Working out on the beach to change up your fitness routine.

HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE OVER YOUR WORKOUT

There comes a time in each fitness routine when you kind of know your workout isn’t working anymore. It’s like the bad boyfriend or girlfriend you don’t want to break up with. You’re perfectly happy with the routine, comfortable in the scenario and not looking forward to change. On the other hand, you really want to be happy but are just having a hard time moving forward. Sound familiar?

It’s important to change up your workout regimen from time to time. This is especially important if you want to see results in terms of weight loss, strength gains and or change in your body tone. Not only will changing things up keep you interested mentally but your muscles will be interested too. They’ll be interested in the form of “muscle confusion” meaning your body will continue to change.

Here are 3 signs that your workout isn’t working anymore:

3 TIPS TO KNOW YOUR WORKOUT ISN’T FOR YOU

1. You’re Not Challenged – If you’re not getting your heart rate up, feeling taxed or challenged by the workout, it’s time for a switch. One of the biggest problems that we see in our clients is that they go through the motions during their workouts. Intensity is a very important factor when it comes to keeping your body changing and challenged. There are other factors to other than just intensity. Muscle confusion is the name of the game. It’s almost like keeping your body “guessing” so it doesn’t get used to your workouts.

TIP: Change It Up – You’ve got to change something in order for your body to continue to progress. Simple changes can lead to a big difference. Here are a few ways to change it up.

Intensity – If you’re not feeling taxed, you might need to work harder. Whether that means faster or adding more weight is dependent on what you’re currently doing.
Tempo – If you’re used to working in a 1:3 ratio for example, try mixing it up. Try a 1:1 ratio or try a HIIT format like Tabata.
Format – Maybe you’re used to doing Back + Biceps, Chest + Triceps, Legs, etc. Try a full body workout or switch it up and add in sprints after your leg workout.

2. You’re Not Seeing Results – Hello! Why are you putting all of this work into working out if you aren’t going to get results, right? You’re not seeing results when the scale isn’t moving, your body fat hasn’t changed, you’re not seeing definition and/or your endurance hasn’t increased to name a few.

TIP: Track the information that’s important to you. There are other ways to gauge success such as energy levels, strength gains, sport specific goals and more.

We encourage you to grab a journal (like this 16 week journal) or a spiral bound notebook (or your favorite app) and track a few metrics so you can observe, over time, how you’ve changed. Here are a few to track…
- Measurements (with an accurate measuring tape)
- Body fat % (try a body fat scale)
- Scale Weight (if you’re measuring scale weight, we STRONGLY recommend that you also do measurements). We suggest this Professional Mechanical Scale as it can be calibrated (dial back to zero) once it gets askew.
- An Article of Clothing
- Running times
- Strength gains (bench press, squat, push ups, dead lift are good examples)
- Sport Specific Metrics
- Energy levels
- Mood

Keep tracking for 12 – 16 weeks and look back at each week to decide what’s working for you and what isn’t.

3. You’re Bored – It’s never a good sign when you’re bored with your workout. Chances are if you’re bored, you’re not putting 100% into it which means you’re not getting 100% out of it. You will only get out of your workout what you put in. So if you really don’t want to do it and it’s become monotonous, you aren’t doing yourself any favors by continuing. Unfortunately, your boring workout routine is causing you to waste time and not get the results you’re looking for.

TIP: Do what you love! Bottom line – doing what we like to do is going to drive us to be active and workout. While it’s important to switch things up, it’s also important to do the actives you like. Otherwise, chances are you won’t even do it at all.

OTHER OPTIONS TO UP LEVEL YOUR WORKOUTS

If you fell into any of the categories above and you’ve tried everything, it’s time to get creative! Here are a few additional ways to change what you’re doing. If you’re putting the time and effort into getting results, nothing can be more frustrating than not seeing results. Make sure you’re getting what you need to out of your workout. Your precious time and energy should be spent as efficiently as possible.

CLASS: Try a new a new class at your local gym or studio to get fresh ideas and challenge your body in a different way.
GUIDANCE: Make an appointment with a personal trainer to see how you can get the most out of your fitness program and get some results.
TAKE IT OUT OF THE GYM: Try a new activity – get out of the gym and into the outdoors! Try cycling, tennis, kayaking, hiking, paddle boarding, climbing or skiing to name a few. Sometimes outdoor sports will challenge your body in a completely different way without feeling like a traditional workout.

In addition, dietary changes might need to be made in the case of health and/or weight loss goals. Check out our Health and Wellness Coaching for individual guidance or join us for a fitness retreat to jumpstart your healthy habits. Best In Health & Wellness - Margot + The Vita Vie Retreat Team

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