Happy Friday to everyone whether you have to go into the office this morning or take the kids to the park or just getting things done around the house or working in your home office – it’s still Friday and Friday is a great day for most of us. One of the most common questions I get asked lately is how do I jazz up my workout? Do I need to jazz up my workout? What I’ve been doing for the last year has helped me to lose 77 pounds and I feel great; should I be doing something more?
Okay, so let’s do this all at once:
You need to do what feels good to you. If you enjoy your workout and you are still feeling success in what you are doing – then you are in the right place. A workout should be equal parts good for you and leaving you feeling good.
The Ultimate Prescription
When it comes to your workout – you should have different components – you should have a good cardio program that helps you build your heart and lung strength. The cardio component also helps you build up your endurance and you’ll find yourself reaching further, easier and more regularly. As long as you are feeling some challenge in what you are doing, then what you are doing fine.
What about weight training? Weight training is great way to increase your lean muscle mass, tone up your body and burn more calories more efficiently. But do you have to weight train? There are different schools of thought on this one, but for me personally – I like to do some weight training 2 to 3 times a week in specific muscle exercises in order to not only increase my strength, but also to help with my own weight loss. I also like how I can shape myself – I like being better looking in what I wear and I like to have my clothes fit better.
Do you need a weight training program? That’s up to you. If you are looking for something different, adding a day or two of weight training can give you that. What about aerobics? Yoga? Pilates? Tai Chi? All of these activities offer you something different and each one can be beneficial, but it’s hard to do every single thing under the sun – I thought once that I would take a month where I did a different physical workout every day – whether it was yoga, pilates, biking, running, elliptical, walking, tai chi, weight training and more.
I love the different ways different exercise makes you feel – if you aren’t sure what you want to do – take a few weeks to experiment. Stick to the routine you have, but elect one or two days a week to broaden your horizons and explore. You may discover a new love or a new passion or you may discover that what you are happy with your workout.
If you are in the maintenance phase, this is great – if you are looking to do more with your workout – to either lose more weight, reshape the lines of your body or just to have a lot of fun – change it up every 12 weeks or so.
Tell me, what would you like to do with your workout?
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