By AMANDA RUSSELL Special to The Nugget
Updated 2 days ago
Whether you are a die-hard marathon runner who lets nothing get in the way of your workout or a recreational yo-yo exerciser who tries out all the new fads, you are equally at risk for what Im calling fitness fatigue. This is not a diagnostic term, it is simply what I have labelled the burn out and bored stage in anyones exercise regimen.
It doesnt matter if you exercise seven days a week (not recommended) or twice a week, if you do the same thing over and over, you are destined to get bored and burned out from that same ol routine.
With monotony comes mood swings, dwindling commitment and less overall satisfaction in life, not to mention diminishing returns from your workouts.
A few tips to keep yourself from hitting plateaus and fitness fatigue are:
Never do the same thing twice in a row: If you rode the bike on Monday, try a workout class or video Tuesday (great videos on ARFit), join a pool and swim laps Wednesday do something different each time. It keeps your body from reaching a plateau and your mind from getting bored.
Change it up: Every four to six weeks, change up your routine. Even if you change it up on a daily basis, I recommend stepping back, analyzing and revamping your routine. Your body gets efficient at doing the same thing repeatedly, so you never want to become complacent. Whether that means running your mile intervals slightly faster, lifting more weights, or doing an extra round of ARfit workouts you need to keep your body challenged. The only way to get fitter, stronger and faster is to push yourself to new levels.
Try something fun and out of the box: There are endless ways to get active and fit, so dont confine yourself to running, biking, swimming and the gym. Look at what kids do, they are active almost all day and have fun with it. Pick something you are curious about or that you wouldnt typically think of as exercise (such as a dance class, a fun touch football league) and sign up. Youll be surprised that you can actually work up a sweat and have fun while youre doing it.
Give yourself a new goal: Whether its a marathon race you want to finish or simply be able to make it through a round of advanced push-ups set your goals in writing and maintain that goal at the front of your mind. Break larger goals into smaller more manageable steps. For example, if you want to complete a triathlon, but have not yet swam a lap, start by getting in the water two to three times per week for 15 minutes, and gradually add more each week.
Different day, different intensity: To keep shocking your body, and allowing your body to respond, repair and attain results vary the intensity. For example if you do a hard interval running workout one day, take the next day easier, maybe do a long walk, or do an upper body lifting circuit. Cross-training is often recommended, but its also important to cross train the intensity of your workouts.
If none of these work, it may be time to take a break. Perhaps the problem could be that you are just doing too much and both your mind and your body could benefit from a vacation from exercise! If this is the case, dont beat yourself up, or try to fight it, simply take some time off and let yourself come back energized and ready to go.
For motivation, inspiration, tips, tools, workouts, recipes and more visit me at www.amanda-russell.com [1] I hope I can offer you some new excitement to fuel you in your active lifestyle!
Amanda Russell, CPT, MBA, is a North Bay native who splits her time between New York City and Los Angeles. She is a fitness and lifestyle writer, professional keynote speaker, Olympic-trained athlete, celebrity fitness expert, model, spokeswoman and founder of The AR Program. On the web: www.amandarussell.tv[2], www.amanda-russell.com, www.youtube.com/amandarussell
Comments on this Article. You are currently not logged in.
Topic guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers.
References
- ^ www.amanda-russell.com (www.amanda-russell.com )
- ^ www.amandarussell.tv (www.amandarussell.tv)
Resources:
Shape Up Smarter With These Fitness Tips Yapperz – Speak out …
Shape Up Smarter With These Fitness Tips. When it comes down to it, fitness does more for you than just making you look healthy and more toned. You also want to live a long, healthy happy life. Make exercise and a healthy … http://www.yapperz.com/horacemacdon923/blog/shape-up-smarter-with-these-fitness-tips/
Enhance Your Body With These Fantastic Physical Fitness Tips …
Fitness is undoubtedly a process that everyone must partake in. Keeping fit is definitely a essential process inside our lives. You don't have to give up several hours daily to keep match quarter-hour a day can even do wonders … http://creatingtheluck.com/enhance-your-body-with-these-fantastic-physical-fitness-tips/
Replacement silicone earbud replacement tips covers fit over 50 types 30 PAIRS
2 Jun 2012 17:12:14 GMT-07:00
$6.99
End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 20:16:52 PDT
Buy It Now for only: $6.99
Buy It Now | Add to watch list
15pcs Nail Art Design Dotting Brush Painting Pen Tool Black Stick DIY Fit Tips
2 Jun 2012 17:12:14 GMT-07:00
End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 17:51:17 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
You Can Help Your Child Get More Exercise By Following These 5 Tips
Does your child get enough exercise? You can get your children more active with these 5 fun parenting tips.
Better Health in Four Steps
In just four steps, you can improve your health for the better and this article will show you how. The steps below are bite-sized nuggets of health information you can actually use to live a healthy life. Here we go… Nutritional supplements are the first step As far as I’m concerned, they are very important […]
Top 4 Nutrition Predictions in the New Year
Several food and nutrition trends were in the spotlight this year, including the continued rise of plant-based diets, non-dairy ice creams and superfoods that are blasts from the past — legumes, apples and cabbage. It can be easy to experience nutrition whiplash in the New Year, but don’t be a victim. Get a jump-start on […]
Want to lose weight? Research proves a big breakfast is the first step
If you want to lose weight, you’re not alone. More than half of Americans desire to shed pounds, according to Gallup. This goal inspires people to take action in many ways, from increasing exercise to modifying meals. One thing many people do is skip breakfast in order to lower calorie intake. While this may seem […]
Fitness Tips…? Well, Im 16 and weigh 306 pounds at about six feet in height. I just started Varsity Football for my school. Well, my coach told me that he will prefer me at a weight of 280 by about July. I just wanted any and all tips that someone can think of that will hep me with my goal and increase my football skills. Hopefullly, improving my speed, explosion, agility, strength, etc,. Is this goal attainable and what do you reccomend I do?
Hi,
I’ve tried so many different diets in the last 10 years that I can say now, they don’t work!
A few months ago, I came across a great product for weight loss (it’s actually a colon cleanse) and like many others I was skeptical about it. But I really wanted to lose weight and I tried it (it’s 100% natural). The results were excellent. I lost about 20 pounds in 2 months with this detox. That’s why I recommend you check this product at http://www.thin-quick.us where they have a free trial and you only pay $4.95 shipping and handling.
Good luck!
Fitness Tips To Prepare To Join The Army? I want to join the army, and I would like some fitness tips so I can whip my butt into shape. I’m almost 16 right now, and I’m not really in shape. Any advice from people who have any kind of military experience would be great, or if you just know some tips. Thanks!
Hey man,
You will need to build mental toughness more than anything, but you will learn that once you join.
you should start out by doing 200-300 push-ups, 200-300 sit-ups, and 50-100 pull-ups everyday. It does not have to be all at once.
You will need to get your general fitness levels up. The best way to do that is by doing this
Jumping jacks-30 seconds
shuffle splits- 30 seconds
mountain climbers- 30 seconds
burpess 30 seconds.
repeat that 3-4 times. Before joining the army you should be doing that for 30 minutes a day.
That should help you get started. If you have anymore questions, please ask.
Good luck.
Danny lupiani
Fitness Tips? I just turned 14, and weight around 90 punds. I have no muscle at all, basically. How should I get more fit? I bike ride alot during the Summer.
And does anyone know hoew to get taller faster? I get made fun of because I am,like, 5′ 2″ tall.
Im a vegetarian.
Do you know about protiens, carbs, and fats, metabolism, etc.?
when you say you’re a vegatarian, you’re basically saying you dont know much about nutrition.
go to fitday.com and learn more about food before you cut out an entire food group. start eating meat and strength train and within the next year or so (when puberty hormones kick in) you will be as muscular as you want!
-Jamie 😀
Any Fitness Tips For People With Asthma? Just need some fitness tips to help with my asthma. I want to be able to run for a longer period and have an overall better fitness level. I start losing my breath after about 1 minute of running. Any ideas and tips would be very much appreciated : )
First, you have to choose a certain kind of exercise that they really can handle well. Some exercise that might be great choice for asthma sufferers are walking, swimming, riding a bike, as well as hiking. These kinds of exercise needs less physical move than tennis, hockey, gymnastics, long distance running, and many other else. You could also consult their doctors to choose the most appropriate type of exercise for you.
Second, you can take advantage of your inhaler. You can use your inhaler about 15 minutes before you start to exercise. Besides, makes sure that your inhaler is always close enough to you. You will never know when the attack might hit you. Therefore, providing inhaler as first aid near you is very important.
Third, breathing through your nose during the exercise is also important. Mouth breathing tends to trigger asthma attack since it causes you to inhale cold air right into the bronchial tube. In contrary, the air that you heal will be filtered well when you are breathing through your nose. Besides, nose breathing also allows the air to be warmer before reaching the lungs.
The fourth thing you need to do is looking for a certain area that free from pollutions and allergens. However you should also avoid area with too many trees or grass. Then, you should also be aware of the symptoms of asthma that occur during the exercise. If you feel very tired and your chest begins to be tightening, you should be notice that those are the initial symptoms of asthma. Usually, those symptoms will be followed by wheezing. Stop doing any physical activity when these symptoms occur.
By following those tips, asthma sufferers could still have exercise with less risk of asthma attack. Do not let asthma attack prevent you to have regular exercise activity.
I Want To Lose A Few Kilos But Not A Heap, Dieting And Fitness Tips..? I weigh 58 kilos, and I don’t really want to lose too much weight, maybe 5 or 6 kilos, but I mostly just want to tone up. Do you know any dieting/fitness tips? I’m going to the gym 5 times a week, and on the days I’m not there I’m going for a run. Any tips on what to spend my time on at the gym? Thank you x
Dear Isy,
One thing you need to understand is that you have to work hard if you want to change the shape of your body. That means a balance of medium-high intensity cardio exercise along with challenging strength training workouts.
For weight loss, you’ll need to get about 5 cardio workouts each week at a medium-high intensity for at least 30 minutes. If you’re a beginner, it’s best to start slow and work your way up but, if you’re in good condition and have no restrictions, challenging yourself with harder workouts is the best way to burn more calories. Interval training is a good choice because studies show you continue to burn calories even after you’ve stopped exercising.
In addition to your cardio workouts, you’ll need to lift weights for all your muscle groups at least 2 non-consecutive days a week. And, by lifting weights, that means using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. For example, if you’re doing 12 bicep curls, you need to use enough weight that you can only do 12 bicep curls and not one more. Most people don’t lift enough weight to really challenge their muscles.
What you need to engage in is a well balanced all rounded diet with considerable physical exertion over a prolonged time period. Food can be broken down into 5 major groups. These groups are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals and water. The body needs varying amounts of these types of food so that the adequate amount of nutrients is supplied to the body. A well-balanced diet does not mean an equal amount of each type of food, as our body requires more of some nutrients than others.
Each type of food plays a significant role in our body but excesses or deficiencies of certain types of food can also harm the body and produce a negative impact on our health.
It is very important that we know how much of each type of food we are supposed to consume and that we eat in a sensible way. This means eating regular meals at “least” three times a day and drinking plenty of water, but what I would suggest is breaking it down to 5 smaller meals a day and having your last solid meal before 6pm after that you are only allowed to have pure low fat milk a mug or two would be a good idea to cut down on excessive cravings.
Hope this answers your question.
What Are Some Good Fitness Tips To Do In Your House ? Please anything helps !! its cold outside and i hate running what are fitness routines i can do to loose weight but indoors?
You can do workout DVDs, Wii fit, DDR, you can also get trainers to turn your road bike into a stationary bike. Dancing is good too.
Can Anyone Here Give Me Some Good Fitness Tips On Yahoo Messenger? I am completely clueless about fitness…
can anyone help?
Walk at least a mile a day. Get rest drink plenty of water & fluids. Avoid junk food. Eat at least 23 g of fiber a day.