How often do you change your routine?

MiketotheJ

For those of you not on structured workout plans like p90x or insanity that give you a 60-90 day plan, how often are you changing up your workouts?

I've been successful losing almost every week since I started, but I feel like my body adapts pretty quickly to my workouts (as in I don't get as tired and my heart rate doesn't soar like normal) and I don't feel like I'm working as hard anymore, so I've changed every 3 weeks, but my doctor said every 4 to 6 weeks should be the goal. So I'm curious for those of you on heavy cardio routines, how long can you stick with one or two exercises before you need to change it up to stay on track?

Note that this is purely cardio and some plyometrics. I'm not going to start any serious weight lifting or strength training (other than the plyos I do every morning) until I'm comfortably in one-derland.

jmfreehauf

I know what you mean. If I stick with the same calories/exercise, my metabolism adapts. My doc suggested using weekly calories instead of daily. Some days I'm over, some I'm under, and try to average out over 7 days. Same with exercise. Some days more cardio, some days more floor machines (strength.) I work out 5 days/week, 60-90 minutes. I haven't plateaued yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :bigsmile:

Lizzgeorge77

It doesn't really matter whether you change up your cardio routine. If you want to jog on a treadmill at 5.5 mph every day, you can do that forever and still burn calories and still lose weight. You don't HAVE to change up the time or intensity, although doing so may speed up your progress a bit. All exercises will get easier as you build muscle and general endurance, but it doesn't mean you need to change things up. The BEST way to change up your routine is to add strength and flexibility training to your workouts. Why are you waiting to lift weights? Doing so even for 15 minutes a couple of times a week will be the best change you can make!

rachpiper720

I switch mine up everyday because I get bored and like you said, your body just gets used to it. I try and do just purely cardio 3 days a week, which either includes speed walking (really bad knees), biking, and even jump rope. I follow this exercise/fitness site called bodyrock.tv and they have new workouts 5x a week that are about 20-30 minutes long. They usually get my heart rate going pretty quick, I can burn a ton of calories, and best of all I don't have to think of exercises to do. It is based on interval training and you give it your hardest for 12-15 minutes in 30-50 second intervals then you jump rope for the remaining time. I burn tons of calories and have built a ton of muscle. It is definitely worth checking out to mix up your metabolism.

Newfiedan

i try to change it every 2 weeks, that way my body has a hard time adapting, I have about 9 different routines and I throw in new things that I discover to really amp up the workouts and the fat burning. My ultimate goal is to create the ultimate fat burning workout that I can do in the min amount of time to maximize results.

MiketotheJ

It doesn't really matter whether you change up your cardio routine. If you want to jog on a treadmill at 5.5 mph every day, you can do that forever and still burn calories and still lose weight. You don't HAVE to change up the time or intensity, although doing so may speed up your progress a bit. All exercises will get easier as you build muscle and general endurance, but it doesn't mean you need to change things up. The BEST way to change up your routine is to add strength and flexibility training to your workouts. Why are you waiting to lift weights? Doing so even for 15 minutes a couple of times a week will be the best change you can make!

I haven't lost a whole lot of my strength despite gaining over a hundred pounds and I smoked for a fee years, so one of my first goals was to get my lungs back in shape. When one small flight of stairs has me out of breath, cardio became the immediate focus. I'll gradually work some in over the next couple of months, but I needed to get all that tar out of me first. :-)

shreddingit

when i started i did the same thing, treadmill and then 30 day shred, 30 days on same level then another 30 on another level...same same and my results are great from wat I see...im still doing treadmill everyday plus a dvd whenever i feel like:happy: