Keep Your Weight Training Regime Fresh

There are many reasons to switch up your weight training regime, not the least of which is that you may be getting bored silly and just need a change. Updating your training plan not only keeps your workouts interesting and you looking forward to them each day, but your muscles are more challenged than they would be if they just adapt to your current plan. Our bodies tend to plateau over the course of weeks doing the same workout plan. If you want to continue to see results and make changes in your body composition, a weight training plan update is needed.

You have two options to coming up with a new plan; design one yourself or contract with a personal trainer to customize a training plan for you. Personally, I like to meet with a trainer 3-4 times a year just for this purpose. Assuming you have chosen a trainer who stays current with ongoing education, it really helps to have someone with some of the newest information and strategies to help you. It is also a good idea to have a professional watch you for good form or issues that have crept up that you may not be aware of.

Another bonus of working with a trainer is investment value; when you spend a little coin on a service, you are more likely to utilize that and not waste your time or money.

If you enjoy devising your own plan, there are great resources on the web, as well as books and videos to help guide you.

Some things to keep in mind when designing a plan of your own:

• Specificity: Your program should reflect your overall fitness goals. If your plan is to lose weight, then circuit training with cardio mixed in for a full body workout is the way to go. If you want to build muscle and mass, then using heavier weights up to your 1 rep max will accomplish that.
• Overload: When you want to build more lean muscle than you currently have, you need to lift heavier weights than you currently are using. Increasing workloads avoids plateaus as you continue to challenge your body.
• Progression: Plateaus are avoided by increasing intensity and sets as well as the type of resistance you use. As you progress through workouts, you will see improvement.
• Rest and Recovery: Too much of a good thing CAN be too much! Muscles are built with the very important component of rest. Your resting days are wen your muscles build up and get stronger. If you do not allow a day between muscle groups, you will wear down your muscles rather than build them.

So, start your New Year fresh with new goals for all areas of your life, including your weight training regime. Your 2015 will be happier for it! Let us know some tips you use to keep your workouts fresh and the boredom at bay. Happy 2015!

Featured photo source: Pixabay.com.