Have You Been Doing The Exact Same Exercises For A While Now?

A common conversation popped up again this week that I wanted to share with you.

Have you been doing the exact same rehab exercises for an extended period of time?

Did you notice that they "worked" for a little while and then progress kind of stalled?

We often see this progress plateau pattern if we keep the exercise parameters exactly the same.
- Same reps
- Same load
- Same position

At the beginning of the process (if this set-up was challenging enough) then your body responds and adapts to this new stimulus!

After some time though, your system stops being challenged by this set-up.

If it's not challenging...your body doesn't need to change.

If you've been using the exact same set-up and want to change things up to keep asking your body to adapt you can try....

- Adding some extra repetitions

- Adding some additional load (if you don't have weights at home I love filling a backpack with books or anything heavy)

- Changing the shape of the position slightly - move the feet or hands a little further away, lean a little further forward or backward, play with it until you find a spot that feels a bit harder and increases the range of motion you move through in the exercise.

- Change the speed - slower or faster will achieve different results - try both and see which one feels more aligned with your goals

A good general guide is to change ONE parameter at a time.
This can also be helpful to monitor your response to the changes so that if things flare up a little you have a clearer idea of the contributing factors.

Hope this was helpful, and that you have a great weekend!