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Last week one of boys (another trainer) at my gym was teasing me about some of the exercises that never leave my routine.

It was all in fun and actually more than a little amusing seeing this dude take off my fav ‘inner thigh love’ move than I only inflict on myself and my ladies. It seems the boys don’t care so much about inner thigh love?

Who’ve guessed!

It’s true. I’m a routine girl and I’m more interested in WHAT WORKS than what’s new and exciting.

In today’s show I’m sharing the ‘3’ exercises I would NEVER NOT DO (!) and also my perhaps controversial answer to the question: How Often Should I Change My Program?

I guess I should start with a little caveat: my advice is for the Bodygainer who wants to lose some fat, gain some lean muscle or maintain a sexy, lean, toned physique. It’s not for the person with a huge muscle gain or serious strength or even primarily fitness goal.

That’s not my passion and not my specialty.

I guess my super simple answer so far as “How Often Should I Change My Program?” is whenever it’s not working.

Now that’s not intended to be completely reactive. I just think you get to a point where you find what works for you and from there why would you waste decision making energy on ‘mixing it up’ for the sake of it? You know what works and you follow that basic format until it stops working.

MASSIVE CAVEAT: Personally this means a lot of my fav exercises have been part of my program for years however the way I structure and execute them changes frequently. 

Like every single work-out.

Different super-sets or tri-sets or order of exercises. Different weights, reps, speed, rest periods…. and some times I’ll come up with a unique progression. However, as keenly observed by my colleague ‘inner thigh love’ for example has featured in my personal routine for years.

Are you curious? ok. This is inner thigh love, AKA Side Plank Leg Raise:

As has these TOP 3:

1. Some form of LOVELY LUNGE.

I find lunges to be a knee and back friendly high bang for your fat burning AND glut-quadricep-hammie-and-tummy-toning-buck exercise. I love a barbell lunge most. And a split squat which feels like a lunge to me.

2. Some form of CHIN UP.

This is my fav exercise for your back. I love a wide grip assisted chin most… though I guess I’d love a wide grip UN-assisted chin even more if I could do them! And hoop chins (with an easier neutral grip) and hoop chins into walk-outs and advanced burpees also all rock.

3. Some form of DEAD-LIFT.

I love a stiff-legged barbell dead-lift most. They feel strong and focused and awesome! My next fav variation would probably be a 1-legged kettlebell dead-lift although it means a massive ego check and dropping of the weight.

Back to the reasoning behind when to makes changes to your program… and 3 considerations for YOU:

ONE: Consider How You Spend Your Decision Making Power.

I’m not sure about you however I make a heap of decisions each week.

I want to spend my limited decision making energy on more important things than my training program and for that matter what I’m eating today. 

I recommend you stick with what works for as long as it continues to great results. Could that be boring? Well if it is thenYes you need to change something. Either the exercise OR perhaps your attitude? Do you stop brushing your teeth or showering when it gets boring?

I really don’t get bored of something that gets great results… that’s just how I work. 🙂

TWO: Introduce The New Moves You Believe Are Superior Bang For Your Body Gain Buck.

I still check out new exercises – whether that’s what others are doing at the gym OR whether I seek them out online.

The thing is when I try a new exercise… which I do about weekly, it only gets a repeat appearance in my or my clients programs if I love it more than something else or if it serves a specific purpose better than what I was doing previously.

More often than not those fancy looking new moves don’t have anything more worthwhile to offer.

Always introduce a new move for the results it will get you not for the sake of novelty.

THREE: Your Routine Does Need To Be Challenging.

Complacency is certainly not something you want to factor in your training. However as discussed at the top of this show changing an exercise is only one of many ways to make your workout more challenging.

You know how there are just some exercises that stay challenging?

It’s different for us all however I can’t imagine ever finding regular old push ups or unassisted chin ups to not be challenging.

In contrast when my split squats that used to be really tough start to become a little easy-on-auto-pilot then it’s time to up the weight… to try 1.5 reps… to add a hold at the bottom… to superset them with pistol squats or any number of other limitless progressions.

The key is to regularly assess: Is this still a challenging workout?

Focus on challenge and progress rather than change for the sake of change.

To get actionable today that’s the question to apply to your weekly workouts: Is this still a challenging workout?

If not, then Yes it could well be time to change your program!

That’s it for me today. I’m off to train. Today is back and it will feature some lovely wide grip chins!

I hope you can join me tomorrow for the Friday FAQ show where I cover, Smart Simple Fat Loss: Eliminate Limiting Beliefs.

If you liked this you’ll also like: Is There A Right Amount Of Exercise?

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.