Using Variety to Achieve Total Body Fitness
Monday, 27 July 2009 17:52 | 
Written by Elijah Klay | 
Plateau: it's a term nearly every body builder is familiar with. It's difficult for most people to get into a steady routine of working out, but this is the only way to achieve any sort of results; after all, consistency is the key to any long-term endeavor. So you get into a steady routine of going to the gym a few times a week, and every time you hit the same exercises. It becomes like clockwork. You get in, run through your routine, and get out. You notice gains almost immediately, and you continue to notice gains consistently. And then one day, it stops. You can lift what you can lift, but it's the same every time. You've hit a plateau.
Nearly every personal trainer will tell you: once you hit a plateau, you need change up your routine to overcome it. But my thought is: why even hit the plateau in the first place? I've never hit a plateau, and I've been working out fairly consistently for a long time. Why? Because I am constantly changing my routine.
Why Does It Work?
Have you ever noticed that when you just start an exercise regiment, or when you come back from a long break, that afterwards you are especially sore? This is because those muscles are not accustomed to the workout you are giving them. They are sore because they tear. Now that may sound like a bad thing, but it's actually what working out is all about: stretching and tearing the muscle fibers, breaking them down, so that they will repair themselves bigger and stronger than they were before. As any weight lifter will tell you, your muscles do not grow in the gym; it is the rest and repair time in between workouts that is essential. But making the most out of your rest days is another article entirely.
You'll notice that although your muscles are extra sore after your first few workouts, they will become less and less sore after each subsequent workout. In my personal experience, it is always the first month or so of each new workout routine that I notice the most gains. That's because those muscles that have not been getting any attention are ripe and in a perfect state to be torn down and repaired.
This is why I suggest a highly varied fitness program. I am constantly searching for those ripe muscles so that I can shift my focus, and never hit that dreaded plateau. Here's some tips to help keep your routine fresh and varied:
- Constantly be looking to learn to exercises for the same muscle groups. If you generally work your pecs with a bench press, try switching it up to flys, decline and incline press, and even pushups.
- Vary your intensity. Spend a month or two doing compound exercises with the maximum weight you can handle in one set of ten reps (be sure to give yourself a couple extra days of rest for sessions like this). Then switch to a lower weight, higher rep regiment for a while.
- Try boxing for a while, then power yoga, then pilates, then plyometrics, then kickboxing.
- Instead of doing your cardio on the elliptical every time, switch to the stair-master, the stationary bike, or even the upper-body-exerciser.
They say that variety is the spice of life. In my opinion, this is especially true when it comes to personal fitness. In addition to developing your muscles more efficiently, a varied routine has the added potential of keeping you interested, always looking for the next new exercise.
So mix it up a little. Search for and weed out those nice ripe muscles. I guarantee you will reach a state of total body fitness much quicker, and you will delay that dreaded plateau, maybe even avoiding it forever.
