Article: 5 Ways to Bust Out of Your Fitness Rut

You've been exercising on a regular basis for awhile. So, how's it working for you? Are you noticing a change in your body? Or, have you reached a plateau?

Take an inventory of your fitness results and see if your program still works for you. If it's not, then it might be time to bust out of your rut. Here are five ways to break out of your rut.

Monotonous Weight Routine

If you've been doing the exact same weight-training routine or watching videos on your old VHS player, then it's time to mix it up. Your muscles adapt to any given exercise, which is why it's important to consistently change your weight-training routine.

Increase your weight size, add more reps, or try new exercises altogether to break through your muscle-building plateau.

Over-Crunching

You do 500 sit-ups every night, and you wonder why your abs still aren't flat. It's probably because crunches strictly tend to work your rectus abdominus, just one of your abdominal muscles.

In order to truly trim your waistline, you also need to work your external and internal obliques, and your transverse abdominus. Try a variety of abdominal exercises, including Pilates-based moves, to help whittle away your middle.

Cardio Queen

Aerobic exercise is important. You need it to burn calories and maximize heart health. But, cardio is just one part of a well-rounded fitness routine. You also need strength training and stretching. And don't forget that good nutrition is a big part of your overall health too.

Rushing Your Workout

When you race through your weight-training reps, you're allowing momentum to take over, instead of using actual muscle. If you want to see more definition in your muscles, then you must stress the muscles to the point of fatigue.

Focus on lifting and lowering your weights with steady control. Take your time, and think about the muscle behind every movement that you perform.

Relying on Your Workout Only

If you are sedentary all day long, and rely solely on your workout to burn calories, then you are missing a wealth of opportunities to improve your overall fitness and well-being.

Make just a couple of small changes to incorporate fitness all day long. Park in the farthest parking space when going to the grocery store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. You'll burn more overall calories throughout the day.

via active.com