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Health and Fitness Tips

Ways To Advance Your Routine

Many of my clients reach a plateau with their weight training. Especially when they are using dumbbells. They come to me and ask, how can I continue to advance with my weight training goals.

The speed and intensity of these dumbbell workouts will not only improve your muscularity and strength, but also will help burn fat. If you really want to stoke the fat-burning furnace, though, add some cardiovascular intervals into the mix.

After following any routine for a lengthy period of time (about 8 – 12 weeks), your body will adjust and your efforts will stop yielding the results you saw early on in the program. The key to continued results is change. Try these tips to switch things up and help sustain your progress.

*Decrease your rest periods. If you've grown accustomed to 60 seconds between sets, try 30 instead.

*Increase resistance. Are you training too light? Try upping the weight 5% - 10% to further challenge your muscles. Also, experiment with fewer repetitions (5-8) and go even heavier occasionally.

*Change your speed. Count to five as you lower weights to accentuate the negative portion of the exercise.

*Increase volume. If you have been doing two sets per exercise, add another set. And, if you feel like you can handle more, add one more.

*Vary the order of exercises. Try doing the workout in reverse order, or alternate the exercise within each compound set.

*Switch to straight sets. Instead of using compound sets, do 2-4 sets of one exercise before moving on to the next.

*Learn New Exercises. Keep your routine fresh by adding new exercises ever two months. Just make sure they work the same muscle group they are replacing.

After you have reviewed the above suggestions, pick a few that will help you break out of your plateau. And remember that you will need to refer back to the above list at least 4 times a year maybe more. Keep those muscles guessing.

Rick Gusler is a certified personal trainer and diet nutritionist who serves his clients through Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center in central Denver. To schedule a free consultation, or to learn more about the Gusler method of body sculpting, spin yoga, or Rick's Boot Camp, please contact him at 303.860.7131 or online at www.guslerbodysculpting.com.

Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center, LLC
459 Acoma Street · Denver, Colorado 80204 · 303-860-7131
Hours: Monday-Friday: 6am-8pm · Saturday: Closed · Sunday: Closed

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