Why Change Out Your Exercises Regularly?

Most of us have that favorite exercise or routine we love and would rather do than switching out to something else.  I love walking but hate exercises that use weights, or machines but I won't skip them because I know how important they are. 

As much as many of us would prefer to stick with our favorite routines, it is important to switch up exercises for a more effective workout.  By switching up exercises, it stimulates different body groups and eliminates the chance of boredom.  There are so many ways to continue doing your favorite exercise while switching things up at the same time.

For instance, if you regularly walk, run, or jog in the gym on a treadmill or on the road, look to change it up by running on a wooded path or through a local park.The change makes your body work differently, making it a challenge. 

If you do the same exercise every time, your body becomes used to it and your weight goes into a plateau should you be trying to lose weight. This is because your body becomes efficient, thus you use fewer calories while doing the same amount of exercise.  When you change out your exercise, your body has to work harder and you burn more calories. 

Another reason for changing out exercises is to cut down on the possibility of over use injuries associated with repetitive motion.  This type of injury is more common with people who run, or play tennis all the time.  When you switch up the types of exercises, it gives your muscles, joints, and ligaments a chance to rest and prevent overuse.  Should you suffer an injury, doing other exercises allows you to continue working out without placing additional strain on the injured part of the body.

In addition, changing out exercises allows the body to develop overall rather than just one set of muscles if you do only one.  This way, you build the heart, and a body that can do any type of activity. The variety of exercises keeps you from getting bored doing the same thing every day. If you are someone who loves to run everyday and isn't as interested in doing other things, you can do things like create intervals of increased speed, or change to hills rather than flatlands.

It is well known the exercise has a positive effect on brain health but when you add in new exercises or exercise routines, the brain has to learn something new which improves the way your neurons fire.  Choose an activity such as dancing that requires you to memorize new steps or acquire a new skill.  Do not look at anything you can perform while on autopilot. 

Sometimes it is hard to exercise when you are on your own.  Look for others who want to work out so you can partner up.  When you have a partner, you have an inbuilt support system and someone who will help motivate you.  If you suddenly start wanting to skip exercising, look around for something new such as ballet, ballroom dancing, playing on the jungle gym, or Zumba.  Taking up a new exercise can energize you again.  

I love trying new routines and switching out things but there are certain types of activities I won't try.  I don't like those hard core workouts where you get up and down all the time and the people leading you have 8 packs.  I prefer gentler workout.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.