06/15

The #1 Most Important Workout Trick I’ve Ever Learned

I’m sharing my workout tricks with my friends over at Glamour!

For me, it is pretty simple. I won’t work out if I find it boring. I will find 292 other ways to spend my time if my fitness regime becomes stagnant. They say “variety is the spice of life” and I couldn’t agree more in the land of fitness. My motto is mix it up to keep it up!

But there’s another serious purpose behind the variety: to fight the dreaded plateau zone. Our bodies are incredibly smart masters of adaptation. If you do the same workout over and over, your body will quickly learn and get used to the moves, creating a plateau. However, if you increase the intensity and change up your workout frequently, your body will keep on growing and changing to meet the demand, and that’s when you’ll really see results.

The key to changing up your workout routine on a regular basis is to start with something easy—something as simple as your playlist. Music helps boost our mood, and I truly believe that our thoughts and attitudes can positively or negatively affect our health. If you are bored and not putting your heart into your workouts, then you are just going to get lackluster results and nobody wants that! I’m not saying you won’t get results if you do the same exercise every day, but doing the same type of exercise that’s “comfortable” will limit the benefits. Nothing helps push you like a great playlist.

Next, it’s time to incorporate some new workouts into your routine. If you are cardio crazy, then mix in strength training and stretching. It will help you build a stronger core and, in most scenarios, make you better at your cardio too. On the other hand, if you regularly skip cardio in favor of low-impact workouts, try doing treadmill sprints to warm up first, or mix in a spin class once a week. If yoga is where you find your Zen, then you should also incorporate strength training (bonus: you will become stronger and be able to hold yoga poses for a longer time). If you love to swim, it would be good to get out on dry land and work on building your core and upper-body strength as well.

What are some of my favorite ways to sweat? I love hiking, yoga, Pilates, indoor cycling, and weights. I’m game for just about anything.