I love to work out! I think I mentioned this last week, but I’m the kind of person who needs to keep my workouts new and interesting in order for me to actually do them. I wish I could be one of those people who could just run for miles and miles….but I’m not. While Shannon has excellent endurance, I’m all about the high intensity, shorter workouts-they tend to keep my interest and motivation, without which I’d likely be a lazy couch potato. And, as it turns out, I’m not the only one who operates like this. According to research, the same workout week by week can lead to muscle memory, and a decrease in calorie burn and muscle growth. However, if you mix up your workout regimen, your muscles have no time to adapt to the workout, so they’re working hard every single time you work out to strengthen and tone your muscles, as well as build endurance to a variety of exercises.
Shannon and I attended a hot yoga/ power yoga fusion class at CorePower Yoga on Friday. Having never ever done yoga before, I was pretty uncertain about the whole thing. However, being inside a 105 degree room, performing various strength, balance, and flexibility increasing exercises works up quite a sweat. I don’t even remember the last time I sweat that much…parts of my body that I never even thought can sweat (like my feet) were dripping! Needless to say, I felt like my body had done a pretty significant amount of work!
The next day, I attended a spin class at 24 hour fitness (in order to prepare for the spin classes we’ll be taking next week in La Jolla…stay tuned for future posts about this excellent spin class we will be attending)! This was another new workout for me-while I’ve gone for a couple long distance bike rides, I’d never actually taken a spin class, and let me tell you-they are challenging!! I was surprised at how hard I felt my whole body working-not just my legs! I was sweating much more than usual, and could definitely feel my body working very, very hard.
To summarize, I did so many new workouts last weekend alone, that I could actually feel my body changing and working, which is one of the most rewarding feelings possible. So I encourage you to mix it up! Even if it’s the same intensity as your usual workout, doing something different is very likely to make you feel sore and work your body even harder….which we all know only means increased muscle growth and endurance building. Plus, it keeps our mind fresh as well- working out isn’t only for your body, right?!
