Change up your Standard Strength Routine to get Better Results

You have heard it before: to achieve results, you need to challenge your body in new ways. The human body adapts to routine, so to get stronger you need to train your muscles in different directions and with different weight loads. Try switching up the stale routine with these workouts recommended by your friends at the Champion Fitness USA:

Squat/wood chop: This is a great exercise to incorporate both your lower and upper body. Use one of the cables on the Dual Adjustable Pulley machine and secure it high on the tower. Holding the handle with both hands and facing sideways, rotate your body away from the machine as you squat down and pull the cable across your body in a wood chopping motion. Return back to start position. Do two sets of 15 going in each direction.

Incline chest fly: Change up the usual chest press by playing around with performing them at different angles. By altering the angle of your bench and changing the movement of your arms, you’ll wake up your pectoral muscles. Do three sets of 15.

Chest presses: Lay on a stability ball making sure the ball is supporting your upper back, shoulders and neck. A stability ball is a good alternative to a bench as it will force you to engage your abs while you perform the press. Do three sets of 15.
Walking lunges: To change up this old faithful, add bicep curls. Lunge across the room while holding hand weights and performing bicep curls. Be mindful of your form, keeping your front knee over your toes and your torso lifted. You can also try carrying a medicine ball while doing your walking lunges, and twist your torso with each repetition to get an added core workout. Try doing four sets of 10 lunges spanning across the room.

The Leg Extension machine: This is one of those machines that you may have abandoned for a while, but you may want to revisit it for strengthening your quads. This isolation exercise will help you focus on definition and strength in your thighs. Do three sets of 15.