Evolution

Every now & then I fall into a workout rut or plateau.  Either I stop seeing results or I lose interest in my exercise routine.  As long as I manage to power through, I don’t necessarily think  hitting a wall is a bad thing.  If anything, changing things up keeps me on my toes…literally!. Whoever said ‘variety was the spice of life’ was onto something.  Just for fun (cray-zay eh ;)), I thought I’d do a “Then & Now” comparison:

1) Then

I’d slave away on cardio machines.  Cardio was the name of the game and weight training was the accessory I’d engage in to wrap my workout up.

Now

I’d say I’m more of an equal opportunist now, i.e. my workouts are 50% cardio and 50% strength training.  While that does mean I’m doing a lot less cardio than before, I really look forward to those sessions and find that the quality of them is ‘miles’ better (see what I did there 😆?)

2) Then

I used to think a good workout meant at least 40 minutes of cardio.   I don’t know what I was on but I once ran 15km straight on the treadmill!

Now

I know people run marathons on the treadmill but personally I need to keep my weekly ‘long runs’ to an hour max if I want to stay sane.  During the rest of my cardio days, HIIT is where it is at: 20-30 minutes of feeling like death, sweating like an animal and that, my friends, is a solid yet efficient workout!

3) Then

I had the ‘the more you do, the better’ mindset drilled in me: i.e. I would opt for lifting lighter weights so that I could complete more reps.

Now

That mindset has been slightly altered to “go big or go home”.  I lift as heavy as I can even if that means less reps.  For the first time, I’m actually loving weight training, doing it consistently, and seeing results!  Coincidence? I think not!

4) Then:

The occasional weight training I completed would primarily be on the machines.

Now:

Both provide results but I actually prefer using dumbbells as I find it engages more muscles.

5) Then:

I was all about maximising my calorie burn and so would only consider it ‘exercise’ if it left me out of breath. 

Now:

Calorie-shmalorie.  I no longer rely on the inaccuracy of the machines’ calorie counter so I have no clue what my overall calorie burn is.  As long as my body is moving, exercise is being completed.

6) Then

It would really annoy me if my workouts had to be cut short/cancelled

Now

Raining outside? Tired? Can’t be bothered?  Rest day, it is.  After all, tomorrow is another day 🙂

How has your workout routine changed over the years?