Fitness isu project for zainab al jaiashi

Article: Change your workout routine to improve your fitness level While it’s important to make exercise a habit, too much routine can actually hamper your fitness efforts.

By: Paola Loriggio Special to the Star, Published on Tue Jun 12 2012 They say consistency is the key to getting in shape. But while it’s important to make exercise a habit, too much routine can actually hamper your fitness efforts.

After a few months of doing the same thing, your body hits a plateau, a phenomenon that frustrates even seasoned athletes.

That means it switches from improving — getting stronger, faster, more powerful — to coasting, says Scott Thomas, a professor at the University of Toronto’s faculty of kinesiology and physical education.

With any fitness program, “at first, you’ll see nice gains,” he says, because your body isn’t used to what you’re asking it to do.

“But essentially your body adapts to the program and if you don’t change, if you don’t get better stimulation, you’re not going to break out (of the plateau).”

He compares it to power plants providing energy to a city. If the city suddenly starts consuming more energy, it will require additional power plants. But once there are enough to meet the demand, there’s no reason to build any more.

Similarly, once your body is fit enough to handle a certain workout, it stops improving and stays at that level, he says.

The problem, he says, is that “people do the same thing and expect different results.”

How you bust out of a plateau depends on your goals, he says. But the underlying idea is that you need to challenge your body so it’s forced to adapt.

Beginners might try to increase how much or how often they work out, going from three times a week to four, for example.

Or they may want to change it up with one or two weekly sessions of interval training, which places peak demand on those power plants, although for a short time, he says.

Those already fitting in multiple weekly sessions may just need to increase the intensity of their workouts. Or, if they’re looking to ramp up their performance, they can try working with a trainer or other health professional to tailor a program to their needs and ensure it stays tough enough to get results.

Variety is good, Thomas adds, so cardio fanatics should consider adding weights to their program and yoga buffs might want to get their heart rate up.

“It’s often useful to think of a mixture of activities — you get more stimulation and less boredom,” he says.

Still, simply trying something new might not be enough, especially if weight loss is the target.

Unfamiliar activities feel harder, but they may objectively be less taxing, he says. And if you’re terrible at something, you may not be able to do it at a high enough intensity to reap fitness benefits.

13