Change it up - FITT principle.

Isn't it great, today I think is the first time in a while that it is not really, really cold outside. It makes me look forward to some warmer days ahead. And it reminds me that soon it will be time to start thinking about summer holidays... remember, summer bodies are made in winter!!

So, you are one of the lucky ones, and are at the stage where you enjoy going to the gym, going for a walk/run, or other, a few times a week. And yes, you are lucky that you are able to workout, and that you enjoy it! There are many, many people out there, who, for whatever reason, either cannot exercise, or if they can exercise, do not have the motivation to. I guess that is partly why I write these blogs! I love to try and get people motivated to do some regular exercise and have a healthy diet. Onee you have these two things combined, you really are onto a winner! You will feel great both physically and mentally.

Anyway, back to the subject of this post. It's all about change. If you have been doing the same workout more or less for the last few months, it's time to change. Your body gets used to doing the same thing all the time, and it stops reacting and adapting. You will reach a plateau and might even get demotivated if you are not seeing changes. In fitness, you have to create an overload to get changes from your body.
Some of you might have heard of the FITT principle. Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type. In order to create change in your current fitness routine, look at each of these and change one at a time.

Frequency: If you are currently working out three times a week, why not make it four times.
Intensity: If you are a runner, why not introduce interval training or threshhold running? In the gym, increase the intensity of your cardio, try going slightly heavier on your weights. etc
Time: Look at each of your workouts, could you run for longer? Could you add more exercises to your gym routine? Could you add more sets?
Type: Why not change they type of workout you do? If you run on the treadmill, you could try incline walking at a brisk pace. Or try out the rower. If you currently do purely cardio, introduce some resistance training. Outside of the gym, if you walk, try jogging. Try swimming, dancing, etc. Anything that gets your heart rate elevated is good!

So, there you go. If you currently do little or no exercise, start doing something today! If you do have a current exercise routine that hasn't changed in a while, then it's time to change it up! You have got to keep progressing and keep your body challenged and guessing, in order to get the best results!