Why your Random Workouts aren't Effective
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably done a few (okay, a lot) random workouts that you’ve come across on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube. I’m not sure about you, but I always enjoyed the workouts that were full of fun, HIIT movements so I’d end up super sweaty every single time.
If you’re working out for the sole purpose of just being healthy and moving your body, there’s truly nothing wrong with doing random workouts and enjoying the sweat! If that’s what gets you to show each day then I say keep doing them! Movement is movement and if you love it, then why stop?
However, if you have specific goals in mind the problem is random workouts = random results.
Many people work out for the purpose of seeing results such as building muscle, body recomposition, losing body fat, etc., and that can become hard to do when you’re doing random workouts. At first, you might see a lot of progress. Especially for someone who is new to fitness, they will be able to see a lot of progress when they start working out consistently in ANY way! Whether that’s strength training, HIIT, Circuits, pilates, running, etc.
Over time, progress will stall, and that’s with any type of training. Why? Because our bodies are smart. They learn how to adapt, but this is when doing random workouts might start to become more of a roadblock than anything else.
If you’re constantly switching up your exercises or your training style, then it might become really difficult to build muscle and/or progress in your lifts.
For example: One week you’re doing Squats and RDLs for your lower body workout, and the next week you’re doing lunges and bridges, and the next week you’re doing thrusts and HIIT.
The problem: You’re changing it up so much that it becomes difficult to keep track of your lifts and the weights you’re using.
Another example would be all of your workouts looking like this: Squat into Reverse Lunge + Front Raise into Bicep Curl + Press 3x15. Rather than this: Squat 4x10. Front Raise 3x10. Bicep Curl 4x8. I get it, combination movements are fun, they get your heart rate up and can leave you sweaty and satisfied.
The problem: You can probably squat and lunge a lot more than you can raise, curl or press! So, you’re challenging your muscles as well as you could be when you combine all of these movements into one.
I’m not saying random workouts aren’t good for you. I’m saying they’re not the most efficient way for you to see progress or to build muscle.
I’m also not saying you should never do these types of workouts, because you most certainly still can! I still find a place for them in my training, but they are no longer the foundation of my training.
Many clients come to me saying they want to be “toned,” BUT being “toned” is simply building muscle and burning fat. The best way to do that is with a solid foundation of strength training. The best way to build muscle through strength training is through repetition, not randomization.
My best advice as a trainer and from my own personal experience is: Follow a program. Stick with it long enough to actually allow yourself to see results!
If you need a program to help you kickstart this process, you can join my month-to-month group training where I provide training blocks designed to help you build muscle! They’re at-home friendly and can be done with minimal equipment! I’ll link that here for you.
Or maybe you just want to grab a program and go, I have an option for that, too! My 6-Weeks Stronger program is a hypertrophy (muscle building) program that you can do in the gym or at home with minimal equipment. There’s enough repetition to see progress and build muscle, and a sprinkle of variety to keep your training sessions a bit spontaneous! This is my best-selling program and once you purchase it, it’s yours to keep forever!
