Changing Workouts
Written by Mike Cheliak on June 24, 2009 – 9:04 am -Almost all people involved in fitness know that changing your routine is critical to ensuring you get results. Our bodies are highly adaptive and therefore will adjust to new stimuli in a relatively short period of time. As a general observation you should shake up everything around the 4 
week mark although a little longer won’t hurt if your routine is diverse.
Many training variables can be manipulated in an attempt to optimize the exercise program: the number of sets per exercise, repetitions per set, the types of exercises, number of exercises per training session, rest periods between sets and exercises, resistance used for a set, type and tempo of muscle action (e.g., eccentric, concentric, isometric), and the number of training sessions per day and per week.
I had to take a couple weeks off while getting used to my BP medication and in this time, I researched a lot of information about effective management of BP with fitness and nutrition. The one thing I do have to face is my heredity and therefore I may be on meds for good. This doesn’t mean that I can’t work towards lowering the amount I have to take however!
My new routines are going to be much lighter in weight (no more meathead Mike!). Gone will be the days of Deadlifting 405 and Squatting 405 or doing ANYTHING with 405! My main focus is going to be building more endurance through biking, running, intervals and lighter weight lifting.
The weight routine change will be to perform light weight routines that challenge the muscle and then very little rest until continuing. Supersets, Tri-Supersets, Circuits, Complexes and body weight movements will all be a key part of the routines. These type of routines work and build your cardio and endurance, help you shred fat and still maintain muscle tone and density. You will not have any Hypertrophy (muscle growth) with routines like this but you will build your definition.
Just remember that no matter what type of routine you are doing…shake it up every once in a while. Try to do something different every four weeks to re-challenge your body. Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training System is a great place to start to any fitness level. His programs are diverse and his database of workouts is ENORMOUS!
In happiness and health as always…
Mike C.
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