Dare To Be Different

Step foot into any "big box" health club and the scene is always the same: bodies trudging along on treadmills & crosstrainers, people immersed in fixed axis machine-based training, the dude in the squat rack cranking out biceps curls and the line of ladies waiting for their turn to "shape" their butt & thighs on the 'seated' inner/outter (abductor/adductor) thigh machine.

As I go about my workout & continue with my non-traditional metabolic resistance training, I start getting these weird looks from the cult followers who've been led to believe for years that machines & split body part training is still the norm in the quest to blast fat and build muscle.

From across the weight room, I see a couple of guys cranking out endless reps on the seated reverse flye machine. Me? I'll pass and crank 'em out a different way - push-up position 1-arm lateral rear flye.

Weird? Maybe!

Does it work? You bet your ass it works! Better than the seated version.

For years, people have been led to believe that endless bouts of steady-state cardio and single-joint isolation/body part training is the only way to see progress and to make physiological changes - weight loss, body fat reduction, increase lean muscle, etc. Nothing could be futher from the truth.

Think about this. How many years have you been going to the same gym & have seen the same people? Of those people who are 'regulars', how many of them have made tremendous changes to their physique? Probably not too many. Why? Cause they do the same thing over & over again - day after day, week after week, month after month.

I know I've said this before but I'll reiterate it again - Do the same, you get the same! The same workouts, activities and classes with the same resistance, intensity and time. It's no wonder they're not seeing results! Because they're in maintenance mode. It's not change!

In order to make progress, you need to give your body a reason to change by incorporating different variables in your training program - reps, sets, loads/resistance, training systems (i.e. density training, Tabatas, timed sets, complexes, hybrids, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), etc.), shorter recovery periods, volume, duration, distances, surfaces, sandbags, TRX suspension trainer, slosh pipes, kettlebells.....the list goes on!

If your goal is to improve athletic performance, increase lean muscle, lose weight/body fat, boost your metabolism & start feeling better, then it's time to take action and time to start doing things differently. When we do the same kind of exercise all the time, we become specifically conditioned to that activity.

Why not dare to be different and try something new - and inspire others to do the same!

After all, you'll never know how good you are at doing something else unless you give it shot!

-AR