29 Oct Five tips to freshen up a stale workout: Part II

Even some of the most fit people out there can fall into a fitness rut, where it seems hard to break out of a plateau. To get yourself going again you need to change things up.
Here are five tips to freshen up your workout in the second of a two-part series:
1. Change up your workout time – If you always exercise in the morning before going to work, try doing at least some of your workouts in the evening or vice versa.
2. Split your routine – Focus on different training aspects on different days. For instance, on Mondays and Thursdays focus on strength training, while going more heavy on cardio on other days. Find the schedule that meets your needs and will help reach some of the goals you’ve set.
3. Interval training – Consider doing speed intervals and perhaps adding incline intervals to build more endurance and strength.
That is, for speed intervals run at a faster pace for 4-6 minutes at say 7-9 on the treadmill speed then return to your normal comfortable speed 1-2 minutes before kicking it up again. For inclines, put the treadmill at an incline of 1 to start and when you’re comfortable you can take it to a higher level.
Gradually increase your effort level with the speed and incline intervals but if you stick with it should make a noticeable difference in your fitness level.
4. Eat better – Give yourself better fuel and it will naturally improve your performance.
5. Try something new – Find a new sport or exercise you haven’t done in a while or at all that will help you get exercise in a different way, such as bike riding, basketball, tennis or martial arts.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com