Switch it up!

The body is an amazing thing and adapts easily to workouts. To see improvement and make gains, switch up your workouts regularly and keep your body guessing! 

Cardio 
I used to be one of the cardio bunnies in the gym, spending a good 45-60 minutes at a steady pace. There is a reason I wasn't seeing results! Doing cardio at a steady pace for a long period of time is not an efficient way of burning calories or changing your body. Unless you are training for a race (or you just love to run) I really don't see the point in logging hours and hours of cardio per week. 

ways to switch it up:

-intervals: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a very efficient way to do cardio. Not only are you burning more calories in a single workout, but your body will continue to burn more calories when you are done. Interval training is a combination of full intensity and recovery. Another benefit of HIIT is that the workouts are shorter! You can complete a great HIIT workout in 25-30 minutes. HIIT can be done on any type of cardio machine and even outside! 

-inclines:  Walking at a high incline (10+) will keep your heart pounding and is a great workout for your legs too, you can also run at smaller inclines for a great sweat 

-circuit training:circuits are a way of performing exercises one after the other with no break in between to keep your heart rate up during the whole workout. I posted a circuit workout here

Strength
Muscle memory is an amazing thing and if you want to make progress, don't do the exact same workout more than 2 weeks in a row

ways to switch it up:

-change your reps/sets 
-increase weight 
-change up the exercises performed
-rearrange the order of exercises
-muscle groups (i.e back and biceps vs triceps and biceps)


A great tool to keep track of workouts is the Jefit app available for free in the app store! 

gorgeous sunset after the gym the other night 

trying to make progress on my stomach/abs!