My body is bored with the same routine

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momtobe06
momtobe06 Posts: 81 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For the past 11 months I have worked out 5 days a week in my home gym. I have come a long way.. but feel my progress is at a standstill.. as if my body is just used to it now. I alternate cardio on the treadmill, elliptical or outside when Ohio weather permits and use heavy-ish weights, kettle balls, and resistance bands. I workout for about 45 minutes a day 30 min cardio,15 min strength training. At this point I am trying to get leaner & stronger.

any ideas for adding more variety? I wish I could afford a personal trainer to come give me some ideas to change things up.

I blog about my journey and add lots of pictures along the way
http://strongisthenewskinny12.blogspot.com/
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Replies

  • MistressAella
    MistressAella Posts: 99 Member
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    Leaner and stronger. I would suggest upping the time you spend strength training. Cardio has it's place, but if you want good strong muscle you are going to need to lift heavy. Bodybuilding(dot)com has a lot of free strength training programs available as well as videos showing proper form and technique. Make sure you incorporate rest days as that's when your muscle actually grows. Lifting weights causes tiny tears in the muscle. And make sure you eat to promote that muscle growth you are looking for. Scoobysworkshop(dot)com is great for determining your caloric needs while you lift. :) You can also get New Rules of Lifting for Women, it's a great book for women wanting to weight train.
  • momtobe06
    momtobe06 Posts: 81 Member
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    Thank you for your feedback... I really do need to lift heavier and devote more time to strength training.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    increase your intensity. Most people don't increase intensity as fast as their body adapts, which means they aren't pushing their body as hard as they were when they started. This is a very common cause of plateaus.
  • markymarrkk
    markymarrkk Posts: 495 Member
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    Leaner and stronger. I would suggest upping the time you spend strength training. Cardio has it's place, but if you want good strong muscle you are going to need to lift heavy. Bodybuilding(dot)com has a lot of free strength training programs available as well as videos showing proper form and technique. Make sure you incorporate rest days as that's when your muscle actually grows. Lifting weights causes tiny tears in the muscle. And make sure you eat to promote that muscle growth you are looking for. Scoobysworkshop(dot)com is great for determining your caloric needs while you lift. :) You can also get New Rules of Lifting for Women, it's a great book for women wanting to weight train.

    YUP! I'd say just do the NROLFW program
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I've been lifting for years and I always change up my program every 6-8 weeks. My current program is on my profile if you want a new idea.

    I absolutely agree lifting heavy will get you further. You can only do so much reshaping with light weights and cardio.

    I also like to throw in 2 days a week of HIIT.
  • momtobe06
    momtobe06 Posts: 81 Member
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    Thanks for your feedback
  • drefaw
    drefaw Posts: 739
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    yea, back in the day we called it muscle confusion. Change up your exercises, and routine regularly. It will help to avoid plateaus. And as already suggested, I bet you can push yourself harder(up your intensity) than you are right now. It is a common thing to happen. Make yourself push out those 2 extra reps, that you just swear you couldn't possibly do. Commit to a higher intensity level on the elliptical, and stick with it .....
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    changing routines frequently helps avoid the risk of actually accomplishing any training.

    Get a good program. Like starting strength.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Is there a sport or an activity that you love? I get bored if all I'm ever doing is exercising, no matter how much variety there is. But I love to dance, so all my training is to be a better dancer, and also so that I can keep up with my husband on mountain bike trails.
  • Noor13
    Noor13 Posts: 964 Member
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    Also when weight training you have to change up things! I usually do 6-8 weeks of each phase-endurance, hypertrophy and strength. HIIT twice a week as cardio, if lol.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    changing routines frequently helps avoid the risk of actually accomplishing any training.

    Get a good program. Like starting strength.

    ^Truth. Keep adding resistance to the big main lifts. It will work....forever. With cardio you will need to go longer or faster after you adapt to your current routine. Or just keep doing the same thing to maintain your current level of fitness.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    changing routines frequently helps avoid the risk of actually accomplishing any training.

    Agreed.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    changing routines frequently helps avoid the risk of actually accomplishing any training.

    Get a good program. Like starting strength.

    ^Truth. Keep adding resistance to the big main lifts. It will work....forever. With cardio you will need to go longer or faster after you adapt to your current routine. Or just keep doing the same thing to maintain your current level of fitness.

    For cardio, you can also add interval training, or take it outdoors and do something fun.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    changing routines frequently helps avoid the risk of actually accomplishing any training.

    Get a good program. Like starting strength.

    ^Truth. Keep adding resistance to the big main lifts. It will work....forever. With cardio you will need to go longer or faster after you adapt to your current routine. Or just keep doing the same thing to maintain your current level of fitness.

    For cardio, you can also add interval training, or take it outdoors and do something fun.

    True. Even with HIIT you will need to keep pushing yourself to keep seeing improvements. 1 minute on 1 minutes off intervals will eventually stop being as difficult and you will need to add more of them or lengthen/shorten the interval. Longer or faster.

    I love hiking and biking myself. Playing a sport is a great way to stay active but if you are not going beyond what you are used to doing your body will be very slow to change.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    If you go to routine to routine too often your body will never adapt to a particular routine and it will be almost impossible to progress. If you are bored I would either take a week off or do what is called a deload week. Less sets and or weight in the gym and back off the cardio a little. Think of it as an active rest week.
  • lmfujishima
    lmfujishima Posts: 16 Member
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    If you have an iOS or Android device you could download Nike Training Club, it's a personal trainer app. It has a lot of great workouts ranging from 15-45 minutes and they're categorized into Get Lean, Get Toned, and Get Strong, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. That way you can choose which level of intensity works for you, and you have a variety of different workouts. Some workouts require dumbbells or a medicine ball. There are videos and pictures of each workout. Cool plus is that you unlock trophies and things like smoothie recipes and extra workouts.
  • lmfujishima
    lmfujishima Posts: 16 Member
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    Oh! and it's free, here's the link!

    http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/womens-training/apps/nike-training-club
  • momtobe06
    momtobe06 Posts: 81 Member
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    thanks for the link
  • momtobe06
    momtobe06 Posts: 81 Member
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    Oh! and it's free, here's the link!

    http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/womens-training/apps/nike-training-club

    thank you so much.. I did my first workout today and it was a challenge
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
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    I don't see anything wrong with changing things up now and again. Granted, it would depend on how often you change routines. Two weeks isn't enough time, but 3 months could be too long. And of course, changing could just mean increasing weight and/or intensity.

    I bought P90X about a year and a half ago, and I was really enjoying it. I was improving drastically and really enjoying it... until morning sickness from an unplanned pregnancy called a halt to exercise in general. My baby is 9 months old, and my goal is to start again exactly 2 years after I started the first time. But it's an extreme exercise program, so I can't just jump into it without working up to it. That's what I'm working on now. Anyhow, it uses the principle of muscle confusion to keep your body from plateauing. It also keeps things from getting boring--and for me, boring is a major factor in whether I keep up with a routine or not. For some, it's not. All depends on the person.

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