Do you know the definition of insanity? Something about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You’ve surely heard this infamous Einstein quote used in a number of contexts, and may even tune it out at this point, but it truly applies to our fitness routine choices as well.
You see it happening every day in the gym. People will tirelessly dedicate time to workout every week of their life – consisting largely of the same routine and exercise sequence – at more or less the same pace. After awhile the results wear off, but they continue to bash their head against the wall expecting it to change. Elliptical Lady’s body can do that 30 minute routine on the elliptical in its sleep, so expecting to improve conditioning or drop fat from it is wishful thinking now. She’s gotten all the benefits out of that. Sure, she may be able to come back to it months later and the results might start again, but it’s time to move on for now.
We are all creatures of habit. I get that. But why dedicate an hour to the gym every day if it’s not going to physically change you or improve conditioning, muscle gains etc. (whatever your goal is)?
In the health industry especially, we get behind a popular fitness routine and close ourselves off to other options. But I advise switching it up every 12-16 weeks. Find a new routine to latch onto and give it an honest effort to accurately gauge results. It may reinvigorate you mentally for one, but it also may lead to new benchmarks in your fitness pursuits.
Break the routine.
Start fresh.
If you feel you’re stuck in a rut, get out of your comfort zone. It’ll do you some good.