As the great Albert Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Working out without seeing the desired change in your body just isn’t fun. The bottom line with fitness and weight loss is if you are exercising regularly and not seeing improvements, something needs to be adjusted. If you have hit a weight loss plateau try changing one of the following F.I.T.T principles to break through. 

FREQUENCY – How often are you currently exercising? If your answer is less than 5-6 days per week you have room to add extra days into your schedule.  Try to avoid working out seven days a week as your body needs adequate rest to fully recover. Also, avoid strength training the same muscles two days in a row or if you are still sore from a previous workout.   

INTENSITY– How hard are you working? Rate your workouts on a level 1-10 with how hard you are exerting yourself. Try to maintain a higher level of intensity during your current exercise routine. Interval training is a great method to vary your intensity. This consists of bursts of high intensity exercises mixed in with less strenuous ones. 

TIME – How long do you spend on each exercise session? Increase by a few minutes each week if this is the method you wish to use. I know what you are thinking, ‘I don’t have time enough as it is.’  

The best news in this category is that you can accumulate activity throughout the day, even in 10 minute increments. If you don’t have enough time to complete your workout all at once you can return to it later in the day.  Great news for those of us with chaotic schedules.

TYPE – What kind of exercise are you participating in? Try something new and you will be forced to use muscles in new ways. 

If you have not changed your exercise regimen in years, chances are you have become efficient at completing the necessary movements. When this happens your body needs less energy to accomplish the same task. This is great when we are talking about skilled athletes trying to take their game play to the next level, but not such great news for the rest of us who are just trying to burn calories. 

Add strength training to your cardio workout or try swimming instead of walking to add variety.

Remember to take it all in stride and don’t try to change too much too fast. Generally, it only takes one small change to get you back on the road to losing weight. 

Set up goals each week and track your progress so you can see where you came from and where you are going. This will help you to stay motivated and avoid future plateaus.  Most of all find an activity that you look forward to and enjoy and your success will be right around the corner.