Varying Excercises

How should I vary my exercises and workouts? 

And what are the benefits?

Before we get to how you can vary your exercises in your workouts and the best methods you can follow, let's take a look at some of the biggest reasons why you should consider following this approach, especially if you're looking to build muscle and strength:

1. Prevent boredom: Performing the same exact same exercises for the same reps and sets over and over again can quickly cause your workout sessions to feel tedious, which can make become difficult to feel motivated and consistent. When you start to feel this boredom, you're more likely to cut workouts short (or even worse, skip them altogether), which can drastically hurt your progress. By varying your exercises, you can keep your workouts more fun and challenging, which can help you stay engaged and motivated. This can be especially important if you're new to lifting weights and trying to build a consistent workout routine.

2. Prevent plateaus: After some time, our muscles begin to adapt to the demands placed on them. Performing the same exercises with the same weight and reps every time you work out will eventually cause your muscles to adapt and slow growth. This is known as a plateau. By varying your exercises, you can challenge your muscles in new ways, which can help prevent plateaus and promote continued growth. For example, if you always do a flat bench press with a barbell, consider using dumbbells once in a while to switch things up and challenge your muscles in a new way.

3. Target different muscle groups: Obviously, different exercises target different muscle groups (meaning chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs). By switching up these exercises, you can make sure that you're targeting all of these muscle groups and promoting balanced muscle development in the quickest time possible. This is important for overall health and fitness, as well as for aesthetic purposes. Focusing only one on one or two muscle groups can lead to imbalances that can further lead to poor posture or injury.

4. Reduce the risk of injury: Doing the same exercises repeatedly can increase your risk of overuse injuries, such as tendinitis or stress fractures. This is because repetitive motions can place strain on the same joints and muscles over and over again, leading to inflammation and pain. By varying your exercises, you can reduce your risk of overuse injuries and promote joint health. Additionally, by incorporating exercises that target smaller stabilizing muscles, you can improve overall joint stability and reduce your risk of injury.

5. Improving overall fitness: Incorporating a variety of exercises into your workout routine can help improve your overall fitness by promoting cardiovascular health, balance, flexibility, and coordination. For example, doing bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups or lunges, can help improve your balance and coordination, while incorporating plyometric exercises, such as jump squats or box jumps, can help improve your cardiovascular health and explosiveness.

Overall, varying your exercises is important for your overall health and fitness journey, preventing boredom and injury, and promoting continued muscle growth. When designing your workout routine, aim to incorporate a variety of exercises that target different muscle groups and use different equipment, such as dumbbells, barbells, and resistance bands, for the best results. Additionally, be sure to incorporate exercises that challenge your balance, coordination, and cardiovascular health for a well-rounded workout routine.