Keep the body guessing with new exercises for home workouts

As we commence a second wave of COVID here in BC, modified exercise regimens will be continuing into the foreseeable future. If you aren’t feeling comfortable returning to busy gym spaces with strangers frequenting the weights and equipment, you aren’t alone. Many people are choosing to continue to work out from home as a safe and effective way to exercise during the current climate. With minimal equipment however, you may have started to notice that your current exercises are feeling easier and possibly even boring after the many months of performing the same movement patterns.

Here I want to go over a few ways to change up your regular exercises and keep your body guessing. Our bodies are amazing and they adapt to what we throw at them. If you perform 3 sets of 8 reps of 20lb bicep curls with a one minute break between sets, three times a week for 12 months – you are NOT getting stronger. The progressive overload principle dictates that we continue to progress exercise parameters frequently to continue seeing functional gains.  Another way to see functional improvements from exercise is to change up the order in which you perform your exercises. For people diagnosed with certain injuries such as rotator cuff tendinopathies, the order in which you perform rehabilitation exercises will still be very important. For the general population however, it is considered safe to mix up the order in which you perform strength and endurance exercises. Please note here that it is still encouraged that passive stretching be left until the end of your workout to reduce risk of injury.  

If you have already been effectively modifying your exercise parameters and changing up the order in which you load certain muscle groups, the next step is to progress the exercise itself. There are many great ways to progress an exercise and the progressions can change based on your functional goals. Progressing a squat for someone who is a competitive weightlifter and who needs to be able to place their joints under a few repetitions of high yet controlled loading will be very different to the progressions I’d give a runner who needs to be able to endure long periods of plyometric load and shock absorption through their joints.

Over the next few months I will be releasing videos that demonstrate a range of exercise progressions for typical muscle groups of the upper limb, back, core and legs. Please ensure that you can perform the basic exercise safely and correctly before trying the exercise progressions below.

General Guide to exercise progressions:

 General endurance parameters: 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps with a 30 second break between sets. Exercises performed 3-4x weekly.

Exercise progressions involving jumping will be great for runners and people who’s sports involve running or jumping such as basketball, soccer and volleyball. Progressions involving balance equipment will be great for those who’s sports demand fine balance and control such as gymnasts, mogul skiers, snowboarders riding park and divers. Progressions of simply adding weight will be most beneficial for people who’s functional goals are more focused on carrying, pushing or pulling heavy loads such as first responders, trades workers and manual labourers as well as wrestlers, MMA fighters and rugby players. 

Recap:

·      Change the order in which you perform your exercises to prevent habituation.

·      Progressive overload principle: Increase reps, sets or resistance/weights, reduce rest time. Stay within specific power, strength or endurance parameters to see desired results. Only progress one parameter at a time.

·      Progress the exercise.