Bust Out of a Fitness Plateau

Do you feel like you are exercising more often and harder, but not hitting your goals or making progress?  

You are stuck in a fitness plateau!  One of the smartest and most efficient machines, your body knows how to break the bell curve!  It learns what exercising your are doing, becomes VERY PRODUCTIVE at doing them, and thus you burn less calories the more you continue the same exercise.  Hence, hitting a fitness plateau. 

Not only does this make you have to work out longer and with increased "umphf" every time, but it is also problematic to your body.  By targeting the same muscle groups with every jump, run, or lift, you are using the same repetitive motion and conditioning your body to do one activity.  Unfortunately, this causes many injuries as muscles become less balanced and some areas of the body are too strong for their muscle counterparts.

How do you get out of this fitness rut?

Change your routine.  Not only every week, but throughout the week. Mix it up with different activities, different motions, and vary your classes.  Sometimes even doing a similar class with a new instructor can give your body a new routine to adjust to.  If you are a walker or runner, throw some yoga in the mix to balance muscle groups.  If you are a cardio enthusiast, add some strength training, or mix it up with a varied class like a bootcamp-style class to hit more muscle groups.

Bottom-line, not only to protect your body, but to make your time more productive (and you know we can all use a little more time in a day)....mix it up.  You'll get better results, and your fitness level and body health will show it!