Does your body get used to the exercise?

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MichelleFirestone
MichelleFirestone Posts: 212 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was just wondering. Does a point come, when you body just gets used to the exercise and the same calories being burned, and it no longer works?
If for months on end, you eat the same calories, and exercise about the same every day. Wouldn't your body just get used to it, and think its the norm. and you would no longer lose weight, but actually gain if you would cut back or increase calories?

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  • WildFlower7
    WildFlower7 Posts: 714 Member
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    YEP! That's why tricking your body is key when dieting and working out, I've constantly been switching up my calories and work-out's from day 1 about every 2wks or so and here I am 8 months later and I'm not even really trying to lose anymore but still am!
  • pen282
    pen282 Posts: 168 Member
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    hey

    not sure how much help this is, but i have been generally sticking within my calorie limit on here for the 3 months iv been on here and I also workout at the gym 4 times a week. I have noticed that even though my calorie burn is pretty similar for each workout I do (I have 3 different workouts i do) i hav still managed to lose weight.

    ike you though, I do wonder what others opinions are!

    Take care
    pen
  • chipvb
    chipvb Posts: 19 Member
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    From my experience, yes your body does get used to exercise over time. I found when I first started going to the gym, I would leave feeling like I had a great workout. But after a couple months I just didn’t get that feel anymore. Some friends told me to switch it up, have a couple of different routines, and never do the same exercises several days in a row. Since then I have come up with different routines that I cycle through so I am never doing the same things in a row. I have found since keeping in different each time, I am getting that “good workout feeling” when leaving the gym again.
    If you want to keep your body burning calories and building muscle, try switching it up. Not only having different routines for each day, but different routines for each week.

    Hope that helps
  • indianajonex
    indianajonex Posts: 27
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    The thing is, if you do the exact same exercise everyday, you'll become more and more efficient doing it. That's less cals burned. An athlete burns less than you running a mile because does it everyday. You have to switch exercises, try new things, sweat learning how to do it, so your body is always challenged.

    For me, that's the key, I hope this helps.
    Keep going!
    Jane.
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    If you eat the same everyday and work out the same every day your body will reach an equilibrium eventually. Not because your body gets used to it, but because you've lost enough weight that you're now burning what you consume. To continue to loose you'd have to either burn more or consume less.
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    Yes!
    It's still beneficial to do SOME exercise rather than none. But, it does get easier for your body. Even if you don't want to change the exercises that you do, just by changing the intensity or duration can change things up for you. Or even better, take the exercises that you like to do and make them into a circuit training routine.

    ""Wouldn't your body just get used to it, and think its the norm. and you would no longer lose weight, but actually gain if you would cut back or increase calories? "" Only if you were eating and not exercising enough to stay below "maintenance" level of calories for the day.
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
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    I was just wondering. Does a point come, when you body just gets used to the exercise and the same calories being burned, and it no longer works?
    If for months on end, you eat the same calories, and exercise about the same every day. Wouldn't your body just get used to it, and think its the norm. and you would no longer lose weight, but actually gain if you would cut back or increase calories?

    Not entirely. your metabolic rate changes based on intake and exercise, but if you start eating more it will shift back up, so your worries about setting a new standard by which you must live and gaining if you go up at all are luckily unfounded.

    It can also be beneficial to change the way in which you exercise every now and then. Some people worry about changing too much and too often, and unforunately never really give a program a chance to see if it's working or not. I used to do this as well. The best thing to do is evaluate your fitness goals and find a program that works for you, your schedule, and your goals, then commit to it for at least 4 weeks. At that point you will be able to evaluate whether the program is helping you progress or not. If it is, then stick with it until you stop progressing. If it isn't, then try a different program.

    Some things to think about for your program are;

    ratio of cardiovascular to resistance training, or a combination there of (ciruit training)
    working days vs rest days
    intensity vs total time (aka volume)
    Rest time between sets for resistance training

    Sometimes all you need are a few small changes to get back on track. Sometimes you need a complete overhaul, although complete overhauls are really only necesary if your program was poorly chosen or mentally you need something to jump start your motivation.

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