When it comes to exercise, many of us are creatures of habit. Regular exercise is good for you, but it’s also important to vary your fitness routine. Both your body and your brain will see the benefits when you mix it up.
We varied our workouts with a change of scenery in the week 2 bonus challenge – this time vary your workout with a new position of your own! Try to stretch or work your body in a (safe) way your body is not used to. Try challenging your muscles, balance, coordination, or flexibility.
Here are 4 benefits to mixing up your exercise routine:
1. Break Through a Weight-Loss Plateau
When you do the same activity all the time, your body adapts and becomes very efficient at it. That means you will start to burn fewer calories even when you’re doing the same amount of exercise. As you challenge your body in a way that it’s not used to, your body will have to work harder as it adjusts to the new position(s), which means that you’ll burn more calories as you Oxycise.
2. Stimulate Different Muscles
Ever notice how you can quickly identify a professional swimmer by their powerful arms and shoulders and a long-distance runner by their chiseled legs? Professional athletes focus almost exclusively on one sport — and that sport builds very specific muscles. But for recreational exercisers, the best approach is to do a little for each muscle group. You’ll look great and be physically ready to take on a variety of sports and activities.
3. Keep Your Brain Healthy
Exercise is essential for keeping your brain sharp and helping to prevent memory loss, and learning new skills helps keep your neurons firing better – so learning a new exercise activity is a double-whammy when it comes to brain health. You don’t need to overexert yourself to reap the benefits of exercise for your brain and memory.
4. Beat Workout Boredom
Keep your workouts from getting stale by trying our new workouts as they’re released, and don’t be afraid to add your own Oxycise positions whenever you like. You can challenge yourself by adding wrist or ankle weights, or even hold some water bottles during any of the arm exercises for an extra boost. Oxycise is also great to combine with other workouts if you have others you like to include in the mix. As you change up your routine, you’ll see better results and have a lot more fun doing it.
Share a photo of yourself in your new Oxycise position on our Facebook page, our private Facebook group, or by emailing* us to get a bonus entry into the drawing for prizes.
*By emailing your photo for the challenge, you are agreeing that it may be posted on our website or shared with our newsletter readers.
Weekly bonus challenges coming up…
Week 5: Oxycise with a friend or loved one (including a pet)..
Week 6: Share a picture of yourself Oxycising in a Halloween costume.
