You work out every day, or at least pretty close to it. So, why don’t you feel like you’re improving on your fitness goals? You, instead, feel as if you’ve plateaued and simply aren’t enjoying the body, mind, and soul benefits of exercise you used to. The problem may be with your workout routine. Has it gone stale? Stop doing the same thing over and over (and over...)! Experts tell us there are many benefits to incorporating a wide variety of exercise and variations into your weekly routine. Consider the following:
#1 You'll target more muscles. You don’t want just one part of your body to be fit and the rest to be flabby. By doing a mix of exercises throughout the week, like squats, jogging, bike riding, tai chi, kayaking, and sun salutations, you will work a wider range of muscle groups. Doing so means you're not only working different large muscle groups but also smaller muscles that you probably can’t hit with just one modality.
#2 You get to know yourself better. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself in so-called weaker areas of fitness. Surprising yourself through a new workout challenge is a great way to boost confidence! Have you ever said, “I’m not a good runner” even though you’ve actually never put much effort into jogging? Maybe you simply don’t realize how good you could be if you took the time to add a day of jogging into your weekly routine. This new self-awareness is something that you can take outside of the gym, into the workplace and your interpersonal connections. You never know how good you can be at something until you try!
#3 You get stronger, powerful, and more flexible. A week that includes using weights to build arm strength, bike riding to boost cardio and endurance, and yoga to improve mobility and flexibility encompasses all the great movement practices. It will allow you to become a better version of yourself. Having a mix of all modalities means you become a swimmer, yogi, runner, cyclist, and an all-around better athlete. Your overall health and wellness will improve dramatically.
#4 You’ll sleep better. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. During sleep, necessary restoration of your body’s muscles and brain tissue takes place. Your body works hard to repair itself while you sleep. As well, sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). If you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble fighting off the type of infections that keep you from exercising completely, because your immune system works hard while you’re asleep. Clearly, getting enough sleep is really important to your overall health and wellness goals. A variety of fitness exercises throughout the week make better sleep possible! When your body is tired and your muscles have had a good workout for the day, you’ll fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply. Exercise is good for sleep, and sleep is good for your body!
#5 You’ll be more motivated to stick with it. If you ate the same healthy dish for each meal every single day, you’d get pretty sick of it soon. Not just that, your body would only get a small portion of the nutrients it needs because no food has every single necessary vitamin and mineral needed for overall health and wellness. You’d probably find yourself cheating and grabbing a donut before long. Just like a variety of foods are a part of a healthy diet, a wide range of exercises are needed to keep yourself entertained and motivated to work out. Yoga is fantastic for fitness, but doing the same 30-minute asana sequence everyday will get boring before you know it. One day, you’ll be tempted to skip it. Before you know it, you’ll be sedentary more days than not. By giving yourself something new and exciting to look forward to in your workout routine, you’ll ensure you don’t get so bored you stop working out altogether.
You want to stay healthy. How do you do that? By eating well, getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, and staying active. Mixing up your routine will keep it fun and fresh. You’ll wake up in the morning after a great night of sleep, excited to tackle a new fitness routine. The rejuvenating sleep that makes this happy mood possible can be achieved by spending the night on a premium mattress made by PranaSleep.
If you are worried that you are not getting the high-quality sleep your body needs and it is affecting your ability to stay fit, we encourage you to visit a retail partner and lie down on a premium mattress in-store. After your first night spent on a PranaSleep, you won’t believe how well-rested and refreshed you feel! You’ll wake up ready to tackle a brand new workout routine. Restorative bliss, the kind of sleep your healthy lifestyle needs, is a night on a PranaSleep mattress away!
