"If you don't change; you can't grow!"

Of all the advice I have handed out throughout the years, this simple tip can have the most impact of all on the effectiveness of your exercise routines.

"If you don't change; you can't grow!"

When I say grow I mean develop; or achieve success.

When I say change; I mean you need variety in your exercise routines.

You see, the human body has the ability to adapt to any stress it gets put under, and in most cases this is a great attribute. Our ability to adapt is what got some of our P.O.W.'s home from war, it is what gets the contestants through the show "Survivor". But when it comes to fitness and weight loss our ability to adapt is one of the reasons it is so hard for us to achieve success!

And it is because of our ability to adapt why we have to constantly change up our exercise routines to achieve our greatest results.

Let's take cardio respiratory exercise for example. Most people find they have a favorite cardio machine, for sake of argument, let's say its the treadmill. Now you are trying to lose weight so you start walking on the treadmill 3 times per week. You do each of your cardio sessions for 30 minutes at a 4mph pace. In the beginning you achieve great success, you burn 300 calories per session and you can see your body is changing. 8 weeks go by and all of a sudden the results slow down and eventually come to a screeching halt. You did not change your diet and you are still hitting the treadmill as you were in the past. So what's the problem??

Your body has become so accustom to the treadmill that you are lucky if you are burning 1/2 the calories you were to perform the same exercise 10 weeks ago.

This is a classic example of the human body's ability to adapt as a hindrance to weight loss success. Now the way the human body functions is not going to change, we were built this way for a reason. It is what got us to this point. What has to change is your routine. When it comes to exercise, variety will be one of your major keys to success. If your used to the treadmill, get on a bike or stair climber.

This holds true for weight training as well. If you are consistently doing the same routine and not getting the results you deserve you have got to mix it up. If not you are simply going through the motions and will never make the changes you are working towards.

You need to work smarter; not harder. Simple changes in your exercise routine can separate the achievers from the people scratching their head in the corner thinking that exercise does not work.

Personally, I try not to repeat the same workout routine twice; but I am armed with the tools to do so. If you are more of a beginner, I recommend changing your routine every 10-12 weeks to avoid adaptation and those treacherous fitness plateaus that follow!