Stuck in a Training Rut

I would like to address this common occurrence that I see in the gym. It seems often that gym goers get stuck doing their one routine, always performing the same exercises or body part pairings in the same order, very occasionally chucking a new exercise to ‘mix it up’.

I know how fast the body adapts to exercises through training my clients so it boggles how someone can go on and perform the same routine for months or even years and not stop to question “is this still working for me?” If the answer is that you haven’t lost any body fat, gained muscle or gotten stronger on your exercises then the answer is that your programme has stopped being effective.

It is necessary to adjust what you are doing every 6-8 weeks in order for the body to not become too adapted to any one routine. The saying ‘everything works’ is somewhat true, but only for while.

The body is a survival machine and is extremely quick at adapting to any stress that is placed on it through exercise. Every time you repeat an exercise for the same number of sets and repetitions the body will expend less energy on that task, as it has adapted to become more efficient against that demand.

So if for example your heart rate monitor tells you that your burned 400 calories running for 30 minutes it might well be correct the first time you run. Unfortunately every time you repeat that time and same distance your body adapts to expend less calories so in fact you might only burn 350 calories. It’s a war of diminishing returns!

This is why it is also why it is important to focus on progression on any exercise regime as this delays adaption and will lead to better results

If you are in the gym it’s important to have a clearly defined goal and constantly work towards that. If you are repeating the same exercises over and over, ‘going though the motions’ then I guarantee that you will not meet with much success and you are pretty much wasting your time.

Imagine learning how to drive but never progressing beyond switching on the ignition? How fruitless would that be? You’d never get anywhere and the same is true with exercise.

I applaud people who consistently make an effort to attend the gym but i'm afraid attendance isn't enough. There has to be progression and a challenge to the body. The body likes 'easy gear' so unless you push a bit out of the comfort zone you will give your body no reason to change.


Fear not, there is another way!

Try drastically changing what you are going with your workouts, you will be surprised what results you might start seeing after 6 weeks of a completely different training programme. There are thousands of routines to pick and choose from online. Or you can seek the help from a professional such as myself to get a more specific and focused regime tailor made to fit your goal.

The same applies to your eating. If what you are eating has remained the same for several months or even years and you haven’t lost any body fat or gained any muscle then its time to try something different!