Step It Up

by Leslie Aronson — May 22, 2008

I've said it once and I'll say it again: shake up your routine! If it's been awhile since you got off the couch, you may find it harder to get back to your pre-couch weight unless you shake things up a bit. A study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California reports that trying to pick up where you left off can often yield disappointing results unless you change something up. As Shape magazine puts it, "When runners hit the pavement again after a long break, they didn't drop pounds until they significantly increased their mileage beyond what they used to do." To jumpstart weight loss, consider amping up the intensity of your workout, adding time to your cardio routine, or squeezing in an extra workout every week. Or consider adding a new activity altogether. Rather than devoting all your cardio time to step-aerobics, for example, add some tae-bo or pilates to the mix. This will work your muscles in a different way at a different intensity and keep your metabolism on its toes. The last thing you want after restarting exercise after a winter of loafing on the couch is to be discouraged by the results - anticipate that you might need to step it up a bit and mix up your former routine.