3 ways to changeup your workouts

We always want to change our exercises every time we train but that is not always needed. In fact our bodies adapt to the sets/reps scheme before it does to the exercises. So why are we always just changing our exercises?! Maybe because it is easier or maybe because most people just don't know what else to do. Below are three strategies to try next time you workout to change things up.


1. Play with the tempo- a simple thing to change is how long you take to lift the weight up and down. Most people will just throw weights around and pay little attention to this thus making it a great thing to start changing! Slow eccentric tempos ( the lowering phase of a lift ) is going to produce major muscular damage and should be done sparingly. The concentric phase (muscle shortens and contracts phase ) can be changed to elicit a response to the body as well. Try using a 3-5 sec tempo on both phases and see what the extra time under tension will do for. Expect tears.



2. Wake up your nervous system-Whaaaaattttt??? Yes your nervous system, because it has direct control over your muscles. If you walk into the gym straight out of bed or right from work odds are not only are you half asleep but so is your nervous system. If your nervous system is "asleep" then you will not be able to recruit all your muscle fibers to produce maximal force. Below is a quick way to fire up the nervous system from Chad Waterbury.

 * Do this before you start lifting. If you do not have somewhere to spring then do jump squats for 10sec
Jump rope 1 min
15 sec rest
Run at your top speed for 10sec
15 sec rest
Hang from a pull-up bar for 15sec



3. It is all about angles-Lifting comes down to angles just ask any old school Golds lifter. If you always do incline with the bench at a 40 degree angle, switch and do it at a 30 degree angle. If you always do lunges straight forward, start doing them at 10 and 2 o'clock or backwards. Simple changes will lead to you hitting more muscle fibers.