Are You In Your Comfort Zone? Or A Combat Zone?
When you hit the gym are you doing the right thing for yourself? Or are you just wasting time doing the same old thing over and over? Let me ask you this: is the same old thing still working for you? Still seeing results? Or do you feel like you might be stagnating, stuck on a plateau… or in a rut because it’s what you know and you don’t know anything else?
Well, I’m here to tell you that if you are stuck in a comfort zone and don’t do something to get yourself out of it NOW you’re going to be exactly where you are for as long as you stay in this comfort zone you’ve got yourself surrounded by.
Do you still want to be where you are a year from now? Because that’s what you’re setting yourself up for if you don’t get some variety… and soon!
Listen, your body is smart. It knows how to adapt to the pressures you’re imposing upon it. If you don’t give your muscles something new to do, something to surprise them and make them work HARDER than they’re used to, they have NO REASON to change. They’ve adapted to what you’re doing and they’re ready for you this time and EVERY time.
If you don’t FEEL like you got in some hard work, chances are you didn’t. Sure, psychologically you might feel like you got a good workout but your muscles won’t. They were just out for another stroll in the park. The same old same old. Yawn. Boring. Nothing new here. Your muscles can practically sleepwalk through your routines if you’ve been doing them too long.
Real advancement with weight training only comes when you damage your muscles. This is how they get stronger and bigger. And to damage them you must work them hard enough to cause microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. And, then after you’re finished working out and your muscles get to do some serious resting they will repair themselves to prepare for the next onslaught of punishment they assume to be coming at them again soon (and they should be correct in that assumption by the way).
That sore feeling you get after a hard workout is called “DOMS” and it stands for ‘Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness’ and it’s a GOOD thing. That means your muscles are repairing the damage, growing and getting stronger. And that’s what you want, right?
So, get some variety in your workout routines and watch how fast you fly off of that plateau. If you are always doing the same isolation moves like bicep curls and tricep kickbacks, change it up with some full body compound moves. Or superset your exercises. Or increase the weights you’ve been lifting (seriously, how long have you been hefting the exact same weights? have you even TRIED to get heavier with it in the past few months). You should change up your entire routine at least once every six to eight months to keep your body from adapting to anything too quickly.
Remember: Variability is your friend. Your body should feel like it just walked out of a Combat Zone when you’re finished working out. Not yet another Comfort Zone.
Work hard to get your perfect physique as dictated by the Adonis Index.
Jackie Burgmann is a Registered Weight Trainer and Registered Personal Trainer who also runs a popular fitness-oriented video blog using the pseudonym Girlwithnoname. Jackie stays in great shape by working out primarily in and around her home in the city and blogs about her challenges and successes with her fitness routines. She also manages an Online Fitness Coaching program and provides inspiration and tips for anyone else interested in getting in shape or working out.
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