Let's be honest. Aren't there some workout moves that have become a little ho-hum lately? Maybe you're wondering how to spice up a plank or make lunges more challenging. Don't we want to get the most out of a workout AND enjoy it too?
Here are 6 tricks to intensifying your next workout!
1. SNAIL. Let's take push-ups for example. Instead of repping them out one after another, I want you to slow down. It should take 2 breaths to get to the bottom of that push-up, and 2 breaths to rise back to the plank starting point. This is not easy, and your muscles will quiver! You will feel mentally challenged, so be sure you have your favorite music blaring.
2. RACE. We'll go with push-ups again. Without losing control and allowing your form to get sloppy, speed up the move. Go as fast as you can without getting stupid or hurt. You will be breathless and sweating in seconds, all while feeling like an Olympian!
3. HEFTY. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You are. Congratulations. Now act like it. Try lifting heavier weights and challenge those muscles to grow. If you're currently using 10 pound dumbbells, get yourself to the store and buy 15 pound weights. Unlike the scale, this is when weight matters (it's not the amount you weigh, but the amount you lift, right?). By going heavy you'll illicit the hormonal response that signals to burn fat while building muscle.
4. BOUNDARIES. Want to feel that inner burn in your next workout? Change your range of motion. Instead of squatting alllll the way down and alllll the way back up, park it somewhere in the middle and pulse that squat. Ouch! Same with push-ups: go halfway down and just hold it like a really low plank. By keeping the muscles contracted, you are working hard to fast-forward results.
5. SOLITARY. If squats, deadlifts, and bicep curls all seem mundane in your workouts, there's a really quick adjustment that transforms. It's the power of ONE. Use just 1 leg for squats or deadlifts. Use just 1 arm for bicep curls or burpees. When we single out one limb at a time, it prevents typical compensation and forces that one arm or one leg to do the work. You will feel your muscle being sculpted. Get creative with using just one weight as well for overhead shoulder presses, lunges, and farmer's walks.
6. MINGLE. Let's shock the body by intermixing heart-pounding plyometrics within our next sweat session. Every other move is to be explosive and ultra active. For example, do 10 walking lunges, then 1 sprint, then hold a plank, then do 12 squat jumps, then do a wall sit, then run up a flight of stairs, then do front arm raises, then 12 burpees. We want those muscle fibers to twitch so that muscle growth occurs while fat disappears.
So there are 6 new ways to take your workout to the next level! I encourage you to drink BCAA's before, during and after these workouts to have the endurance and stamina needed!