Keep Your Body Guessing!

Ever find yourself in the same old rut when it comes to your
workouts? Doing the same workout over and over is not only
boring—it also slows down your results by not giving your
muscles a chance to recover. Alternate your exercise routine,
for example take a Pilates class on Monday and then lift
weights on Wednesday.

When you do the same work out,over and over for a number of months, your body adapts to it, gets used to it, and learns how to do just enough to do the movement. You need to constantly keep your body guessing, so that it has a harder time pushing your weight back up.

Here are some way in which you can keep your body guessing:

1.) On cardio exercise, do not just do one long session per day. Break it up, and do times per day. If you would normaly do 60 minutes, do 3 twenty minute rounds, rather than just one 60 minute round.

2.) Do not do the same cardio each day. Mix up the modes of exercise. Some days use one machine, other days use multiple machines. Some days go ride outside, other days go walk or jog outside. Take some cardio classes such as kickboxing, pilates, spin, step, etc. Mix it up and start seeing better results.

3.) Vary the way in which you lift. If you do not normally lift weights, now is the time to start. Weight lifting will increase lean body mass and over time this will increase your metabolism.

4.) Push harder on your weight lifting. Start a routine that changes every 4 weeks. In the first period, do weights that allow you to perform 10-12 repetitions for three sets. In the second period, push a heavier
weight that only makes it possible to perform eight to ten repetitions. In the third period, go even heavier and reduce your rep to six to eight. Making dramatic changes to your routine will keep your body guessing.

5.) Change the strength exercises you do. There are many ways to work the chest muscles, so do not just use the bench press for chest every time you work out. This means you should not just do the same circuit everytime you do weights.

6.) Add other forms of physical activity randomly. Play volleyball with friends, go swimming, ask a friend to go on a hike with you, or offer to help someone move into a new home. Adding these additional activities to your lifestyle will push that thermostat down.

The Bottom Line

Now that you understand how your body will continue to attempt to either keep your weight the same or push it up slowly, you are better prepared to fight back. Use muscle confusion to push the thermostat down and keep your body guessing to keep the weight off long term.

Jimmy Rhinehart
www.jrsbootcamp.com