7 Ways to Break out of a Rut

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

The way we exercise goes in cycles. The average cycle is about 12 weeks, but of course it varies for different individuals. The 12-week cycle begins whenever you start a new exercise regimen or routine. You'll get going. You'll exercise daily, you'll start burning calories and you'll start feeling your muscles pumping. You'll likely feel some euphoria and higher energy on a daily basis as you get going and maintain it. Life will be great.

Sometime around week 12 though, something will come up and you may cut your work out short. The next day, something comes up and you can't do the workout. You catch a cold and you take a break for another couple of days and by the time you get back to your workout, it just doesn't have the same oomph for you that it did before. You can't seem to stick it out for day after day the way you were managing before.

What's wrong?

You have Reached a Rut

The problem isn't that you stopped working out for a couple of days. The problem is that our workout regimens should change about every 12 weeks to keep the body and the mind challenged. Yes, you can walk daily and still reap the benefits of it, but eventually your energy output will match your energy input because your body adapts to the physical challenges and demands you put on it. If you recognize that every 12 weeks you need to shake it up, you can challenge yourself and you can keep yourself interested in what you are doing physically.

Here are 7 ways to break out of that rut and get yourself moving and motivated once more:

• Get a Workout Partner - Mentally speaking, a workout partner is one of the better forms of motivation - if you get someone to work out with you, you give yourself another reason not to miss the workout, you have someone to talk to and you have someone to compete against or to inspire - all of the above are great ways to break out of a rut
• Hire a personal trainer for a session or five - Periodically updating your workout with a personal trainer's assessment can give you new routines, help you overcome problems and keep your workout fresh for you
• Book a Vacation to a Hot Spot - When you plan a vacation to a place where you will be wearing a swimsuit - you give yourself more motivation to keep going - you'll also train to increase your endurance for the vacation so you can enjoy swimming, riding, hiking and more
• Join a Team - A team of cyclists will push themselves further in a group than they will individually, so will a team of runners and mommies and more
• Every 12 to 16 weeks - drop your exercise routine down to 10 minutes a day, 7 days a week for 2 weeks. This is similar to the idea of cross-training, but 10 continuous minutes of exercise a day can really jumpstart your workout
• Change When You Work out - Do you normally work out every morning? Switch to working out at lunch. Do you work out work out every day at lunch? Switch to working out in the morning. Altering your daily workout time can actually provide you with the new challenge and impetus you were looking for
• Pick a sport or activity that you want to achieve in and start training for that - for example you can train for a marathon or maybe you want to improve the speed at which you run a mile or maybe you want to finish a 40-mile bike ride - changing the reason you workout can have a profound effect on your workout

How do you break out of a rut?

Related Articles:

Top Five Reasons to Walk More

Fitness Funnies and Motivators

How to Host a Fitness Party

Top 5 Weight Loss Motivators

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger