Here are two small tweaks you can make to get the most out of your fitness time.

You’ve been working out for a while, maybe even a regular at the gym, local trails, or a fixture at your local boutique fitness class (goat yoga, anyone?). Is it starting to feel too comfortable? It might be time to take a closer look at your routine.

Everyone wants to find that perfect balance of bringing the element of fun into a challenging workout, but it’s easy to get content with doing the same thing on repeat. Adaptation is when your body becomes accustomed to your workout, and the result can be that your fitness hits a plateau. Of course, any exercise is always beneficial, but to receive all the great health benefits of a good workout, it may be time to push yourself harder.

Step up the challenge if you see that your heart rate isn’t that high, you’re rarely out of breath, or you are easily finishing your rep count on your lifts.

Of course, you can always introduce a new routine, class, or change up your exercise altogether, but first, start by focusing on these two things.

1. Focus on Form

Actively focusing on the muscles, you seek to engage can be the difference between a killer rep, and a “just ok” rep. When you focus on form, you are less likely to rely on the wrong muscles to get you through an exercise. Poor form means you may not be getting the benefit out of the exercise you intended, and may even lead to pain and/or injury.

As simple as it sounds, there are significant benefits in mentally connecting to your movement. In fact, one study found that by just thinking about engaging the target muscles during an exercise is an excellent strategy to better your form and increase results. The theory is that by visualizing an exercise and the specific muscle movement during exercise, you train the brain to send stronger signals. This translates into more muscle engagement by recruiting additional muscle fibers or by getting muscle fibers to work quicker and more efficiently.

2. Up your weights

Strength training is all about building and maintaining a certain level of strength. If the current weight you are lifting isn’t a challenge, or you feel like you could go on forever, it might be time to consider adding weight to your lifts.

First, start by tracking your workouts and recording your results. Then, mix in some additional reps to targeted exercises. You may see a difference simply by adding rep counts. Of course, the whole point is to “overload” your muscles so they get stronger, so the next step may be adding weight. If your progress is stalled out, it could be that your muscles have grown stronger to meet the demands of the lifts. To make gains, you need a progression plan in your strength training program. Develop a plan where you increase your weights in key areas, and map out a progression plan to strategically add more weight as you get stronger over time.

How to do a pushup

Get Started!

• Lie in a prone position (belly down) on your mat, ground, or floor.

Get in Position

• Position your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers facing forward or slightly inward.
• Position your feet hip-distance apart with the tips of toes facing the ground.

Lift off

• Lift your entire body off the floor so that your weight is supported evenly from head to toe.
• Push your arms to full extension, keeping your elbows soft and not locked.
• Contract your core muscles, glutes and quads to keep them braced.
• Pull your shoulders away from your ears.
• Keep your head, neck and spine in alignment.
•  

Going Down

• Slowly lower your body towards the floor while maintaining a stiff torso and head aligned with your spine.
• Eyes toward the floor; avoid bending your head (we promise, you can look at your shoes later!)
• Maintain head to toe alignment (no sagging of the back or hips)
• Lower chest to elbow height.

Going Up

• Push through the heels of hands to lift body weight upward.
• Continue to maintain head to toe alignment.
• Push your arms back to full extension, keeping your elbows soft and not locked.

Repeat!

How many can you put into your daily goal? Always remember, form first. Don’t try to hammer out a high number before you have your form down.

TIP!

To build strength and practice form, try slow pushups. Count 4 down, and 4 up. Then, mix up the tempos: count 2 down, 2 up, or 1 down and three up. It will add some variety in the mix.

Modify

You might think you can’t do a pushup. But there are many ways to modify!

Feet shoulder-width apart

If you struggle to maintain head to toe alignment, put your feet shoulder-width apart instead of hip-width. Each session, try to put your feet in closer.

Wall Pushups

If you have shoulder issues, or simply can’t lift your body weight, try a wall pushup. Put your hands shoulder-width apart on the wall and your feet out slightly so that your body is at a slight angle. Slowly lower your body toward the wall, and push it back using all the techniques applied to a regular pushup.

Kneeling Pushups

Put your body in a hands and knee position on the floor. Maintain head to toe alignment and ease your upper body toward the floor, stopping chest at elbow height. This works well if you are new to bodyweight exercises and are not ready to lift your full body weight. When you’re ready, you can move to pushups on your knees.

Knee Pushups

From prone position, put your hands shoulder-width apart. Keep your feet hip-distance, and lift up to a full arm extension while keeping your knees, shins, and feet parallel to the ground. Once you have this mastered, increase the distance between your upper body and your knees by moving your knees backward. This will increase the amount of bodyweight you will bear going up and down. Then, mix in a few pushups on your toes. Before you know it, you’ll develop the strength to do whole sets of pushups on your toes.

Advanced Stability Ball Pushups

Put your feet on the top of the ball and follow the move through. For more work, place the front of your ankles over the ball. For less work, move the ball to your shin area.

Three bodyweight moves to build the foundation of your workout success.

Complex exercises might look impressive, but they’re not really necessary for results. Superman pushups and pistol squats are great exercise variations when you are looking for a challenging goal, or need to spice things up a bit, but sometimes it’s good to bring it back to the basics.

There are three main bodyweight exercises that provide a solid foundation for all other fitness moves: Squat, Pushup, and Crunches. In fact, these are moves you actually use every day without even knowing it.

Work on perfecting the form and execution of these three exercises and you will build a good base in both your fitness and everyday life.

Squats: 

Builds Muscle in Your Entire Body

Obviously squats help to build your leg muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves), but they also create an anabolic environment, which promotes body-wide muscle building. Squats can also boost your sports performance, maintain mobility and balance, and help prevent injuries by building muscle and increasing range of motion in your ankles and hips.

Tips for Success:

•    Sit back and down

•    Weight in heels

•    Knees behind toes

•    Brace your core

Crunches:

Crunches help build endurance in the muscles of the abdomen.

The primary role of your abdominal region is to stabilize your midsection. A strong core helps to maintain good posture, supports you when you lift heavy objects, and assists your body so you can twist and rotate. These are all everyday actions, so it’s crucial for your abs to be able to sustain.

Tips for Success:

•    Fingertips to your temple, elbows pulled back

•    Slide ribs to hips

•    Contract abdominal muscles

•    Keep neck and shoulders relaxed

Push-ups:

Target every major muscle group of your upper body. 

Push-ups help you focus on your arms, abs and your lower body, all at the same time. These exercises train your muscles to work together and become stronger. Push-ups also help to create balance, stability and reaction time by training proprioceptive muscle fibers and also help to build muscle density.

Tips for Success:

•    Support your weight evenly from head to toe.

•    Contract your core muscles, glutes and quads to keep them braced.

•    Pull your shoulders away from your ears.

•    Keep your head, neck, and spine in alignment.