Autumn is the perfect time to transition your fitness routine.
Adjusting your workout according to the season is a great way to avoid injuries, boredom and plateaus. It gives you the chance to reassess your fitness goals, measure your progress and modify your routine in a manageable and realistic way.
Refreshing your workout routine doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re not sure where to start, follow these easy tips and spice up your fall fitness regime.
Take it indoors
Summer is the best time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather, as it transitions into fall, the sun slowly disappears. Temperatures tend to cool off quickly; so, if you are working out outdoors, remember to account for changes in the weather before planning your weekly workout schedule.
Moving your routine back to the gym is a great opportunity to try some equipment. Try incorporating a farmers walks or do sled pushes on turf, or hop on the erg (rowing machine).
If you’re exercising at home, there are tons of bodyweight routines you can try. You can even do full-body workouts that use one piece of equipment, like our kettlebell or medicine ball workouts.
Challenge yourself
If your workout routine has you hitting a plateau, it may be time to try something new.
A plateau is what happens when your body adapts to the intensity, duration or exercise, but you fail to increase the load, extend the duration or engage alternative muscle groups. When you hit a plateau, your progress is stunted.
To continue making progress, it’s important to challenge yourself. This can be done by trying a different activity, upping the intensity of your activity, increasing the heaviness of your weights or extending the duration of your workout.
Reassess your fitness goals
Every so often, it’s essential to reassess your fitness goals to account for progress, injuries, new goals and lifestyle changes.
Sometimes life is busier in certain seasons than others. When you have less time available for training, limiting workouts to 3 or 4 days a week instead of 4 to 5 days per week can be beneficial.
Once you outline your current objectives, you can begin to assemble a workout plan that suits your needs and your current fitness level.
Maybe you’ve been building muscle and neglected to work on your cardiovascular endurance. Maybe you’ve been running on the treadmill and lost muscle tone. Whatever the case, it’s important to address what you want to achieve from your fitness regime so you can devise a workout plan that grants your desired results.