Why you should mix up your workouts
It’s easy to become stuck in an exercise rut and get tired of doing the same activities week in, week out. Whether it's setting the intention to find a new weekly walk with your doggo or trying a different style of yoga, mixing up your routine is a great way to prevent boredom, inject some motivation into your workout and stimulate different muscle groups.
It goes without saying that overtraining in one discipline can often lead to overuse injuries from putting your body through the same repetitive motions. Rotating your exercises gives joints, ligaments and muscles the opportunity to recover before being used again. If you‘re unfortunate enough to get injured, training in a different discipline that doesn't put strain on your injury will allow you to maintain physical fitness and keep you in a positive frame of mind whilst healing. As someone that's learned the hard way about runner's knee, I've found that weekly strength work has improved my body mechanics and led to a reduction in the painful symptoms. An expected outcome of integrating more weights into my routine was a love of resistance training that is still going strong (no pun intended!) today. Now my week is split between running and weightlifting to give my legs a few much-needed recovery days.
A well rounded and balanced exercise routine can improve heart health and endurance, as well as building stronger muscles through resistance training. If you’ve found yourself lacking inspiration given the current circumstances, seeking out the help of a virtual trainer or joining a new online class can help to add a refreshing new perspective to your exercise programme. Grasping the routine from a new virtual dance or bootcamp class can also help to keep your brain sharp and prevent memory loss.
Exercise doesn't always have to be centred around setting a new PB or being ‘the best’ - sometimes it's fun to start from the beginning, learn a different skill and rediscover your exercise mojo in the process!
It goes without saying that overtraining in one discipline can often lead to overuse injuries from putting your body through the same repetitive motions. Rotating your exercises gives joints, ligaments and muscles the opportunity to recover before being used again. If you‘re unfortunate enough to get injured, training in a different discipline that doesn't put strain on your injury will allow you to maintain physical fitness and keep you in a positive frame of mind whilst healing. As someone that's learned the hard way about runner's knee, I've found that weekly strength work has improved my body mechanics and led to a reduction in the painful symptoms. An expected outcome of integrating more weights into my routine was a love of resistance training that is still going strong (no pun intended!) today. Now my week is split between running and weightlifting to give my legs a few much-needed recovery days.
A well rounded and balanced exercise routine can improve heart health and endurance, as well as building stronger muscles through resistance training. If you’ve found yourself lacking inspiration given the current circumstances, seeking out the help of a virtual trainer or joining a new online class can help to add a refreshing new perspective to your exercise programme. Grasping the routine from a new virtual dance or bootcamp class can also help to keep your brain sharp and prevent memory loss.
Exercise doesn't always have to be centred around setting a new PB or being ‘the best’ - sometimes it's fun to start from the beginning, learn a different skill and rediscover your exercise mojo in the process!