BORED WITH YOUR WORKOUT? TRY THESE 6 EFFECTIVE TRAINING TIPS

If you work out on a regular basis and find that you are bored or not making progress with your current workout, this blog post is for you!   I wanted to share with you some simple training methods that we use at Breakthru Fitness to change up our clients’ workouts so they don’t get bored or injured, and continue to make progress.

I am also including a 3 day workout program (designed for FAT LOSS + INCREASED STRENGTH) that I hope you try.  Let’s cover a few basic pointers…

TIP 1 – KNOW YOUR GOAL

I am sure you are tired of me asking you, but the whole idea of a workout is that it should be part of a larger program, and that it be designed to move you closer to your ultimate goal.  So, what’s your goal?  Is it weight loss, muscle building, fat loss, or sports performance?  The 3 day program I am offering you as an example is designed around improving functional (life) performance, maintaining lean muscle and losing body fat.

TIP 2 – DON’T REPEAT THE SAME WORKOUT IN THE SAME WEEK

You should try not to repeat the same workout 2 times in one week.  WHAT?  I have learned over many, many years that one of the best ways to get stuck (not making progress) and injured (due to repetitive motion), is to do the same workout over and over.  So when you think about a program, find ways to change things up.  For example, if you work out 3 times a week with weights, here is a great way to change up the focus of each workout:

• DAY 1 – metabolic strength circuits | 
  [Download here]
• DAY 2 – strength workout (old school style) | [Download here]
• DAY 3 – metabolic – strength combo | [Download here]

TIP 3 – FOCUS ON MOVEMENTS, NOT EXERCISES

What do I mean by focusing on movements instead of exercises?  When you think of working your chest, you typically think of a pushing motion… so, in order to focus on movements, think PUSH when it comes to picking your exercises.  You can PUSH in a lot of different ways:  from your back on a flat bench or while standing or seated.  Here is an example of a metabolic strength workout and I’ve included an exercise to show you what I might pick to execute the movement.

DAY 1

• TOTAL BODY – squat + overhead press
• PUSH – standing cable chest press
• PULL – kneeling 1 arm cable row
• CORE – stability ball hip bridge
• METABOLIC – 30 seconds on the versa climber

TIP 4 – CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF RESISTANCE

Sounds simple but most people fall into the habit of doing the same exercise, the same way, every time they work out.  Remember, the body ADAPTS, and then it doesn’t continue to change and we want it to change!   Here is a quick example.  If you’re doing a PULLING movement, you can chose to do a high pull (such as a lat pull-down) , you can chose to do a horizontal pull (a row) or you can chose to do a low pull (such as a bent- over row).  These are all PULLING movements, but you’ve changed it up by changing the direction of the resistance.

TIP 5 – CHANGE THE TYPE OF RESISTANCE

Confuse your muscle by changing the type of resistance you are using.  Whether using bands or cables, you can go heavy with both – and gain muscle size with either.  So keep changing up your resistance:  if you use barbells often, try a machine… if you do a lot of cable work, try dumbbells.  If you use a lot of weights in general, try body weight.  Change it up!

TIP 6 – CHANGE THE NUMBER OF REPS AND REST PERIOD

I am going to share a really simple periodization tip.  Periodization just means doing a certain type of workout, for a certain period of time.  Here is what I like to do, to keep things simple, but yet change it up each week:

• Week 1
  • 2 sets of 15 repetitions of each movement with little rest between each exercise
• Week 2
  • 3 sets of 12 repetitions of each movement with some rest between each exercise
• Week 3
  • 4 sets of 10 repetitions of each movement with rest as needed between each exercise
• Week 4
  • Sets of 15-12-10 repetitions of each movement with less rest each consecutive round (meaning, less rest with 15 reps, more at 12 and even more at 10)

I hope these training tips help break your plateau, keep you injury-free and help you take your workouts to a whole new level.  I have included a sample VIDEO of one of the workouts, as well as printable PDFs [Download 1 | Download 2 | Download 3] of a week of workouts for you to download and try out for yourself.

As always, let me now if you have any questions.  Shoot me an email at [email protected]

Phil Dozois, Owner, Breakthru Fitness