Find Your Balance
It's Time To Mix It Up.
When we think about exercising, our minds usually default to “going to the gym” or going for a run.
However, there are so many different ways to get active and keep fit other than just lifting heavy things and walking really fast. There are many overall health benefits to changing up the types of exercise you do.
Benefits Of Mixing Up Your Workout
"Practice makes perfect."
This is the line we’ve all heard. If we pick an activity and keep with it, we’ll get better over time. Maybe it’s running the same path that gets easier and easier for you, or maybe you’re finding those weights are easier to lift after a while.
This is great, but at a certain point you’ll hit a plateau - meaning your body has gotten used to this exercise and doesn’t need to work as hard to complete it. Mixing up your workouts allows your body - and your mind - to avoid these plateaus, so your results don’t plateau either.
"Brain Training."
Work Smarter, Not Harder.
Different exercises target different areas of your body - changing up your workout means you can avoid overworking one part of your body and focus on others.
For example, if you’re aiming to run 5 days in a row, you’re going to be extremely sore because you’re not going to give your leg muscles enough time to rest and heal.
If you alternated between running and an activity like yoga for example, this would allow you to focus on strength and flexibility between your cardio/running days. Not only does this give your legs more time to rest, but it means you’re still getting active AND that extra strength and flexibility will improve your running too. Win, win.
Stave Off Boredom
There’s nothing worse than being bored with your workout.
Changing up your activity, switch things up and avoid that motivation-killing boredom. Use this as a reason to try something new. Maybe this is the excuse to finally try a group class at the gym, or even give something less conventional a go, like a boxing class or bouldering!
Anything that gets you moving is something to get excited about.
Different Workouts
Looking for something new?
Here’s a list of activities you can do to keep active, challenge yourself and enjoy at the same time:
- Swimming
- Yoga/Pilates
- Hiking
- Cycling
- Exercise class (spin/cycle, dance, boxercise, etc)
- Boxing/kickboxing
- Martial Arts
- Bouldering/rock climbing
- Trampolining
- Kayaking
- Surfing
- Rollerblading/roller skating
- Ice skating
You might think that some of the above don’t count as exercising, but they all involve getting you moving. Some require more focus that others - for example if you’re new to rollerblading you likely need to focus on not falling over, meaning you’re working on your overall balance AND strengthening your mind/body connection.
Choosing A Workout
While it’s fun to try any and all of the above workouts, some are going to be more effective than others in helping you reach your health and fitness goals.
Tanita’s Body Composition Monitors provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of your body’s metrics. You can use this data to guide your activity decisions, whether that’s to increase muscle or focus more on cardio.
Conclusion
Nobody said exercising had to be boring, and it doesn’t have to be! Start thinking about how you can mix up your workouts and maximise your results. With the weather being warm and sunny, get out and switch it up - it’s the perfect time to do so.