Fitness Routine RUTS...same old, same old

I feel a little like I'm in a fitness rut too. I also like routine. It's hard for me to change what I've been doing at the gym, as I am not a "take-a-class" person. I love the elliptical. Recently, I discovered that some new elliptical machines offer workouts that increase the incline, and the resistance automatically. I am hoping that this is enough change to get me out of my 2-week plateau. However, even though the incline and resistance is changing, the motion is the same. I am lifting weights once a week, and that is never exactly the same.

Any other suggestions?

I like to change up my routine.

Varying strength exercises is important, the type, the weight used, the order I preform them in. Fast timed sets (whole workout done in under 10 minutes), slow sets with lots of rest (do set, fold laundry, do set, put dishes away, do set)

Cardio it's just fun to do different things. Walk, run, sprints, soccer, biking, volleyball, rock climbing or hiking they're all fun.

My nutritional needs are based on my activity level, so my calories vary daily. Types of food eaten varies somewhat but it always starts with real whole food.

I need to change the food, the calorie levels, the carb intake, and the strength training to get out of my plateaus. My rusty old engine stalls a lot....

Renee, I love my Nordic Trak Ski Machine. I also bought mine used from an ad in the paper and it's in great shape and works perfectly. Just remember to start on the lowest level and increase slowly or you will have the sorest tucas in town!

AS for shaking up the routine, I think sometimes it's good.

But there are days (and occasionally) weeks where the same old well known routine is what lets me keep going!

I believe change is good, in fitness and diet and in life overall.

But I also like consistency and stability so guess I don't have an answer to the question.

I believe change in an exercise routine is good. I like learning to work muscles from different angles or in new ways.

I never want to look silly at the gym so I will sometimes research something for a while before trying it. It doesn't always keep me from looking silly but it helps.

I'm still getting to know people at the new gym but at the "old" gym the trainers and instructors were very friendly and approachable. I learned a lot from them and I know that if something stops being a challenge, it's not going to give me much of a result, if any result at all.

I want to able to explore different things as my body allows me to do, as I lose weight.

Right now, I am in physical therapy for a collapsed disc in my lower spine. There is a NuStep machine in the PT center that I love. It's a recumbent machine where you make a stepping motion with your legs while alternating arm movements. Because it takes all the pressure off my spine while I'm sitting, it's easier for me to do than a standing stepper or an elliptical.

I just purchased a Nordic Track ski machine off Craigslist, because my physical therapist told me NuStep and Nordic Track are my best healing machines. They'll strengthen the ligaments and everything around my collapsed area and facet arthritis. I will start slow and work up on the skier. I know it works because it helped my mother with the same problem. It helped her get to her goal weight too.

I do half an hour of PT exercises as prescribed by my therapist, six days a week. I can also do the Sit and Be Fit DVDs like you see on public TV.

But as I get smaller, I expect that I'll be able to learn more new things. Because my condition is permanent, I will likely have the Nordic Track (and the NuStep when I am at the center) be constant, but that doesn't mean I can't fit other things in sometimes.

As a person relatively new to exercise I can tell you that doing the same thing day after day gets boring. Bored people tend, in my opinion, to work less effectively. So it stands to reason that a change would be beneficial. Again, just an opinion, I have a long way to go and know relatively little about the process.

I feel fortunate that I learned early on that doing the same fitness routine all the time and never changing it up wasn't a good idea because the muscles start to anticipate the movements and will not react the way we want them to if done over and over again.

When I first lost weight I was down 30lbs from doing the same thing for about 8 weeks in a row, I thought that since it was working why not keep the same thing going? The same for eating as well, I ate the same breakfast, lunch and dinner menu during that time and lost a butt-load of weight.

But then I started to plateau........

I had read somewhere that changing up your normal routine and your food intake helps keep the body guessing and metabolism high and so I did change it up and broke my 2 month long plateau in just two weeks when I started to drop like crazy again.

For me, changing up my fitness routine and food intake every 6 weeks or so has really helped even though I am a COMFORT ZONE kinda guy (I hate change) and am proponent of this concept.



Topic question: Do you subscribe that changing up a fitness routine or food intake is helpful or does the same old reliable routine work for you?