14 Effective Ways To Switch Up Your Fitness Regime
Are you bored of your fitness regime? Perhaps you want to make it more difficult, or simply more interesting. In these uncertain times when many gyms are closing down to protect the public from the spread of Covid-19, it’s a good idea to have options for home workouts and alternatives so you can stay fit and healthy.
Whatever your needs, whether you’re self isolating or simply looking for a change, you’ll find 14 suggestions here that will help you to switch things up. Take a look and see what you can do to make things more interesting and enjoyable next time you work out:
1. Work Out Outside
Get outside and workout. It might seem strange at first, and you might even feel exposed if you’re used to working out inside, but you’ll soon love the sunshine and the fresh air. You can jog, walk, run, or even find an outdoor gym if there’s one near you (just remember to wipe down equipment and wash your hands afterwards). You could find a park or a field and do some HIIT, and even add in some resistance training. You might also be able to find a workout class or bootcamp held outside that could be perfect for you.
There are many opportunities to workout outside, and they have numerous benefits – so don’t just stick to the gym or garage workouts!
2. Create A New Split
If you’ve been working out a certain way for a while, it could be a good time to create a new split. Perhaps you could change around the days you’ve been working specific body parts, or maybe you could switch things altogether by changing to all over body workouts rather than full body workouts.
Providing you’re not changing splits every few weeks (this can seriously hinder your progress), then you should still make good progress and get lots out of your workouts.
3. Work Out With Another Person
If you usually work out alone, try working out with another person. You could see if your partner wants to go for a run or take your kids for a walk. It all counts! Switch up working out alone and working out with another person and things shouldn’t get too monotonous for you.
4. Take A Week Off
This might sound counterintuitive, but you can take a week off from the gym without losing any progress. Maybe you’ve gotten really bored recently, or you simply want your results to hurry along. By taking a week off, you can make your workouts more enjoyable and effective – sometimes, you can train too much. Without adequate recovery, your body won’t make the changes you want.
You can spend your week off doing gentle, low impact exercises such as walking, swimming, and yoga if you still want to keep up your fitness regime. You’ll likely feel raring to get back into your gym workouts after your week off.
5. Give Yourself A Performance Based Goal
Instead of having aesthetic based goals, have performance based goals to push you forward. Aim to do a few full push ups, or even work on your pull up form. Getting this right will take time, which is why it’s important you stay focused on it and keep working towards the goals. These goals don’t come easy, but the satisfaction you get from completing them is worth it. You should notice aesthetic changes as a result, too (although you should step away from having them as your main goal for the best results).
6. Get Pumped
Get seriously pumped up before your workout – in more ways than one. If you know you’re going to be working one body part, such as your glutes, you could do a ton of bodyweight glute exercises to warm up the area, get it feeling pumped, and enjoy even better results from your workout. You can also try the best pre workout to help you feel more focused and energized during your workouts.
7. Follow A YouTube Video
Why not try a Youtube video if you’re short on time or just want a bit of fun? There are so many out there that could help you to get in a quick and effective workout while having fun!
8. Make A Few New Playlists
Make a few different playlists for your workouts so that you can listen depending on your mood. You might want a hip hop one, a pop one, a rock one, etc. Depending on how hard you want to go and the mood you want to be in, having different playlists will definitely help.
9. Invest In A New Prop
See if you can use a new prop in your workouts, such as a resistance band. You can use something like this to warm up and get more from your efforts, as well as just to keep things interesting. Buy one prop at a time and make sure you get the most out of it before buying more – you don’t want all of the gear and no idea.
10. Sign Up For A New Goal
Try signing up for a new goal – this could be a charity run like a 5k or even a marathon, or a white collar boxing match. It might seem scary at first, but you can raise money for an important cause and have all of your loved ones cheering you on.
11. Find Hikes In Your Area
There are probably hikes in your area that you don’t even know about, so take a look and see if there are any great walks you’ve been missing out on. They could be great to do alone with a podcast or audiobook, or a great way to bond and have fun with friends/family. Walking is so good for the mind and body!
12. Put A Focus On Your Mindset For A While
While most people with a fitness regime focus solely on their bodies, it’s a good idea to put a focus on your mindset. Your mindset can make a huge difference to how focused you are, how good you feel while working out, and whether you stick to your new routine. Read a few books and watch some videos on mindset and you’ll see what we’re talking about!
13. Make Your Workouts More Interesting
There are all kinds of ways you can make your regular workouts more interesting. You could try negative reps, half reps, and you could even add in a squeeze/pause. You don’t always need to go up in weight. You could also add in things like drop sets and even superset certain exercises, but just make sure you know what to do first so you don’t injure yourself.
While progressive overload is certainly the goal, switching things up like this can be very effective too.
14. Try A Brand New Class
Don’t be afraid to let somebody else take the reins on your workout once in a while. Being told what to do can take a load off your mind and help you to get a good workout in at the same time. You could do a zumba class, pilates, kickboxing, or anything that takes your fancy. Even if you don’t want to stick to the class, it could be a fun way to break up your routine and meet new people.
How are you going to switch up your fitness regime? Not being able to get to the gym is not the end of the world – you can get really creative in your house or the great outdoors. If you have advice of your own, leave it below. Thanks for reading!
