Getting the Most Out of Strength Training

Strength Training… Are you stuck in a workout rut? If you’re bored with your routine, hitting the weight loss wall or just plain losing interest in exercise, you might be on the downside of your love affair with fitness. There are ways of changing the exercises you’re already doing to make them more interesting for you and help challenge your muscles.

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How to Change Your Workouts

The key to continuing challenging your muscles is to take the exercises you’re currently doing and change some aspect of them every 4 to 6 weeks. Some simple changes include:

Changing the type of resistance you’re using

Machines, Dumbbells, Barbells, Cables, Tubing, or just body weight

Changing your posture

Lying, seated, standing, split stance, bent over, standing on one leg or using an exercise ball

Changing the movement

Using both arms/legs at once, using one arm/leg at a time or alternating sides.

Changing the exercise

For example, doing pushups instead of chest press or pullovers instead of rows

Changing the weight/reps

When adding weight, reduce the # of repetitions. When lightening the weight, add more reps (don’t do more than 20 reps of each exercise)

Adding an exercise

If you’re doing a split routine, you can do anywhere from 3-5 exercises per body part.

The trick is to do something different to keep the training effect going all the time., which means avoiding weight loss and strength plateaus. Check out the sample workout below for some ideas on how to change your own routine.

Sample Total Body Workout

Weeks 1-4

Seated Chest Press Machine
Seated Cable Row Machine
Seated Overhead Press Machine
Barbell Bicep Curls
Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks, One arm at a time
Leg Press Machine

Weeks 5-8

Seated Chest Press Machine, One arm at a time
Bent Over Dumbbell Rows, One arm at a time
Bent Over Seated Reverse Flyes, Dumbbells
Standing overhead press with dumbbells
Dumbbell Bicep curls, One arm at a time
Tricep Pushdowns, Cables
Leg Press Machine, One leg at a time

Weeks 9-12

Dumbbell Chest Flye on Flat Bench
Pushups, on knees
Lat Pulldown, Cables
Bent Over Standing Reverse Flyes, Dumbbells
Dumbbell Side lateral raise, Standing on one leg
Dumbbell Front Raise, Split Stance
Cable bicep curls, Split Stance, one arm at a time
Tricep Pushdowns, Cables, One arm at a time
Squats with Dumbbells
Standing Side Leg Lifts, Tubing