Importance of Breaking Routine & Monotony
After you get a routine down, your brain consciously and subconsciously starts to figure out ways to make it more efficient, to use less energy, and consume fewer calories. It’s totally natural and there’s almost nothing you can do about it, it’s what took us from the trees and put tools in our hands. However, this very skill that has enabled so many things is something we always have to combat in our workout routines. Have you heard about how “your body adapts to the exercise” or that “you’re plateauing because your body is getting used to it?” That’s what I’m talking about.
In addition to adapting, your brain also gets bored. When you first start doing a routine, it’s fresh and new and exciting. You look forward to straining that muscle, feeling the pump, and then stretching it afterwards. It makes you feel alive as you feel the sensations in different muscles. After a while though, you recognize the feeling and it’s not so fresh and new anymore. The routine becomes… well, routine.
That’s why it’s important to vary your workout regime and introduce new types of exercise.
The prime example is in the twice-weekly Body Pump classes I’ve been taking. Every few weeks, they begin varying the motions you go through for each body group. They introduce new exercises or new positions along with new songs. While it’s a little tricky to follow along, the variation does keep you continually interested in the class.
This can apply to nearly anything, just give it a little change, work that muscle a little differently, and you’ll see dividends. This isn’t some novel idea I came up with either, people have been saying it for ages!
Photo: Alexpgp
3 Trackback(s)