Ask the Fitness Unguru: How to Rekindle Workout Intensity and Effectiveness



Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010

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Question: Hi Bill, I have been working out at the gym for about 6 months. I usually do about 30-45 minutes of cardio (treadmill, bike, or elliptical) and some weight machines and ab exercises. I feel like my workouts are in a rut! I also used to be really sore after working out and rarely feel any soreness anymore. What should I be doing to rejuvenate my workouts and get some more intensity?

Answer: The body is remarkably adept at adapting to whatever workloads you subject it to. That's why I always recommend cycling your workouts for maximum effectiveness.

At face value, it appears that your current workout is geared toward overall fitness with an emphasis on cardiovascular health. It's great that you are employing progressive weight resistance exercise, too!

The key to improvement is always striving to either:
  1. Do more
  2. Do it less time
  3. Do both (more in less time)
For example, rather than 30-45 minutes of cardio, you could do an hour. Or you could set your sights on 15 miles on a stationary bike, for example, in 45 minutes rather than an hour.

The same holds true for the weights. Maybe even more so. Raising intensity is a surefire way to make progress almost all the time. Of course, you have to temper the rising intensity with sufficient rest and nutrition. In fact, you may find that you need more sleep and/or more calories if you embark on raising your effort levels.

But it's not sufficient nor beneficial in the long-term to just raise intensity. You also have to change up exercises, sets, reps, and sequence. As I mentioned before, the body (and mind) adapt very quickly to new workout routines. Generally speaking, about the longest you should ever go on a set routine is 6 weeks. I take it to the extreme: I never do the same workout twice in a row.

This doesn't mean that I make wholesale changes every workout. I change things just a little bit. One day, I might do 4 sets of 10 in the squat, the next "leg day," I do 6 sets of 20 in the leg press. I try to keep the body guessing all the time; the last thing I want is for my body to totally adapt to a workout and have my progress stall.

To sum it all up: Raise your intensity, cycle your workouts (and diet), and change things up from time to time.
Bill is an expert in the fitness field. If you have a fitness-related question, Ask the Fitness Unguru. For even more muscle-building and fitness tips, visit Muscle-Build.com.
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