How to Spring Clean Your Fitness Routine

As the days finally start to get longer and the weather warms up, many of us feel the urge to spring clean our homes — so why not do the same with our fitness routines, too? Similar to decluttering your space, taking a closer look at your workout habits and exploring what worked (and what didn't) can help shake off that winter slump and renew your motivation for the months ahead.

Whether you're feeling stuck in a rut, or simply interested in mixing things up, take a look at our tips for refreshing your fitness routine.

Why You Should Refresh Your Routine

Reason 1: Your goals may no longer be right for you

If you made fitness-related resolutions in the new year, now is a great time to revisit them. Goals that may have been a priority a few months ago may not resonate anymore. Take some time to reassess your goals and consider making adjustments to better address what is important to you now.

"It's important to begin by understanding your why," says Emily Weber, Certified Personal Trainer and BowFlex Fitness Advisor. "Are you training for a race or competition? Are you recovering from surgery or injury? Are you happy with your current routine? What goals have you accomplished or been working on the last few months? Being honest with yourself about these questions will help guide you as you reset."

Reason 2: Overcome routine plateaus

Sticking to the same routine for too long can lead to a plateau, and you may find that your progress is stalling. Emily suggests shaking up your routine to challenge yourself and find the motivation you may have been missing.

"If you find that your routine feels stale and you're not enjoying it, switch it up! This could mean doing something entirely different, like swapping HIIT classes out for Pilates classes, or switching up what you currently do, like incorporating a metabolic conditioning day into your lifting routine," she says. "The challenge of trying something new not only gives us something to work towards, but it can minimize training plateaus while also building self-efficacy."

Reason 3: Prevent burnout and injury

Overtraining, or repeating the same movements without variety, can quickly lead to burnout and even injuries. Switching things up gives over-stressed muscles the chance to recover — plus, the change of pace can inject some life into a tired routine.

How to Refresh Your Routine (In 3 Steps)

Step 1: Set New Goals

Before you jump right into a new routine, it's important to align your goals, first. Are you interested in building strength, improving your endurance, or increasing your flexibility? Maybe you simply want to improve your health or increase the number of steps you take each day.

"We all go through so many seasons in our lives, and our fitness goals often need to adapt with the changes we go through," Emily encourages. "When we remember that regular exercise is about so much more than aesthetics and that it improves our physical, mental, emotional, and physiological health, we see it has a necessary part of all of life's seasons, and we can create goals that align accordingly."

Writing out your goals and keeping track of your progress can help you stay motivated as you take on a new routine. Fitness apps, like JRNY, can track your progress, making it easy for you to review your achievements and personal bests all in one place.

Step 2: Create Your Routine

With new goals set, it's time to create a routine that can help you reach the milestones that are important to you. If you've been doing the same exercises for months, it's time to mix things up:

• Try a new style of workout: if cardio is your go-to, but your goals are centered around strength, start by swapping one or two of your cardio sessions with a beginner strength training workout, instead. If you are already consistent with resistance training, but your goals are centered around increasing endurance, swap in an indoor cycling workout, or a run on the treadmill.
• Change your intensity: if you always find yourself sticking with steady-state cardio, try interval training (alternating periods of high-intensity effort with lower-intensity recovery). Alternatively, if your strength training workouts are starting to feel too easy, challenge yourself with heavier weights. Adjustable weights like the BowFlex SelectTech 552 dumbbells let you make micro adjustments (2.5 lb increments for the first 25 lbs) to maximize your progress over time.
• Revamp your schedule: If you are typically an evening exerciser, try switching it up and incorporate a morning workout once or twice a week to see how you feel. Splitting up when you train can refresh a routine that is starting to feel dull.

Step 3: Assess Your Space (and Gear)

An organized and functional space to work out at home — whether it's a dedicated home gym or a corner of the living room — is critical to boost your motivation. Consider the goals you established in step one and if your home gym is set up to help you reach those goals.

Ready for some good news? BowFlex offers a range of products to help you build out your home gym and reach your fitness goals:

• Space-saving strength equipment: our lineup of SelectTech strength products — including dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells — are adjustable, versatile, and easy to store.
• OG Home Gyms: take your resistance training routine to a new level with our all-in-one home gym systems. Complete 70+ strength-building exercises with the X2SE, featuring our iconic Power Rod system, or try out our Revolution Home Gym, which offers 100+ exercises and converts to a rowing machine.
• Connected cardio: our lineup of immersive treadmills, stepper-meets-elliptical Max Trainers, and indoor cycling bikes will keep you energized during every workout — plus, they connect to popular fitness apps like JRNY, Peloton, and Zwift.

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