Human beings are creatures of habit. Many of us can think of something we do at the same time every day in the exact same way. Routine is good, but when it comes to doing the same exercises with the same amount of intensity (weight, speed, etc.) for a chronic amount of time, you can actually hinder your body’s ability to make gains.
If your goal is strength gain make sure to slowly keep increasing the weight you are using for each exercise and make sure your repetition range is conducive for meeting your goals (see table below). If you are trying to increase your speed, try adding interval training into your running, biking, and or swimming routine. An example of speed training is to pick 1 day a week where you increase your race pace for short bursts of time. For example you could have an interval session where you focus on sprints of 200m or 400m followed by an appropriate recovery period. As you build up to race day, those intervals could then be extended to 400m/800m or even 1km (1000m) speed sessions, where you are running much faster than race pace.
Whatever the goal may be remember to “shake up your routine” and you will see great results!
| Type of Resistance Exercise | Repetition Range |
| Strength | 8-12 reps |
| Power | 3-6 reps |
| Endurance | 10-25 reps |
About the Author
Krista Kottraba-Pancich has a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Health, is AHA/CPR Certified, and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer at the Ridge Athletic Clubs.