By Swimrunner08 September 9, 2011 - 3:04pm

Changing up your workout routine is not only good for your body, but good for your mind as well. I mean, can you imagine waking up everyday and running the same course, the same time, day in and day out. Yuck. It's important to change up your daily fitness routine for a number of different reasons, namely:

1) Recovery: If you don't give your muscles the proper time to recover and hit the ground running, or the weights lifting, targeting the same muscles you did the day before - you will actually be doing more harm then good. It not only increases your risk of injury, but it also slow your progress! Remember - your muscles need time to repair themselves.

2) Efficiency: If you run every single day and do nothing else, your body - doing the same repetitious movements over and over again, will actually get more efficient at burning the calories. Therefor you will actually burn less calories than before. So make sure to change it up to have the optimal results! This is the 'plateau' that most of us dread. So, change up your routine, and that can help with avoiding the plateau.

3) Avoid burnout: If you are on the elipitcal machine every single day, at the same speed, the same incline, the same resistance for the same length of time - that monotony would get to you after awhile and really make it hard to find the motivation to do the routine daily. Adding new and exciting workouts can avoid burnout and allow for some new experiences, new friends and new-found strength!

Do you have other reasons why you feel changing up your exercise routine is important? Would love to hear (read) them...

thanks!

Lauren