The gym is a fascinating place full of never ending ideas. Sometimes though, it can be really hard to not get stuck in the same old routine. Trust me, I have been doing this for quite a while and there are times when I’m just like, “oh my gosh I feel like I do the same thing allllllll the time!” And that is when I know it is time to switch up a few things in my workouts. Most of you may work with trainers, so you hopefully get ideas from us on what to do when you are not training, but in case you are feeling a lull in your own workouts, here are a few things that I like to implement into my routines when I feel stuck!

Number one: I like to challenge familiar exercises. I really enjoy taking exercises I have been doing for years, and then changing a few things about them to make them more challenging for myself. A few examples might be things like adding a bosu ball to Romanian deadlifts for increased difficulty in balance, or adding kettlebells to my skull crushers to put the majority of the weight in a different spot on the lift. The point is, I take any old exercise in the gym, and then I ask myself what I can do to make it more of a challenge.

The second thing I like to do (and this is one of my favorites recently), is change up the rep and set range to be something entirely different. I will take an exercise like the bosu squat, and instead of doing 4 sets of 15 reps, I aim for 60 reps total, but every time I fall off the bosu or go to a failure rep (meaning I cannot push out anymore), I do walking lunges down and back in the field. This concept of shooting for an end goal number really helps me challenge myself in that I am doing much more than just shooting for 10 or 15 reps.

Hopefully this helped you get some ideas on how to change up your workouts a little bit and remember, you do not have to feel embarrassed or afraid at NoCo Fitness to try out new things that seem a little odd. We don’t want anyone getting hurt, but if your new exercise is fun and won’t put you in the hospital, you should totally do it and show us so we can use it!