Change routines or stick with what's working?

NoahVail

In the last 6 weeks,my eating better/exercising harder plan has resulted in a 12-14 pound loss.

Now I am wondering whether to surprise my body and metabolism with something new or stick with the same routines. Part of me wants to stick to what's worked so far,since the weight is coming off. Another part of me wants to make sure I don't get in a rut and hit a plateau.

So far my workouts are mainly weights for strength, intervals or elliptical for cardio with longer walks with the dog. I am thinking that switching to a regimen that is more focussed on bodyweight/strength for the muscles and 'cardio' videos like Insanity or TaeBo stuff.

Any recommendations/experiences to share?

Thanks,
NV

Aeriel

As long as your weight continues to come off, you are probably fine to keep with what you are doing. If it slows down, you might need to either change up your routine or do the same things but work harder and for longer periods. Your body gets used to a routine and it becomes less effective.

I have added time and difficulty to my elliptical routine, and increased walking pace and distance when I slowed down. I also started interval jogging to spike my heart rate and it seems to have helped me.

Good luck!

sjaudio

I'm with Aeriel on this one; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If (and or when) you hit a wall with your weight loss, try changing things up. Right now you seem to be doing just fine.

Congratulations on the weight loss!

missyhse

It's important to change up your workout routines, don't limit yourself and get stagnant! Doing the same exercises over and over can leave some muscles underdeveloped or cause injuries too. As for experience, I was recovering from an injury last year and couldn't train for a while so I got stuck into doing a weight routine twice a week and elliptical twice a week and didn't get any stronger or loose any weight. I asked a few other athletes and my physical therapist and was unanimously told to change it up. There's a few articles/studies out there on the subject if you're interested.

Congrats on your success so far!

LotusF1ower

In the last 6 weeks,my eating better/exercising harder plan has resulted in a 12-14 pound loss.

Now I am wondering whether to surprise my body and metabolism with something new or stick with the same routines. Part of me wants to stick to what's worked so far,since the weight is coming off. Another part of me wants to make sure I don't get in a rut and hit a plateau.

So far my workouts are mainly weights for strength, intervals or elliptical for cardio with longer walks with the dog. I am thinking that switching to a regimen that is more focussed on bodyweight/strength for the muscles and 'cardio' videos like Insanity or TaeBo stuff.

Any recommendations/experiences to share?

Thanks,
NV

Don't try to fix what is not broken, I use that phrase for myself all the time. If it works and I am enjoying it, I stick with it through thick and thin.

You will only get into a rut if you start to get bored and then you will get stale. In my own case, I run, sometimes I run for miles, other times I do interval training, if I tried to do one or the other all the time, I would get fed up, so variety is the spice of life in this case.

Your own exercise plans sounds wonderfully varied, stick with what you are doing, you will soon notice if you are getting bored and then you can set about changing things.

A massive congratulations on your weightloss so far too!