Importance of Variation

The importance of varying your workouts is enormous. Firstly it not only forces your muscles to work and perform in different ways, hence building more muscle in different areas, but it also makes it more fun, challenging and gets your brain more activated an focused in every workout, rather than simply going through the motions.

So how do I add variation to my workout? Simple:

1. Keep on climbing:

If you get comfortable banging out a weight or running, cycling, swimming at a certain pace or for a certain time then you need to make it harder. Try going up to the next set of dumbbells or going faster or for longer on the cardio. Always set yourself a target to beat every time you train and 9/10 times you’ll improve.

2. Mix it up:

Instead of simply sticking to the same routines every day of every week try to mix it up every few weeks or months. I train in a solid routine for 50 days and then evaluate my performance, weight, strength and cardio and then start chopping and changing the things that I need to improve on, or have maxed out to keep my workouts fresh and enjoyable. For example I wasn’t happy with my Tricep techniques recently and hadn’t noticed any real gains so I swapped 2/3 of the exercises around and I’m seeing results. In terms of cardio try swapping running for 40 minutes for a 40 minute circuit or swimming session, or vice versa. Always keep your body guessing.

3. Nutrition:

This too needs to stay fresh, but on a much more regular basis. Studies have clearly shown that people who train, but don’t vary their healthy diets enough soon slip up into bad habits or cheat days far too often. So every week plan your meals, even if its just your main meal each day and try to swap a few around each week to give you some new healthy combo’s and keep the diet enjoyable. This also applies to protein, keep changing the sources and you’ll get extra gains due to the extra nutrients each different source has to offer.

4. Don’t be afraid of change:

I’ve trained with guys who never changed their routines and yet they always complain that they hat one of their sessions! (usually legs) I always get the ‘Oh no its legs tonight’ crap every week. But this if you keep on swapping your moves about you’ll see the results faster and you’ll actually start to love your training again.

5. Brain power:

It has been proven that by changing your normal routines several times a year can improve the number of neurones in your brain and thus improve not only memory but reaction times and natural recall. The body likes to adapt to survive so give it a new workout to adapt to!