Three important reasons to switch up your weekly workout

Do you need to spice up your sweat session? For fitness to be exciting and effective, you must constantly switch it up. But sometimes, getting creative can be challenging, especially if you’re strapped for time or comfortable with a familiar fitness routine.

While it may be tempting to stick with your current exercises, it’s worthwhile to mix up your weekly workout. You’ll reduce your risk of injury, engage new muscle groups, and provide a much-need break for overused muscles and joints. Though it may seem to be a harmless habit, putting muscles through the same repetitive movement patterns on a regular basis, such as while running or lifting weights, eventually weakens the body rather than strengthening it.

The brain and body crave diversity in order to remain motivated and excited about the exercise experience. If your mind and muscles know what to expect with each predictable workout program, they get bored with the same, stale routine. This can cause dreaded progress plateaus in muscle growth and weight loss.

You don’t need to revamp your entire routine. Rather, try these three tiny tweaks. For best results, incorporate one of these fresh toning techniques every three to four weeks.

If you’re a squatting superstar, consider experimenting with a different exercise that works similar muscle groups in an alternative way, such as a lunge. Or if you enjoy lifting heavy weights, engage in a strength training circuit that’s built on body weight exercises.

It may surprise you to learn that you can actually become better at your favorite activities, such as running or cycling, by incorporating cross-training exercises such as balance drills or agility work. By enhancing these other fundamental fitness factors, often overlooked areas become stronger, making the entire body a more powerful, cohesive unit.

» READ MORE: A simple, body-weight exercise routine to burn off fat

Playing with the pace of your routine can make all the difference. Slowing down reps can improve muscular strength, control, and endurance because muscles are working against resistance for a longer span of time. This method also helps increase awareness and mindfulness — two essential elements for perfecting form and isolating specific muscle groups.

To do this, try a 3-1-3 count. Here’s how it works:

Logging your routine is a helpful way to become more aware of which exercises you do frequently. If you’ve been doing a basic version of biceps curls for several weeks and it’s beginning to feel less challenging, it may be time to increase your weight load, switch up your reps, or both.

For example, if you’ve been doing 10 biceps curls with 10-pound weights, increase resistance slightly by graduating to 12-pound weights and performing eight reps. If 12 pounds feels easy, experiment with which weight feels like a good challenge at eight reps. You’re likely to see more growth from pushing your muscles harder for a shorter period of time than doing an exercise that’s too easy.

» READ MORE: Weight debate: When to use body weight, machines, and free weights

Another tip for shaking up your weight training is to try new exercise equipment. If you usually use free weights, substitute those with a cable machine. Dumbbells provide a great workout and improve core stabilizer muscles. But cable machines allow you to adjust the origin point of the weight, which means you can move through multiple planes of motion, as well as keep constant resistance on muscles.

Cable machines can be found at most gyms and are relatively easy to use. They also offer multiple handle attachment options to increase your range of exercises and motion.

Ashley Blake Greenblatt is a certified personal trainer and wellness coach in South Jersey. Learn more about her virtual training program at ashleyblakefitness.com.