Spring Cleaning, Fitness Style

As the seasons change and the days get longer, you might be feeling like your fitness routine is a little stale. Maybe you even feel like you’ve gotten all you can out of it and need a complete change. Seasonally, it’s a great idea to reevaluate your fitness routine and switch it up! You don’t want to try something new every single week, but your body (and mind!) does well with something new every few months. Go through these few steps with me to give your workout plan the refresh it needs for you to feel excited about it during this next season. It’s time for spring cleaning, fitness style!

Simplify

Take it back to the basics.

Is your fitness routine actually helping you reach your goals?

If you’ve been working towards a specific goal for a while, it’s time to reevaluate whether your current fitness routine is still helping you achieve it. Is your goal even still relevant anymore?

Fit-tip: It’s okay to switch to a different goal that fits the season, even if you haven’t achieved the last one. Your life changes seasonally, and it’s okay for your fitness goals to change too! You don’t have to achieve every single goal you set, and you can let your brain release the pressure to do so. Instead – what do you want to work towards or prepare for over the next couple months?

Focus on one singular goal.

This is where simplify comes in big time! With the summer months approaching, you might be tempted to train for, well, everything. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t really work like that. Splitting your energy between even two different goals can make you much less likely to reach either of them. This is the season to simplify and focus on just ONE goal.

Will it seem like enough? Probably not. Do it anyways.

Fit-tip: Give yourself something specific to work towards for the season, such as running a 5K, planning a hiking trip, or being able to use a specific weight for an exercise. Having a long-term goal like “be healthier” can be great, but usually isn’t immediate or specific enough to keep you motivated for the season. Can you adjust your goal to make it more relevant to your life right now?

Is it time to switch up how you train?

Now that you’ve chosen a singular goal to work towards, make sure your fitness routine lines up with that goal. How you do your exercises can have a big impact on the results you see. For example, let’s say I’m planning a big backpacking trip this summer. I know I’m going to be hiking for long periods of time, so I’ll add cardio exercises to my program and do strength exercises with a goal of endurance training. This is more of an advanced option to refresh your workout plan, but switching up how you exercise can have huge benefits!

Want more guidance on this? Keep your eyes peeled for an article coming soon!

Give it an Extra Shine

Is it time to bump up the difficulty level?

As you exercise more, your body adapts and changes to the added stress (good stress, in the case of workouts). That’s how you get stronger! But to keep getting stronger after that initial bump, you’ll need to increase the difficulty of the exercises you’re doing. It’s called progressive overload! This could look like doing a more challenging variation (see below), using a heavier weight, or doing more of each exercise.

Fit-tip: It’s good to reevaluate every 4-6 weeks to see if it’s time to add a few extra reps or more weight. Keeping track of how much weight you’re using and how many reps you’re doing will help you see the progression and know when it’s time to bump it up.

Declutter

Clear out what’s not working for you anymore.

Are you still seeing results from all your exercises, or have you plateaued?

Are there exercises that feel stale, or honestly ones that you never even liked in the first place? If you’re not seeing results with certain exercises, let’s get them out of your workout plan! Cut out what’s not exciting you anymore and try something new. Even doing the same exercise with a different piece of gym equipment can make it feel different and more fun. For example, if you’ve been using dumbbells, maybe it’s time to add a couple kettlebell exercises into your workouts.

Fit-tip: You’ll always want to keep the basic strength exercises in your program because of their ability to work all the major muscle groups in the body. If you’re bored by those basics, try switching to a different variation of the same exercise. There are tons of variations for each of the basic exercises that will feel more exciting and work your muscles in a new way.

Do a workout gear audit.

Is your workout drawer full of clothes, but you consistently grab the same three outfits because they’re the most comfortable? The clothes you work out in have an effect on your training. You want to show up feeling confident! You don’t want to wear old clothes you’re always adjusting or that you feel uncomfortable in. Use this fitness spring cleaning time to declutter that workout clothes drawer! Spread out all your fitness clothes and do an audit: Do you wear all of them? Do you actually like all of them? Are there any pieces you avoid wearing? If there are clothes you don’t wear anymore that are in good shape, donate them!

Do you have any other fitness gear sitting around that you never use? Either figure out a way to use it more regularly, especially if you do home workouts, or donate it/give it to a friend!

Reorganize

Make your schedule work for, not against, you.

Does your fitness routine still align with your schedule?

Are you trying to force workouts where they don’t fit anymore? Schedules tend to change throughout the year, and you want your workout routine to change with it. A good fitness routine adjusts to your life, instead of forcing you to plan your life around those workouts.

Break up your weekly workout plan in a different way.

Reorganizing your workout schedule doesn’t just have to mean finding new times for the same workouts. You can also change up how long your workouts are and how frequently you’re doing them. For example, if your current schedule includes three one-hour workouts each week, would it be a better schedule fit to do five 20-minute workouts instead?

Fit-tip: There is no “perfect” workout schedule. What matters most is actually doing the workouts, which you’re more likely to do if they fit seamlessly into your day. Think about what works best for you in this season, not what others recommend.

Wipe It Clean

Make it fresh and exciting!

Try a new type of training.

Is there something active you’ve been wanting to try? Add it into your workouts or as it’s own separate workout! Cross-training, or training in ways outside your normal, is a great way to explore how your body moves and strengthens your body in different ways. For example, if you’ve been very strength-focused recently, this might be the season to experiment with yoga and cardio-based activities, or vice versa. Don’t ditch what you’ve been doing if you enjoy it- instead, thinking about adding something new on top.

Trying something new can also take the form of active recovery, or a more gentle way of moving to help your body recover between workouts. Walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, and mobility work can all be great active recovery options.

Add seasonal movement.

Now that the weather is warming up, add more outdoors into your overall movement plan! Especially during the winter when you’re indoors a lot, your workouts can become the only exercise you get in a week. The ability to get outdoors, if it’s accessible to you, can give you many more opportunities to move outside of your workouts. Depending on your hobbies, you might even replace a workout with an outdoor activity each week. Over the summer, I frequently switch out one of my gym workouts for a long hike and exploring new trails nearby.

Fit-tip: We tend to get stuck in a rut about what “counts” as exercise. The reality is, if you’re moving, it counts! A favorite example of mine here is gardening- a very active hobby where you’re squatting, reaching, bending, and crawling. You can also include cleaning out the garage, finally building that shed in the backyard, or other activities you may not usually count as exercise. Letting go of what you’re “supposed” to do as a workout can open up new and exciting movement opportunities!

Make a new workout playlist.

Last but not least: get some new music to match the new season! Try a new playlist in a genre you enjoy but don’t typically listen to. Switch out some of the songs in your usual workout playlist. You can even choose a random artist or station and see what happens!

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Now it’s your turn to dive into your fitness spring cleaning! I want you to choose one of these spring cleaning suggestions and implement it this week. Tell me in the comments which one you’ve chosen and how you’re changing your fitness plan for this new season!