Q & A

Page 2 - Assessing Your Workout

2. Change up the intensity of your workouts
Are you one of those people who dawdles for five or ten minutes between exercises? Or are you one of those people who hit the gym every day, no matter how sore you are? Either way you need to make some big changes in your exercise program - both faux pas will cost you progress.

When you are lifting weights to build muscle, generally you want to repeat a move until you can't do another one with proper form. That's called training to fatigue. The number of reps is anywhere from five to 15 for most fitness exercisers, depending on your goals - sometimes you want to go heavier for a more intense round of muscle building; other times you want to go a bit lighter. If you can do more than 15 reps of an exercise without tiring out, you are not using a heavy enough weight and will probably not see much in the way of results. If you can't make it all the way to five reps, the weight is probably too heavy and you won't be able to do enough to see results either (this is assuming you are not an aspiring lifter or body builder - these people have their own special plans that don't apply to fitness exercisers). Results come when you work the muscles, not when you're playing it too easy or torturing yourself.

You can also torture yourself by weight training too frequently. You should always skip a day before you go back and work the muscles you just exercised - and take more time if you're really sore the day after your workout. When you lift weights you create small tears in your muscle fibers. The healing is what makes the muscles grow and get stronger. If you don't let those muscles heal before you start tearing at them again, you're risking injury, overtraining and your muscles may even start shrinking. The progress you see from exercise actually happens as a result of the rest you give yourself more than just from the work itself. The same goes with cardio activities - if you run, bike, do aerobics or any other cardio activity for too many days in a row, you risk overtraining, especially if you exercise intensely. You should always take off a day or two a week and give your body a chance to recoup.

You also need to look at your overall exercise routine - have you been doing the same set of exercises day in and day out for months and months? Your body is probably as bored as you are. When your body gets used to doing the same activity, it's no longer a challenge. Change up your routine - try different exercises to work the same muscles, try a different cardio activity, try a heavier or lighter weight and less or more reps. Do the reps more slowly. Try a new activity, like Pilates, or a new fitness toy, like a Balance Ball.

In addition to a food diary, it's also good to have a workout log, so you can see what you've been doing. Sometimes it's very helpful - and revealing - to have your workout laid out in front of you. It could be the reality check you really need.

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