We’re working balance in a variety of ways this week. Obviously, the single leg work works on it, but the skier jumps and the dumbbell pullovers with bridge also recruit what we need when we have to balance. Three rounds.
tap backs | 30 |
1 leg deadlift | 20 |
1 leg squat | 10 |
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squat raise | 30 |
gorilla row | 20 |
curls | 10 |
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skier jump | 30 |
db pullover with bridge | 20 |
brains | 10 |
More strength fresheners:
1. Change the tempo.
2. Try a circuit.
3. Swap machines for free weights or vice versa.
4. Change the usual order.
Another approach to freshening our weight workouts is to adjust the variables. These include the number of reps, the number of sets, and the intensity (or what weight we use as a percentage of our single rep maximum).
Captain Obvious would like a word here. We don’t want to increase all the variables at once. If we choose, for example, to do a lot more reps, we’re going to need to choose lighter weights. We need to be fresh-minded (yes, I just made that word up), paying attention to our bodies as we work to know when we have had enough.
Again, we don’t have to switch all the variables for all our workouts. Making one a week or one a month different can be plenty to keep our bodies entertained and growing.
When it comes to strength training, freshness can be a challenging concept. Strength training is one of those things that thrives on habit and routine. The trick is to make change part of the routine. In fact, without a certain amount of freshness, our strength training can’t get best results because our bodies develop in response to the stresses we put on them. If we’re always doing the same things the same way, we stop growing.
One easy way to freshen things up in the weight room (ok: not just by cleaning it, although I am 100% in favor of cleanliness and fresh air in the weight room) is to try a new exercise. If finding a new exercise seems like a lot of work, make it even simpler and try a variation on an exercise already in your repertoire (e.g., swap the regular squats for jump squats, sumo squats, prisoner squats, goblet squats, or any of the other million different kinds).
Another approach is to combine exercises into compound movements. This is where we do things like lunge-to-curl or push presses. Not only does this give us a new take on the component parts, but it also works more of our bodies at once, which is just efficient!
Go play.
Farmer carry is one of those deceptive exercises. We’re just walking around with weights; how hard can it be? When I deep clean the studio, I do a LOT of farmer carries and let me say: it is not easy. Use the heaviest weights you can manage. Three rounds.
db circles | 30 |
skullcrushers | 20 |
shoulder tap pushups | 10 |
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squat to leg lift/ticktock | 30 |
flies | 20 |
lateral raises | 10 |
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farmer carry | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
Three ways to make cardio fresher:
1. Change the speed.
2. Change the time.
3. Change the intensity.
Up or down! You pick!
Maybe we really love what we are already doing for cardio. I mean, you can have my spin bike when I’m dead and not before, for example. Even so, we can freshen up our routines with a couple of tweaks.
In my experience, we all have a preferred spot on the continuum between time and intensity. That is to say, some of us would rather work really hard for not very long and others of us would rather spend a longer time working less hard. This is all just fine, but we can mix it up just a little and get lots of benefits. Maybe one workout a week is longer or faster or otherwise harder (think: hills). If we are doing something with a cadence like running or biking, we can shift it faster once in a while.
Even changing up something as basic as what we listen to while we go can make things new. Heck, grab a buddy and listen to them for a workout instead of whatever is on your playlist!
It seems worthwhile to note here that not all things we do to entertain ourselves while working out are equally useful. For example, I love to read, but I can’t work out hard enough while also tracking words across a page. If I want to read and workout, it’s going to have to be audiobooks. (Other folks’ mileage may vary and it depends on many factors including the stability of the modality, the fitness level of the person working out, and even the size of the print.)
Essentially what I am saying here is: get playful. Experiment. Do something novel and see if it is fun.
