If you are trying to reduce your weight and body-fat or increase your strength you will get the best results if you change your workouts regularly. Your fitness program should incorporate your individual goals and as you progress you should change your routine to meet your evolving fitness needs and help you achieve new goals. If you keep your routine the same it is difficult to stay motivated and your body will adapt quickly which will make it difficult to reach your goals.

Over the years I have met many people that gave up on exercise because they were unhappy with their results. I always ask these people what routine they used to follow that provided them with unsatisfactory results. In many cases the response is “I start on the bike and then I do the same weight machines and then I go on the treadmill” Many of these people performed the same exercise routine for years. When I hear this I do not blame them for stopping exercise, not only were they not getting results because their body s adapted to their workouts, but they must have been bored silly doing the same thing week after week.

So how do you go about changing your workouts? Changing your workout does not always mean changing your exercises. For instance, if you really enjoy doing bench press you can keep this exercise in your routine but for a change if you are performing repetitions of 8-10 you may use a lighter weight and concentrate more on muscle endurance and perform repetitions of 15-20. Similarly if you are performing barbell curls for your biceps for variation you can perform dumbbell curls which allow for greater isolation of the biceps.

People often ask what the best form of cardiovascular exercise is- the bike, treadmill, stairclimber & The answer is all of the above.however all forms are good if performed in your target cardiovascular threshold but a variety helps to make your body more ad

Changing your workouts can also mean changing how many muscle groups you exercise when you workout. For instance, many people perform one exercise per body part when they workout, this is referred to a whole body workout and is effective if performed two to three times a week. If you have been doing this for a while then you could switch to what is called a two-day split. This is when you workout half your body on one day, (perhaps your legs and shoulders), and then do the rest of your body (Back, Chest, Arms, Abdominals), on the second day. A two-day split routine is slightly more advanced as it allows more time for each body part. It is also most effective if your workout three to four times each week.

You can also change your workouts for seasonal activities. If you enjoy playing beach volleyball in the summer, but skate in the winter then there are exercises that can enhance these activities. If you are involved in sport specific program designed to improve your performance it will also be most effective to change the exercises that you do even to the point so that you do not do the same exercises for more than two weeks. The reason that this is so important for sport-specific training is that sports are always demanding different uses from your muscles. If you change your exercise routing regularly then you can help your body adapt to different stresses all the time and in turn greatly improve your overall performance.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.