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The
Importance Of Varying Your
Natural Bodybuilding
Training
Variety is
the spice of life. Anything
done to excess is boring,
and natural bodybuilding
training are no different.
If your gains have stopped
or even slowed down, you
can get back on the right
track by adding variety to
your exercise program.
There are many excellent
ways to vary your natural
bodybuilding training.
Variation will unlock the
power of your mind and
body. This will increase
the commitment to your
training program.
One of the
secrets to maintaining
enthusiasm in weight
training is variation. It
would get boring to eat the
same thing for dinner every
night, and an exercise
routine is no different.
The best way to create
excitement and stimulation
when you try to build
muscle is to constantly
vary the elements of your
natural bodybuilding
training. This fresh
approach will increase your
intensity level
dramatically.
If you've
been using the same routine
for an extended period of
time, your body may have
gotten used to it. "The
body can't stand
redundancy," notes Dr.
William Kraemer. "If you do
the same thing all of the
time, your body's
adaptation mechanisms tend
to shut down. You have to
continually provide the
muscles with new and
different stimuli to
achieve muscle growth." If
your strength or size gains
have stopped or if you're
bored with the same old
workout, it's time to try
something new. Variation
will bring back the spark
to your training and get
you on the right track
again.
"You need
to maintain an open mind,"
says exercise physiologist
Karl List. "Don't get
attached to any one
training model. Try
different things so you can
see what works for your own
body." There are many
different ways to vary your
natural bodybuilding
training. The number or
type of exercises can be
changed. Some days you
could do three exercises
for a bodypart, and on
other days two or four.
This could mean raising or
lowering the number of sets
you do for each exercise
(so the total number of
sets remains constant), or
you could have high-volume
and low-volume days. You
could also change the order
of the exercises and/or the
order in which you train
your bodyparts. Modifying
the weights and number of
repetitions per set is
another alternative.
You could
also switch the exercises
you do. These variations in
your routine should spice
up your training, providing
a new basis for growth. New
exercises often work the
muscle in a slightly
different manner, which can
stimulate the muscle fibers
in distinct ways. Another
option is to alternate the
type of exercises, doing
only compound movements
with free weights for a
while and then switching to
machines or isolation
movements. Or you could try
concentrating on pressing
exercises one day and cable
movements the next.
Experiment
with your routine to see
which variations work best
for you. There is no reason
to stick with a group of
exercises just because you
got good results. Something
else may be even more
effective. If not, go back
to your first workout or
try yet another variation.
Variety is the key to
unlocking the power of your
mind and body, and there
are so many possible
variations that there is no
reason to be bored with
your routine. Seek out new
options. Explore the
possibilities. You'll grow
more and have more fun to
boot.
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