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.

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