How to Vary Your Workout for Better Fitness Results
Whether you’re a hardcore athlete, want to perform better in a leisure sports league, or just want to live a healthy, active lifestyle, your workout, good nutrition, and superior hydration are the cornerstones of your fitness lifestyle. Most of us stick to a routine that is familiar, but every now and then, it’s important to vary your routine to get the most out of your workout.
As we adapt to our workouts, they seem to get easier. This is great, because it means we’re getting in better shape. However, you may eventually find you’ve hit a plateau, where you’re no longer reaching your improvement goals. The scientific theory behind this is called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), created by Hans Selye, an endocrinologist. There are three stages to the GAS theory. First, there’s the alarm phase, where your body is surprised by the new routine, and you’ll feel its effects. Next, your body starts to adapt to the new routine in the resistance phase, where things become a bit easier. Finally, you hit the exhaustion phase, where you hit that plateau and just don’t seem to make any more progress. That’s the stage where you’ll want to switch up your routine, so you can keep meeting your goals.
Individual training programs vary, but in most cases, switching out your routine every 12 weeks or so can do the trick. This not only addresses the plateau you hit according to GAS theory, but it can also give you a mental boost that avoids burnout if your routines get boring.
So, how do you start on a new routine? Thankfully, changing things up doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything entirely differently. It can, especially if you’re embarking on a new sport, but usually changing up your routine can just mean tweaking a few minor elements, such as:
Duration. You can make your workout longer or shorter, or vary your time spent between short and long workouts when you need to break out of a routine.
Frequency. If you’re experiencing burnout because you’re working out every day, dialing it down to three or four times a week for awhile may help. You can also increase your frequency if you’re having trouble getting past a stubborn plateau.
Intensity. Sometimes you reach that plateau because your body is conditioned to deal with your current intensity. Simply adding a few more bursts of effort that increase your heart rate can help push you through.
Workout type. This is a huge variable. You can add different exercises to challenge you or take away some of those that just don’t seem to enhance your workout time. You can even add exercise types that you haven’t ever considered for your sport. Yoga can increase flexibility that can benefit your performance for most sports, and weight training can give you an important edge in cardio sports like distance running. Think outside the box and consider different options that vary and enhance your workout routine.
No matter what you choose for your workout routine, proper hydration is a must to keep your body in the best possible shape to meet your fitness goals. That’s why TotalFit Premium Water™ is electrolyte-enhanced, purified, pH balanced, and micro-clustered for optimal absorption and superior hydration. Grab a case of TotalFit Premium Water™ and experience the difference of superior hydration for yourself. Find TotalFit online or you can find a store near you today. For exciting, money-saving promotions, fitness tips and more, text “totalfit” to 95577 and BE FIT today!









