January 22nd, 2013

Another tip from your Philadelphia Personal Trainer: Breaking out of your usual routine

Same workout, same results.

If you’re using the same weights workout after workout, you may find yourself struggling to maintain strength, and you could even lose the strength you’ve worked hard to build up over the years.

What’s going on here? As I mentioned in a previous post, your muscles are made up of fibers, or cells. A big, strong man has, on average, more muscle cells than a slighter man. Likewise a toned woman has more muscle cells than a string bean. It works for both sexes. The more muscle cells you use while exercising, the more muscle you build, and in turn, the more calories you burn. This is a broad example of how it works , but it should give you the basic idea.

As you get stronger your body requires less muscle cells to do the same amount of work. While the fibers you’re using continue to get stronger and bigger, the ones you don’t need anymore tend to atrophy, leading to muscle shrinkage. Paradoxically, the muscle cells you’re still using are strengthened, while the ones no longer needed–because you’ve become stronger–get smaller. It evens out, with muscles and strength staying the same.

Making progress.

As you can see by now, it is important to vary your workout routine and challenge yourself to work harder in order to continue building muscle and getting stronger.  Just going through the motions, using the same weight over and over, will likely yield the same results, over and over. As we age and hormone levels start to dip, the same hormones which led to muscle growth and strength when younger, coupled with the same workout routine, may not even be enough to maintain your existing level of muscle.

Wanna learn more about the types of training that can help you break out of your usual routine? Stop by one of our personal training studios in Philadelphia or write us to set up three free training sessions with us!

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