Spice Up Your Weight-Lifting Routine

Q. I’ve been lifting weights for a while, but I don’t seem to be experiencing the effects that I’d hoped for. I’ve gotten stronger and more toned, but have not seen any dramatic body transformation. What am I doing wrong?

A. Humans are creatures of habit. But when we do the same workout for too long, the initial challenge wears off. We notice some early results as the body becames stronger (making the moves feel easier). If we’re content with the status quo, we keep on doing the same routine. But if we're trying to get fit faster or change our shape, the same workout isn’t the answer. If we want to continue to see more results, we need to rethink our workout and spice up our weights sets.

Regardless of your fitness level, here are a few key training strategies to wake up your workouts:

Sculpt with body weight: Choose one day a week to do a dumbbell-free workout (push-ups, squats, lunges and abs).

Use free weights: Glued to the weight machines? Do the same moves with a different type of strength equipment (dumbbells, bands, weighted bars, medicine balls or kettle bells) for an added challenge.

Lift heavier: If you finish a set of moves and your muscles don't feel fatigued, you're stronger than you think. Don't be afraid to lift more—you'll know in a couple of reps if it's too much. Start with 3-pound to 8-pound dumbbells and vary the weight with each exercise. Add more weight after three to four weeks of doing the exercises regularly. If you don't have the desired weight in one dumbbell, double up (hold a 5 pounder with a 1 pounder crossed in the same hand). If any joints feel strained while performing a move, lighten your load.

Move slower (or faster): If you've been plodding along at the same speed, say two seconds up and two seconds down, shift to faster and slower paces to trigger new muscle fibers to get in on the action. Try super slow, where you move the weight for 6 to 12 seconds in each direction. Then speed up the effort phase (when you're lifting the weight in a biceps curl) and slow down the return phase (when you're lowering the weight in a curl).

Reprogram your routine: Focus on endurance for one workout a week, doing 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps with lighter weights. Then for two days a week, focus on strength, doing 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps with heavier weight.

Add balance: Take your tried-and-true biceps curl, shoulder raise, triceps extension or overhead press to a more challenging level by doing it while standing on one leg. Here are some examples on MSN’s Fit Zone.

Push-ups: Been avoiding them? Include a few in your workout now, but keep it simple—start with one push-up per workout. Build up by adding one more single push-up each week until you can do 10. Then do 10 per workout or keep building up to more.

Change angles: Been doing moves on your back on a flat bench or gym mat? Shift the focus in the muscle fibers by working on an incline bench or leaning back on a stability ball.

Do weights circuits: Take one day a week for a workout with no rests in between sets. Do one set of each exercise then, without a break, move straight to the next exercise until you complete one round of each move. Then do a set of each move two more times.

Plan ahead: Periodization is a training approach in which you organize a long-term exercise program into several week- or month-long cycles. Each period focuses on developing different aspects of fitness. Build basic fitness and stamina during the first four to eight weeks of your periodized program by doing 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps. Focus on building more strength during the next cycle by adding extra weight and doing 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Follow that period with a cycle where you focus on power by using a heavier load and doing one set of six to eight reps.

Power train: Improve your speed and explosiveness by adding jump drills into your routine. Squat and power up into a jump as you come up. Do hops on one leg or jump rope in between exercises. Upper body weight moves should be done quickly but with control.

Find all articles by Martica.

Do you have a fitness or weight-loss question for Martica? Send e-mail to experts@microsoft.com. Please include Ask Martica in the subject line. Each of our experts responds to one question each week and the responses are posted on Mondays on MSN Health. We regret that we cannot provide a personalized response to every submission.

Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist, and an award-winning fitness instructor and health writer. She has a Ph.D. in behavioral nutrition and physical activity from Columbia University, and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. She has written hundreds of articles for publications such as Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of eight books, including her latest, Cross-Training for Dummies. (Read her full bio.)

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