Mixing it up ??

funkylemur

Hey everyone just wanted a bit of fitness advice . I workout nearly every day for at least an hour, burn about 400 Kcals a day, is it enough to do the same workouts each day ? At the moment Im using the kinects Dance Central ( working out my burn with my HRM and yes it is working , Ive lost an inch off my waist and two inches off my hips in two weeks !). What Im worried about however,, is that I know this rate isnt going to last. I have a number of workout dvds - 30 day shred, biggest loser etc etc - should I throw a few of these into the mix to keep it fresh and not let my body get complacent ? Or does doing the same thing every day still get the same results ?

Thanks in advance x

ChrisLindsay9

Bump

I'm curious to know what people have to say about this too.

ChrisLindsay9

I don't have any evidence to support this, but if it were me, I would probably stick with the same routine for awhile (4 weeks or 30 days), and then maybe start a new (or go back to an older) routine. For strength training, there is the idea that variation is important for building muscle, but I'm not sure to what extent it is for cardio programs. I suspect it is important, if for no other reason than just for change's sake.

Here's a couple of articles that may be of some benefit:

http://exercise.about.com/b/2009/02/11/mix-up-your-cardio-workouts.htm
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/cardio-training-5-tips-to-push-through-a-plateau.html

JenMc14

I think our bodies can get used to a particular routine, and change every once in awhile is good. It's really easy to get bored doing the same DVDs over and over, so mixng it up here and there is ok. Something like 30DS, I think I'd do the whole program, maybe with some other strength or cardio on off days, but if you're just doing random workout DVDs for cardio that's not really a specific program, I think it's a good idea to rotate to keep from getting too bored. Just be sure to get adequate strength training and cardio in a mix. For strength, it's best to stick with a program for at least a month or two to really get any benefit from it, I would think, but I'm not an expert.