why not every day?
Yes, I know, hearing anything that talks about "muscle confusion" seems like a great idea and the best way to get your body to respond. But is there such a thing as too much muscle confusion? YES. Think about it this way: if you performed all new exercises EVERY SINGLE DAY, wouldn't you get frustrated when each exercise felt like a new skill to master? Wouldn't you like to go to the gym knowing that you have good form on at least some of the exercises in your routine? I know I do... AND, let's take a second to talk about soreness. You know how sore you get after doing a new exercise for the first time? Do you REALLY want to be that immobile every day of your life? NOPE.
So if we aren't going to change things up every day, how do we know when to change things? It's a fine line here, because you want to change things the least amount of times you can WHILE STILL challenging your body. So: why not every 3 months?
Every 3 months seems like it would be a good idea, because you would give your body plenty of time to master a movement, but honestly, your body is WAY smarter than that. 3 months is a long time to do the same thing over and over and I promise that your body will get bored and plateau! No one wants a plateau.
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why not every month?
Yes, your body IS amazingly capable of adapting, but one month doesn't give it that much time to master something. Think about it, if you perform a two day split routine for 4 weeks, you are only performing each exercise 4 times before you move on to new exercises. It sure takes me longer than 4 tries to learn something new!
the "perfect" number:
This leaves us with the middle ground... somewhere between 4 weeks and 12 weeks. Let's continue with our example from above: if you perform that two day split for 6-8 weeks, you get 6-8 days to master each exercise! That's plenty of time to progress.
What about getting bored? The longer you perform a workout, the more likely you will get bored. One way to eliminate that is by performing the same exercises in different ways throughout your routine. This is the exact reason I designed my workout cycles to progress like this. Each of your 6 weeks contains the same exercises, but each week has a slightly different goal. If that kind of layout sounds appealing to you, take a second to look more in depth look at how my plans are organized here! Alright, you are now READY to tackle your workout routine with CONFIDENCE. Go forth and LIFT YOUR LIFE! Pin now, reference later!
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Some terminology to note before reading:
PULLING - any movement that pulls a weight towards your body (deadlift, row, etc) PUSHING - any movement that pushes a weight away from your body (bench, squat, etc) 1. "micro" gloves
2. straps
3. extra pulling grip
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2 things to note:
how to use these in YOUR workout routine
My general guidelines are:
Even though I give these guidelines, EVERYONE is different. What might feel good to one person might feel bad for the next. I happen to have a client who has tried a mixed grip and Versa Gripps on her heavy deadlifts and doesn't like either! Do whatever feels best for you, these are just tips to help you find that! What types of gloves/straps do you like? Let me know by leaving a comment! Pin now and save for later!
I tried making my own cleaners at home. You've probably seen all the recipes on Pinterest for natural cleaning products you can make with just a few ingredients (lemon juice, castile soap, essential oils, white vinegar, etc). I got all excited, bought my supplies and... it was kind of exhausting! Yes, I knew what was going into my cleaners, but I felt like I had so many "supplies" around the house that I was left with the same mess of bottles and potions that I had before I started. It was too much measuring too, and being an anti cooking book kind of home cook, measuring is just NOT my thing. Anyway, I tried to stick with it, but one day I happened to listen to a life changing podcast from an awesome girl.
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she recommended... Branch Basics.
I promise you, the day I listened to the podcast I checked out their site. A couple days later... SOLD. At the time, we were renovating our dream home and I felt like it was the perfect chance to get a fresh start in creating a healthy (and clean) home environment. Once my shipment arrived, I was HOOKED. I filled all my bottles, started cleaning and HOLY CRAP does this stuff clean well. Their "streak free" bottle really does live up to its name! Our granite counters? Sparkling. Here is the REAL test though. This might be a bit TMI, but I'll tell you anyway. I have a workout top that I have had for a while now, and let's just say that the pit stains on the inside of it are pretty nasty. These pit stains have been there forever (you can't see them from the outside of the shirt), but one day I decided to spray a bit of the "all purpose" bottle onto the stains. I let it sit for about two days before I put it in the wash. Once it came out... the stains were gone.
On top of Branch Basics working so well, I think what I like the most is that I have full control over how I mix the formulas. I love the color coded system, and I like how all I need is ONE bottle of concentrate, so I only have to worry about running out of ONE thing! I also love that it's fragrance free because I have super sensitive skin and avoid strong fragrances. I can use this stuff without dish gloves! I will say though, I do make my potions a bit more customized than just altering the level of concentration (per bottle instructions). Even though I am sensitive to synthetic fragrances, essential oils are something I love. So what do I do? I just add some drops of oils (lemon, lemongrass, lavender, eucalyptus, etc) to the bottle. The smell fills the room as I clean, I know it's safe and it adds some extra cleaning power! What's not to love, especially when you get get $10 off your first order with the link below!
Click here for $10 off your first order of Branch Basics!
Alright, here's the summary. Typical cleaners aren't safe. Most "green" cleaners aren't actually healthy either. Making your own cleaners (while effective) can be a pain in the butt. Branch Basics comes in and saves the day with an easy system, awesome product, pretty packaging, and great customer service! Are you sold yet? If you are, awesome! If you aren't, try their starter kit, it's only $5!
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AuthorMy name is Laura and I help overly tired 20something women overhaul their lives, energy and confidence without overwhelm. Categories
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DISCLAIMER:
Although I am a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and write to the best of my knowledge on fitness, nutrition and lifestyle practices, I cannot be made liable to know all information on a particular subject. Knowledge gained through this blog is to be used at your own risk and all lifestyle changes should be discussed with a doctor before starting. I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I do receive a small reimbursement for sales made through the links provided on my blog.  |
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