Workout has become stale!!

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on how to mixup/add something to a weights routine to put the fun back into it or just generally make it more appealing to me!..

My situation is that I've been weight training for around 4 months, however for the first 3 it was on/off, i'd take a couple weeks off if i fancied it, just because I was cutting so I thought weight training was just an optional extra.. Back then, maybe because it still had some novelty, weights were great, they were fun and I thoroughly enjoyed doing them..

However, more recently I've started on a new bulking diet (up from -2k to 2k, 2.5 and now 3k+ calories) and so the weight training has been more consistent, I've been doing 1day on 1day off (occasional cardio on the off days) for the last 4 weeks.. But I find myself actually totally disinterested at times, bored even whilst working out, which is strange because I used to love working out, and now its something i know i actually NEED to do. It's not even that the workout isn't challenging physically, I still break out into a sweat and I know the workout is pretty challenging, yet it STILL doesn't seem to entice me like it used to.. I've been using almost exactly the same workout each time, which was basically a Full Body workout, including Squat, DL, BP, Chin-Ups, n then some isolation exercises for Tri's, Bi's, Shoulder's, Back and Ab's.. I changed the isolation exercises around sometimes and tried new one's but the big 4 have remained the same..

Exercise Weight Sets Reps Rest
Squats 46kg 3 8 60
Barbell BP 33kg 3 8 60
Dead lifts 46kg 3 8 60
Pull-Ups 0kg 5 3 40
Tricep Ext 10kg 3 8 60
Bicep Curl 8.6kg x2 3 8 60
DB Shoulder Press 8.6kg x2 3 8 60
Lying Leg Raise 0kg 3 8 40
Press-Ups 0kg 3 6 30
Crunches (Left/Right) 0kg 3 12 30

Thats basically the workout I use each time..

Any hints/tips on how to mix it up or just make it more progressive would be greatly appreciated as I can feel myself starting down the path to eventually quitting working out, I don't see it happening just yet cuz I've got a target weight goal but I get the feeling working out is gonna start getting very hard mentally!.. Btw - by 'progressive' I mean weight-wise, especially on the BenchPress, as I started with bout 26kg on that, and in 4 months I've only moved up to 35kg!.. The Squat and DL have moved from 33kg to 50kg+ in that same time.. I don't see myself improving on the bench at all, 35kg is a test every time!..

Just as sum additional info, my diet is in check, my calorie count comes to around 3-3.3k a day, which consists of (off the top of my head) tuna, oatmeal, wholemeal bread, egg whites, olive oil, chicken breast, protein shakes etc.. usually the daily content is 99% clean food.. may have 1 or 2 cheat meals a week..

Thanks..

Kal
 
To keep your workout interesting all you really need to do is change things up. Be it changing the rep range, exercises, order of exercises, etc.

That's what usually works for me!

On the bench press lacking, I personally don't take much notice of the weight as long as the intensity is good you should be fine. However if you want to bench bigger it could be that one of your supporting muscles aren't strong enough? Maybe some extra work on the triceps will help? Or even just taking a week off from it and coming back fresh will help?

Not an expert on this as I've been training for barely a year but hopefully thats a start on what may help you and maybe some others would add their thoughts.
 
The best way to avoid boredeom is to ALWAYS change your workout. I don't mean change exercises every day, but keep the rep counts changing, keep the weights changing. You can do this daily, weekly, monthly.

Also, explore upper/lower splits, push/pull splits, functional training, power training. Experiment with static holds (IE: BB Bench: Bring the weight to your chest, hold for 30 seconds, then rep out 12....just be sure to use a managable weight and have a spotter).

As for your routine, You don't need to deadlift every day, once a week is plenty. Rather than squat every time, try lunges, incline leg press, split squats, jump squats. Try pushups, power pushups, dips, cable flye, DB flye, pulldowns, chinups, stiff arm press downs, lateral raise combinations, shrugs. If you're technically proficient try hang cleans, push-press, power cleans, hang clean and press. Work with supersets, triple sets, giant sets or circuit training. There is so much out there to do that you should never get bored.

Every 6 months I write out all new workouts for myself. These include a variety of upper/lower, FBW, 5X5 FBW, kettlebell training, pilates, bodyweight work only, martial arts, etc. So for 6 months I don't do the same workout twice. I perform a lot of the same movements (bench, squat, pullups) but I vary the way I do them, the weight I use, the order, the rep count etc.

Spend some time on Google, and around here looking at various workouts. You'll find so much your head will spin and you can wave bye bye to boredom.
 
thanks

thanks for the replies, esp Adler.. some very useful info there and I will be making use of most of what you said!.. Hopefully changing up the reps/sets and reducing the number of workouts to just 3 a week will make it more appealing and fun.. Cheers!..
 
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