subject: Weight Training Tips For Those Of Us With Short Attention Spans [print this page] I think ADD, otherwise known as Attention Deficit Disorder, is something that gets overly-diagnosed these days. I think we all have some level of attention deficit and there are so many things, that given enough time, can become tiresome and boring. Weight training is certainly no exception and probably one of the things that become tiresome and boring quicker than most because a whole lot of people dont enjoy lifting weights. Lifting weights is not easy and anything that takes a concerted effort gets tiresome very quickly for most people. Weight training is a major part of my life and even I get bored to tears with the same old lifts day in and day out, so you know what:? I dont do the same lifts day in and day out. In fact I dont think you could find two weight training routines Ive done in the last ten years that look anything alike.
I have always felt that boredom is a major reason so many weight training routines go bust for so many and I can sympathize completely. When your routine is generally the same lifts, performed on the same day, with the same amount of reps, same amount of plates (although hopefully plates are being added as we progress), in the same gym, looking at the same people it can and will get tiresome for almost anyone. So why not switch it up? It doesnt need to be a complete revamp of your routine at first. Simply changing the angles of different lifts and the equipment with which you are performing these lifts can work wonders not only for your body but for the mind. For example, instead of the traditional bench press try an incline or decline press on alternating chest days. Or lay on a flat bench and use dumbbells instead of a barbell. Or do pushups with your feet on a chair. Or if youre a bit more physically advanced try using a medicine ball for push-ups. The point here is that the routine will feel different both mentally and physically and that will foster a feeling of change and help keep things interesting. There are so many variations on something as simple as a bench press that you can literally work chest once a week for the rest of your life and never have the same workout.
Another great thing about changing up the routine, even slightly, is the positive effect it will have on you physically. There is a thing called muscle memory, or kinesthetic memory if you want to be all fancy and technical about it, and this muscle memory can be of great real-world help but can also be detrimental. Muscle memory is great because it allows us to be able to take long breaks from training (via illness or injury) and return to form much quicker than if we had never trained in the first place. However it can be detrimental because after a certain period of time our muscles have essentially done that and been there and in a sense our muscles have become bored. They know how to do that curl on that machine with that weight seated in that position because weve done it every darn week for years. The growth of the bicep in this case has essentially ceased and we are merely maintaining things and not actually growing. We need to change things up and keep our muscles off guard. We want our biceps to say what is he doing now? Why is he doing curls standing up now? Why is he seated at an incline and using us now?
I go a little overboard in this regard (I would probably be a diagnosed case of ADD were I to be tested) and my entire training regimen changes depending on my own whims. Right now I am doing a full body weight training routine every 3rd day, plyometrics every 3rd day, and cardio interspersed with running and kick boxing. The point here though is to change things up and keep things different to some degree from day to day. It is good for the mind, spirit and of course body.
