Michele Maroldo

When your exercise routine becomes a bore and you don’t see results in the mirror, it may be time for a change. Read on and follow these easy steps to get your routine and your body back on track.
You’ve been working out for months, you’ve got your routine down pat, and when you first started you saw significant results. Now that the months have past, you’re seeing less and less results. What gives? You’ve reached an exercise plateau. You might find this hard to believe given the fact that you’re still exercising so I’ll give you an example. A man of average size and build begins a job as a construction worker, when he first begins his muscles are very sore at the end of the work day. Each day that goes by he becomes less and less sore until he no longer feels muscle soreness. He begins to notice that his arms are becoming more muscular and well-defined due to swinging a hammer all day. However, in time he no longer sees growth in his arm muscles, they remain the same despite his continuing to swing a hammer day in and day out. Why these results? His body has become accustomed to this motion and it’s no longer a challenge to his muscles because he uses the same weight of hammer every day.

So how do you continue to challenge your muscles? You must revamp your routine every so often, as your body will become accustom to a daily routine of exercise. The first step would be to increase your weight resistance as your muscles become less challenged with the current weight you’re using. Depending on the exercise you are performing, increase your weights in 5 pound increments. Some exercises, however, will not allow for a 5 pound increase. An example of this would be most shoulder exercises like side lateral raises. You may only be able to increase the weight when performing this exercise by 1 pound increments. If you don’t have access to dumbbells or there are no dumbbells increasing by 1 pound you can try performing your shoulder exercises using a shoulder machine or cable crossovers.

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So I’m training at the gym, headphones on, music cranked, and here comes “Mr. Muscles” . . . “Can I get a spot?” Sure, I think to myself, I’ll stop what I’m doing, shut off my music, take off my headphones, and give you a spot. Which, to be honest, I really don’t mind. I figure you’ll look more ridiculous if I have to come and lift 225lbs off your larynx. I also am not exempt from asking for a little help every now and then.

At any rate, the guy was bench pressing, I believe there was 255 on the bar and he wasn’t exactly “small” by any definition. I immediately ask if he would like a lift-off to which he gives no response because he still has his headphones in his ears and he can’t hear a word I’m saying. I make no effort to aid in a lift-off and he proceeds to crank out a good 8 reps. By the 9th rep, he needs my help. He is able to get it off his chest but fails midway through the motion. I am there to help him push it through to the top of the rep. Then he does something that drives me mad, he proceeds to utter the words, “One more!” I immediately think to myself, are you crazy, you couldn’t get the last rep by yourself and there’s no way you’re going to be able to get another, besides, I just trained biceps yesterday. As quickly as the thought exits my mind, he proceeds to drop the bar to attempt another rep. As predictable as rain, he barely gets it off his chest and then comes to a complete stop. I quickly grab the bar but I refuse to lift it off of him, I make him work for it and work hard. He grunts, he groans, he squirms, and pushes with all his might and half of mine, to complete the rep. Red-faced and sweat pouring down his head he gets up, gives me a half of a smile, and a nod of gratitude. I walk away wondering if he’ll be hard pressed to ask for my spot again.

At the other end of the spectrum lies my recent experience in my quest for a bench press spot. Not recognizing any of the usual members I occasionally acknowledge with a nod and a smile, I look around for someone I think I can trust to not get myself injured. I spot a guy with some decent size who is working out nearby and is executing his particular exercise with perfect form. I think to myself, he’s got some weight training knowledge, he’s not new to the gym, and he doesn’t look like an ax murderer, so I’ll go over and ask for a spot.

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We hear so much about exercise and exercise routines whether it’s weight training, aerobic exercise, yoga, pilates, aqua-size, martial arts, and the like. But we don’t hear often enough about the importance of stretching.

Stretch before, during, and after exercising
Stretching before exercising is beneficial in that it helps in warming up the muscles and joints to be used. There is, however, one word of caution; you should never stretch a cold muscle. Cold muscles are short and tight, if we stretch them in that state we run the risk of immediate injury. For example, if you’re going to stretch your arms, you could begin with some arm circles. If you’re going to stretch your legs you could run in place or jump on a stationary bicycle for 5 minutes. The idea is just to get some blood and oxygen to that area of the muscle that is to be stretched.

Stretching during exercise is beneficial because it helps to lengthen the muscle. This is important because it will give us a full range of motion which is needed if we want to receive maximum results from training a specific muscle. This in turn will enhance the muscle’s ability to perform. The better a muscle is able to perform the stronger it will be. Stretching helps you become more flexible, as you increase your flexibility you will improve your posture and balance.

Stretching after exercise is beneficial also because it helps reduce the amount of toxins and lactic acid built up in the muscle. This in turn will help prevent or reduce the amount of soreness to the muscle trained. By stretching after exercise you can help keep the muscles and tendons loose and flexible as they have a tendency to tighten when cool. Stretching after exercise is also a good way to relax the entire body and mind.

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