Fitness Training Tips: Boost your performance

(MSNBC) - Apply training strategies that elite athletes use to avoid fitness ruts

Question: I exercise several times a week but I'm not seeing the gains that I used to. Basically, I think I'm in a rut. Any advice?

Answer: If you're doing the same activities week in and week out — say cycling for 20 minutes at a certain pace and then hitting your usual weight-machine circuit — you're bound to eventually hit what fitness experts call a plateau.

Essentially, your body adapts to the type and frequency of physical activity that you're doing, so the exercise isn't as challenging as it used to be. And while you won't see major declines in your physical fitness, you won't see improvements either because you're not subjecting your body to enough stimulus for change.

So if your goal is to boost performance, you are, as you noted, in a rut.

Even people who are happy with their current fitness levels can suffer from a static exercise routine. Repeatedly working the same body parts in the same way can actually lead to overtraining injuries.

Another big risk: boredom.

"If your workout is stale, you get frustrated and you develop a negative attitude," says personal trainer Todd Durkin, owner of Durkin's Athlete Performance Center in San Diego and a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. That makes you less likely to just do it.

Lessons from the pros
So how do you avoid hitting a plateau or break free of a rut if you're already in one?

Take some lessons from elite athletes. Sure, they're in top physical shape. But they don't stay that way by doing the same activities over and over like so many gym-goers do, emphasizes Durkin.

He works with many elite athletes but says his message is the same for all of his clients, whether they're training at the professional or recreational level: "Your body needs change."

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