It doesn’t take a great deal of effort to get results from your workout program. However, reaching optimum performance and staying at that level is a progressive process that requires a combination of increased stimulation, sufficient rest and proper nutrition. Adding slight variations to your workout routine along with adjusting and monitoring healthy habits make a huge difference in the results you achieve during a workout program.

Getting stuck in a fitness routine will only accomplish stagnation as your body adapts and levels out on a plateau due to lack of stimulation. However, paying attention to and adjusting and implementing such variations will help propel you to the next level of fitness, regardless of whether your chosen field is great health, athletic performance, weightlifting, bodybuilding, or fitness modeling.

Change the Routine of Your Compound Exercises

Compound exercises are the best way to build muscle mass rapidly. However, hitting a plateau can occur during such a weight training program as your body eventually adapts to the stress and routine. Therefore, take close account of the results you’re receiving and when you begin to lag behind in your expectations, switch up the order of the exercises or replace some with new variations.

For instance, you can change things up by performing standing dumbbell curls followed by preacher curls instead of doing the preacher curls first. You can mix things up by switching regular dumbbell curls to hammer curls for a few weeks then switch again.

The Same Goes for Cardio Training

Cardio exercises need to be altered as well as weight training exercises, and actually, the body adapts much faster to cardio than it does to weights. Doing the same cardio routine day after day will also cause your body to hit a performance platform. If your fitness routine is to spend 30 minutes on a treadmill, next time you hit the gym jump on an elliptical trainer instead. Or, better yet, spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and add another 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. The next day, forget the cardio and focus on your strength training program.

The idea is to not allow your body to become comfortable with any given exercise. Throwing another variation in your workout routine and changing things up from time to time will constantly keep your body striving to perform at higher levels of exertion. Another benefit that comes from such exercise variation is a reduced risk of injury due to overuse of joints, tendons, or muscle mechanics through repetitive use.

Add Some Fast Twitch Plyometrics

If you want to be faster as well as stronger, add plyometric exercises to your workout program. Plyometrics develops the response time of your fast twitch muscle fibers so that movements are achieved more rapidly. Although plyometric exercises don’t do much for muscle size, they will definitely improve your muscle force and speed.

The added benefit of plyometric exercises is that many of them will also improve your balance and core strength. This is because various plyometric exercises require you to jump, utilize one leg or side of the body and then the other, and other moves that require focus on stability and balance, much of which comes from your core.

Base Rest Periods on Specific Goals

Many people involved in fitness programs don’t give much attention (if any) to rest periods. Absolute focus may be given to pressing more weight or running a bit farther, but then those results are hindered because an improper amount of rest is taken before, during or after sessions.

Nevertheless, proper rest periods are vital to maximum performance, regardless of what training program you’re operating under. Rest periods should therefore be monitored and adjusted according to your strength training goal. If you are more interested in eliminating fat for lean muscle mass or weight loss then rest periods should be shorter between sets and exercises. However, if your goal is to reach maximum weight gains, you should take longer breaks between sets and exercises in order to allow your body to fully recover before hitting the next intense set or exercise.

As you monitor your rest periods, you will gradually get a good grasp of how much time your body needs to recover for the next round. What you want to do is avoid breaks that are too short and don’t allow you to recover adequately (only 15-20 seconds for instance), or breaks that are too long which allow you to cool down too much (like taking 30 minutes to chat with the new, hot girl). Tailoring your rest periods to your specific exercise program will increase desired results.