Every exercise, fitness, and muscle magazine available today gives you new ways to get faster results, get bigger biceps, or cut your fat fast. The problem is although the ideas may be anchored in truth, most develop bad habits, and go against the one idea that is the cornerstone of building the body you dream of.
Lets take a quick look at two different workout plans: First we have the regular treadmill/ bench press/bicep curl type gym workout. This type of exercise routine is absolutely terrible for the body. It focuses on major muscle groups while almost completely neglecting the smaller, less aesthetically pleasing ones that are responsible for keeping the body upright with correct posture and movement. This type of workout consists mostly of single joint movements that work one part of the body at a time. Unfortunately, this goes against all body mechanics. The body is designed to work as a complete system, a whole.
Next we have the more ambitious gym or outdoor workout. These workouts consist of more dynamic movements and use multi-joint, multi-planar movement patterns. The are a far better alternative to traditional gym workouts because they begin to teach the body the fundamentals of working as a unit. They burn more calories than single joint exercises and tend to focus on balance and coordination as well as strength and speed.
Almost any exercise program that you undertake will provide some health and aesthetic benefits. The above are simply generic samples that most people follow. Almost every fitness routine that exists falls into one of these two categories, despite all the new research and “scientific breakthroughs” that are found every day. But they all have one fatal flaw.
The secret to developing a perfect body in record time lies in change. Let me explain; We are so caught up in using units of measurement to gauge progress that we fall into the biggest trap that exists for anyone who desires to change their body. That trap is routine. Routine, no matter what type of routine or how beneficial it is, will slow your progress. The secret lies in never allowing your body to adapt to ANY workout. The more you change your workout, the more energy your body must expend to finish. The body never gets a chance to adapt to a workout and thus never becomes efficient at it. Inefficiency during a workout will give you faster results than you could possibly imagine. (By inefficiency we do not mean poor form!)I always use the example of a beginner vs. an expert in the gym. The beginner will make very fast gains while the expert makes far slower gains regardless of the fact that they know much more about the body. This is simply because the beginner’s body must exert more energy to perform the same task as the expert. The expert’s body has become efficient at each exercise and now needs to expend less energy to finish the same task.
To receive maximum benefit from your workout in far less time, you must change your routine. Not every few months when you have made the desired muscle gains or in a few weeks when you have become bored with your routine. Pick a fitness plan that constantly teaches you new things, builds on what you have learned in the past and allows you to enjoy some variety in your exercises. Coincidentally, this will keep your motivation higher by keeping boredom at bay, giving you even faster results!
