recommended. Change will help insure that you see the results you want.

Danny Stryjewski: What is adaptation? If you perform the same exercises for long enough, your body will adapt to that certain stress eventually causing you to plateau. Working at different levels of intensity over time improves your overall fitness, teaches you to cope with fatigue both physically and mentally, makes training more enjoyable, lowers your risk of injury and helps you to avoid the dangers of over-training.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Trainer Tuesdays: Should I Repeat the Same Workout Routine Or Change Things Up?

No comments:

Post a Comment