If you are not particularly excited about doing the exact same exercises you did yesterday, then it is time to change things up a bit. Even those most dedicated to achieving the greatest heights in physical fitness can fall into exercising doldrums. You must remember that your brain craves new stimulus and doing the same exercises or exercise routine every time does not provide your brain with the new stimulus that keeps it happy and functioning at its best, and in addition to your brain needing new stimuli so does your body. If you continually do the same exercises your body and muscles begin to adapt, meaning that once the challenge is gone so are your results. A body that becomes accustomed to the same set of exercises starts to lose interest, so to speak and in doing so you reach a plateau.
This is why even though you want to get more fit and you know that you have to exercise your body to do that, sometimes you just do not feel motivated to do it. Your brain as well as your body are bored with the same old routine. Give your brain and your muscles something different to look forward to and actually obtain even more fitness at the same time; begin a cross training program.
To cross train means to use a variety of exercising forms instead of just concentrating all of your workouts on one form. Lift weights one workout, swim a few laps around the pool the next. Hop on the treadmill and perhaps yoga for the workout after that. Make sure that the majority of your workouts are strenuous workouts to raise your heart rate and better benefit your body and fitness level. Yoga may not raise you heart rate all that much as the movements are slow and controlled, but the stretching of the muscles and toning of the body and other benefits from yoga are worth at least a consideration as an exercise to keep things fresh for your mind.
Alternating between various forms of exercising gives your brain new stimulus and keeps your motivation level high. It also means that all areas of your body will be getting regular attention and a work out to grow and maintain high levels of fitness.
Changing up your exercise routine also allow strains and other minor injuries from over exertion on one type of exercise and time to heal before returning to exercising the affected area of the body. Athletes have long used cross training to alleviate the pressure of training for a single sport and continuously straining the same muscle groups and joints in the body.
When you cross train you are actually training your body to become an athletic powerhouse. You will increase your fitness to greater heights and find that your performance abilities have been enhanced as well. You do not have to be an athlete or even athletically inclined to cross train or receive great benefits from it. You do not even have to change every workout with a different one if you do not want to. Simply including one or two different workouts into your regular exercising will do. Some people enjoy mixing various forms of exercise into single workouts, and you may like doing this as well.
Those wanting to build stamina and extend their endurance further may want to create an exercise routine that begins on a lower level and gradually increases the intensity of the workout in steady increments to higher intensity levels.
Do not get so caught up in finding forms of exercising to cross train with that you choose those that you do not really like. Your brain is a very powerful and influential muscle in your body. If it is forced to be a part of exercising it does not like, it will convince you to quit real quick, trust me. Keep your brain stimulated and happy, your motivation to pursue fitness high, increase the benefits from exercising, and turn your body into an athletic powerhouse. Cross train and you can have all of this.
