You’ve been regular at the gym, but after that amazing initial pump, you’re not seeing the kind of results you had hoped for. If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably hit a plateau thanks to a repetitive workout routine. The secret to getting results is keeping things fresh and mixing up your workout regularly.
It’s not uncommon to see people at the gym who, despite being consistent with their training, struggle to get results. This happens because they keep repeating the same workout routine that was given to them in their first week at the gym.
What repeating the same routine, week-after-week, does to your body?
When your body is made to perform repetitive motions, your muscles develop something called muscle memory. This means that your muscles remember and get accustomed to the repetitive motions. So when you perform the same curls for the umpteenth time, your muscles contract and expand without actually having to do any work, thereby leading to no muscle growth.
Why it is important to vary your workout?
When you vary your workout regularly, it shocks and surprises the muscles. This helps increase your metabolism and rate of fat burn, and in the long run, leads to muscle growth.
I personally vary my workout every single week, and for the last 3 years, have not faced any fat loss or muscle growth plateau. Plus the variation keeps my workouts interesting!
So don’t get stuck doing that one workout for the rest of your life just because some trainer gave it to you. Give your muscles the right kind of stimuli without making the process repetitive.
How to vary your workout routines?
Varying your workout routine can be as simple as switching between heavy weights and low reps to lighter weights and high reps. But what would truly benefit you would be to completely overhaul your entire routine on a regular basis. This means that your arms workout from the previous week should be nothing like your arms workout for the coming week, and so forth.
But I know that it’s not always feasible to be updating one’s workout every single week. Most of us lack the necessary knowledge and creativity for it.
Instead, you can commit to a particular routine for say 2 to 3 weeks and then change it. Mixing things up at the gym will definitely help you get the muscle growth you want, and will make sure you don’t get bored with your routine! And if you’re in need of ideas for changing up your workout, do have a look at my Workout of the Week. I upload a new one here every Wednesday!