Shake Up Your Fitness Routine

It can be easy to fall into a comfort zone when it comes to your workouts. Maybe you run the same path around the neighborhood in the same amount of time everyday, or you take the same class at the gym. You may like the familiarity, but this approach to fitness could interfere with your health and weight-loss goals. That's because you have to continually challenge your body to slim down and get in shape. Once your body gets used to a certain exercise, it doesn't have to work as hard to respond to the physical demands you're putting on it. But change it up, even just slightly, and you force your body to work a little harder to adapt.

Plus, you're more likely to avoid injuries by mixing things up. When you do only one type of workout, you use the same set of muscles. Repeated stress on certain body parts puts them at risk for overuse injury. If you vary your workouts, you ensure that you're targeting all your muscle groups, which, by the way, also has the added perk of increasing your calorie burn. Another benefit: You're less likely to fall into a dreaded fitness rut. Let's face it, doing the same thing day after day can get boring. Introducing new exercises into your routine keeps things fresh and interesting, so you'll be more likely to stay on track.

So, does that mean you have to give up your favorite workout? Absolutely not! Having an exercise that you love is important because you're more likely to stick with something you enjoy. You can keep doing your favorite workout, but you should also try adding in some new exercises or at least shaking up your standard sweat sessions. Every four to six weeks (or earlier if you notice that your workouts aren't as difficult or challenging as they once were), switch things up a bit by:

Varying intensity. If biking outdoors is your activity of choice, you can vary the intensity of your workouts by choosing a different route; perhaps you can take a path that has more hills to make the session more challenging. If you use the treadmill, increase the grade a bit. You could also insert bursts of increased intensity into your regular workout. For example, instead of pedaling or jogging 30 minutes at the same speed, insert a few 1-minute intervals at a faster speed. This is called interval training, and it's extremely effective for improving your fitness level.

Making small adjustments. Changing your routine slightly, like going from walking to running or from jogging on the treadmill to jogging outdoors, has its benefits. Even though you're working the same muscles, you're doing so at a different angle and inflection.

Trying something new. There are so many different types of activities to choose from, including team sports, workout DVDs, fitness classes. Now is the perfect time to experiment. You may just find a new favorite activity.

Diversifying. Aim to do at least two kinds of cardio exercise each week. For example, combine your regular running workouts with swimming laps. Or if you love the bike, take one day off from pedaling to do an aerobic dance class. Just think of all the new fun ways you can get fit, like hiking, kayaking, roller blading, tennis and ultimate frisbee.