Training Variety Or Death By Boredom

Nothing kills a workout program like boredom! We all need a change every so often to keep motivated

. A different workout protocol not only keeps things interesting but actually helps our bodies push through barriers or plateaus. The well known "General Adaptation Syndrome" identifies three different phases our bodies go through in response to training.

"Alarm Stage"

Characterized by a drop in performance of the body due to stiffness and sore muscles.

"Resistance Stage"

The body responds by getting stronger.

"Exhaustion Stage"

There is no longer any improvement in performance from training.

Please note that after a month or so following the SAME workout your body falls into the 3rd phase and no longer adapts by improving. At this point a change is needed to see continued performance improvements.

Here is a list of a few possible variations to your favorite routines that will keep you in the second stage of adaptation were your body becomes stronger and keeps you out of the 3rd phase of boredom and exhaustion.

# 1 - Intensity:

All out effort in every workout is a sure way to exhaust your body. Introduce a "light" workout once a week. At an 85% effort level your body will still be stimulated for growth but will recoup and adapt faster from previous high intensity workouts. Your workouts should vary from all out effort (high intensity) to a bit less than 100% effort. If after your workout you feel strong and still able to do more you have had a "light" workout. If on the other hand you feel you could not possibly have done any more you have had a "hard" workout.

#2 - Volume:

Try increasing your volume of work to build additional endurance for your body. To do this you will need to adjust down the difficulty of your resistance exercises or the speed of your aerobic activity to do more. As much as 50% more total repetitions for resistance work and 50% more time or distance for aerobic work. These will be lighter and longer workouts at a controlled pace to build more endurance.

#3 - Strength or Speed:

Stronger and faster is every athlete's goal. To do this we must do the opposite of the previous focus on increased volume and additional endurance capacity. To lift heavier or run faster you must reduce the volume (or distance) of your workout. Sprints will build speed whether on the tread mill or track. The most demanding movements like the widest grip on a pullup bar (with added weight if needed) in the 3 to 5 rep range will stimulate strength increases.

The lesson here is to vary your workouts. Change your focus every month to keep yourself motivated and improving.

I believe that I have developed an ideal, muscle building, body-weight, resistance training protocol. (12BX Fitness Formula DVDs) Even though this is the best muscle building system for me, I still vary the workout focus from muscle building, to endurance, to strength and then back again to muscle building.

You may have your own ideal workout protocol or favorite routine. This is fine as long as you vary it every month or so to keep your body improving. Do not fall into a no progress rut!

by: EJ Reeves

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