Hi there! I don’t have a workout for you today… I just wasn’t feeling it this week. It’s not that I haven’t been doing and teaching share-worthy workouts, it’s just that I’m a little bored with sharing them. I feel like they are usually fairly similar and although I am not going to stop doing my Wednesday Workout posts all together, I just feel like I needed a little break from the endless Pic Monkey graphics and posts. Mmmmkay?

With that said, I wanted to talk about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.

Steady-State Cardio.

A few weeks ago, a member came to my class for the first time. When I ask if anyone is new, I always go over and introduce myself and do a quick check of their physical status/ability: do you go to group ex. classes? What’s your usual workout consist of? How many days/week do you strength train? I do this so I can help them with what weights they should grab, as well as mentally know whether or not I’ll need to offer any modifications other than what I normally offer. I also tell them not to get intimidated by the moves or me yelling- I want them to be motivated and to push themselves, but I don’t want them to feel scared or like they can’t do my workouts. No such thing in my mind- there are always modifications that can be offered to bring a workout to your level.

This particular member did great throughout the class and after, when I asked her how she did and what she thought of the class, she gave me the following response:

“That class is no joke! I can’t believe how hard I worked. I’ve been coming to the gym and just doing the elliptical and walking on the treadmill for a few weeks now and haven’t worked as hard as I just did. I feel cheated!!”

Her words really stuck with me and got me thinking about all the others who are still doing what she was doing, day in and day out… pedaling along on whatever cardio machine they choose, without really pushing themselves out of their comfort zone or even into an area that leaves you feeling like “wow. that was a really great workout! I feel beat!”. If you’re taking time out of your day to workout, don’t you want to reap the benefits of it and maximize your time there? Don’t you want to notice how you’re getting stronger and/or faster or even that you can finish a cardio set without taking breaks? Don’t you want to feel like it’s worth your time?

I’m not saying you can’t get there with steady-state cardio- there are plenty of times where steady-state cardio is EXACTLY what I need- I just think you need to incorporate other workouts into your routine in addition to stead-state cardio. If you keep doing the same thing, you can keep expecting the same results. I know, I know… sometimes you just want to go to the gym and veg. out on a machine. Or you don’t really want to sweat a lot because you have such and such plans after your workout. I get it- I’ve been there more than just a handful of times and it’s totally fine! What I’m suggesting, though, is if you’re finding yourself bored with your workouts or you feel like you’ve plateaued or the gym just isn’t worth your time, TRY SOMETHING NEW! Try a new class or a new running route or a new program on the elliptical. It doesn’t have to be a big change for your body to react to it; something small is a great place to start. And, you know what? You’ll probably love how you feel after that change and want to keep trying new things… trust me, this happens to me all the time!

So, the point of this post is to get you to do a self-check of your workouts: What’s your current workout regime consist of? When’s the last time you changed things up? What’s something you want to try? What’s a fitness goal you want to achieve? I want to hear from you, so let me know what you’re thinking! And then, I CHALLENGE YOU to try something new. I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone.

Also, if you’re looking for a great article related to this topic to read, I stumbled upon this on Facebook after I drafted this post: 6 Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results from Your Workouts.