Scientists reveal key and common mistake that that’s guaranteed to make your January fitness drive fail

According to experts, repeating the same workout routine over and over again could spell disaster for your fitness kick in the new year.

It can even be harmful to go to the gym day in and day out. Scientists recommend taking a full week off from intense fitness every four to six weeks.

According to exercise professionals at Anglia Ruskin University, sticking to the same routine won’t put enough strain on the body to bring about physical changes such as muscle building and weight loss.

That’s because after a short adjustment period, the body becomes accustomed to the same level of exertion and does not need to create new muscle tissue or use oxygen better to meet the demands.

Instead, you should change your routine every month to promote what the experts call “homeostasis disruption”: the process by which your fitness improves.

To write The conversationthe experts – including professor of exercise physiology Dan Gordon – explain: ‘When we adapt physiologically, we adjust our homeostatic ‘set point’.

‘This means that the minimum amount of stress our body needs to trigger a fatigue response increases.

“So to continue to improve our fitness, we need to start changing our workouts to continue to cause stress and fatigue in our bodies.”

There is now evidence that just 20 minutes of physical activity a day reduces the risk of cancer, dementia and heart disease.

This includes “increasing the intensity” of workouts every four to six weeks, as well as “doing a mix of different activities, including cardio and strength training.”

“Exercise intensity is considered the most important driver of adaptation,” they add.

‘To increase the intensity of your workouts, you can increase the demands of the exercise or manipulate the recovery period, for example by shortening the recovery time between workouts.

‘Keep track of your fitness so you know when it’s time to change your training again.’

Changing routines has also been shown to keep gym-goers motivated to continue regular exercise.

The team also emphasized the importance of an adequate recovery period, as physical adjustments occur during rest between exercises.

“If you increase the intensity of your workouts, try to make them shorter overall to avoid exhaustion,” they advise.

Rest is so important that, according to some experts, banning all high-intensity fitness for a week or so can actually provide benefits.

Taking a week off from exercise, or reducing the intensity of your exercise, about every six weeks, gives your body time to recover from a tough workout, explains Daniel Brayson, a lecturer in life sciences at the University of Westminster.

“If we exercise without adequate rest, we can leave the muscle in a semi-permanent state and slightly damaged,” he says. wrote.

‘The inflammation does not go away, which leads to negative changes, such as less ability to use oxygen in our muscles and poor performance.’

But the amount of rest you need depends on how intense and frequent your training sessions are.

If you’re training for a marathon or Ironman, you should schedule rest days and “deload weeks” during which you do less strenuous exercise, Mr. Brayson suggested.

However, for the majority of people who exercise less intensely one to three times a week, rest days between workouts should be sufficient for recovery.

No matter how old you are, being physically active can help you live a healthier life.

Exercise can reduce the risk of serious diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

According to the NHS, being active can also reduce the risk of premature death by up to 30 percent.

The NHS recommends adults aged 19 to 64 do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week.

This could be 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Alternatively, you can do 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

It suggests a mix of strengthening activities, such as yoga, lifting weights or carrying heavy shopping bags, moderate activity that gets your heart rate up, such as a brisk walk or bike ride, and vigorous activity such as running or swimming.