Tip of the week

Have you been going to the gym for 6 months or more without any increase in strength or change in appearance? Are you down right tired of your work out?

Many people get caught in ruts and this is not unusual. The problem many people have is they don't ever change their workouts and therefore never see any results. This can be very frustrating and depressing when you have been doing the same thing over and over and are not seeing results.

I have seen on individual at the gym I frequent who does the same thing every week. On thursdays he is there, dropping down and doing the same tricep press, set after set after set. I have watched him do this for close to six months now and I have not seen any change in his physique. He does this with his entire routine throughout the week for every muscle group. In fact he actually appears as though he is putting weight on!

Most likely periodization has set in and the monotony of his routine has stopped any growth. Periodization can begin in as little as two to four weeks. It is characterized by the muscles becoming used to the same stimuli which stalls and muscle growth. Muscles need new stimuli in order to continue their growth. If this were not true there would only be four or five exercises and everyone would look like Arnold. This problem is easily corrected, however many people are not aware of periodization and continue doing their single work out forever.

This is more then just a problem for your muscles, it will also affect whether or not you continue with your physical activity. Boredom with your workout will most likely result in a person giving up that activity at some point in time unless you are the most stubborn individual.

Here is the simple solution. Change your work out regularly. Follow this blog for exercises that will challenge all your muscles, research exercises on your own and always keep it new and fresh. You can change up your exercises for every work out or continue similar exercises for up to four to six weeks. Avoid the pitfalls of so many and don't fall into a routine that leads to boredom or slows your ability to reach your goal. Just make sure whatever your doing is getting you where you want to be and remember; take your workout all the way! Enjoy.