Get the Most From Your Exercise Sessions

Regular exercise is widely accepted as an excellent way to lose and control weight, and to stay fit and healthy. So does that mean the more exercise you do, the healthier you’ll get? Not necessarily, and especially not if you limit the types of exercise you do. 

Many people who exercise, including top athletes, describe hitting what’s referred to as the ‘plateau’ – a point where doing the same amount of exercise seems to deliver diminishing results. Add the fact that repeating the same types of exercise, week after week, gets plain boring and it’s easy to see why it’s important to vary and tweak your exercise regime. Here’s a few tips to help you do just that.

Variety Muscles react better to varied stress than to constant repeated stress, so if you take part in gym-based weight or strength-training, shake things up every so often. The most obvious way is by increasing the weight you’re lifting. Generally, you should feel fatigue after ten to fifteen reps. If you don’t, then it’s time to add more weight. Alternatively, switch to a lighter weight but decrease or eliminate the rest time between sets, giving your muscles a different – but equally tough – workout. Vary your exercise sets too, by introducing a new exercise into your routine every month or so, and you’ll really feel the benefits.

Cross train Consider which muscle groups you use most in your preferred forms of exercise, and how you can introduce completely different types of exercise to work different sets of muscles. This ‘cross training’ is a tried and tested technique used by athletes and sports professionals in many different fields. If you’re a cyclist, for example, you might think it would make sense to spend all your exercise time either cycling, or finding other ways to improve your leg muscles. In fact, you reap better benefits – and increase your overall fitness – by incorporating other exercises such as swimming, or upper body strength training, into your routine.

Take a different route Cyclists who vary their routes regularly gain both a change of scenery and a different type of workout. If your normal route mainly involves cycling on flat roads, look for one with plenty of hills and alternate between the two. That goes for walkers and runners, too. Your lower body muscles get a noticeably different workout from going up a slope or stairs, than from walking on a level surface. Varying your broad exercise goals can help too. For example, place the emphasis on speed one week, then endurance and stamina the next. It’s these simple kinds of tweak that help push your body to its best potential.

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