Spring has officially sprung, and a new season means new opportunities to reach your fitness goals. "Spring is the ideal time to refresh your workout routine and take advantage of the renewal that the season brings,” says Lifeforce Senior Health Coach Kelly Lynch.
Switching up your workouts not only helps you stay inspired and engaged, but it also maximizes your gains. Research shows that people who do varied types of exercises achieve the most effective strength gains. Another study found that diversifying your exercise routine increases motivation to train.
“By changing up your workouts, you can prevent plateaus, challenge your body and mind, and reignite muscle engagement, ensuring that you continue to make progress,” says Lynch, who has a master's degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science.
Upgrading your workouts doesn’t have to mean overhauling them. You can make simple shifts to the moves and modalities you already love to optimize your results. We asked our Lifeforce Health Coaches for their top tips to tweak your routine, and this is what sprung to mind.
7 Simple Ways to Uplevel Your Workouts for Spring
1. Add Eccentric Training to Your Lifts
If you’re into lifting weights, pay extra attention to how you lower them. In strength training, the eccentric phase is when a muscle is lengthening while under tension, like lowering a weight in a squat, bicep curl, or bench press. It’s the opposite of the concentric phase, when the muscle contracts and shortens to lift.
“During your strength training, slow down the eccentric, or lowering, phase of each lift to build muscle and control,” Lynch suggests. “By extending the eccentric phase, you recruit more muscle fibers, increase time under tension, and improve strength and hypertrophy. This also helps with joint stability and injury prevention.”
Research shows that doing eccentric resistance training once or twice a week for 12 weeks increased lower body muscular power by about 13%.
It’s easy to implement because all you need to do is change your tempo. “For example, during a bicep curl, slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position, taking 3 to 4 seconds,” Lynch says. “Eccentric training can be applied to almost any exercise, making it a versatile way to enhance your workouts.”
2. Change Your Mode of Training
Just because you’re working the same muscle group, doesn’t mean you have to work it the same way. “When we train, our muscles get used to the style of exercise. The moment we change the mode, our muscles will be shocked,” says Lifeforce Health Coach Cornelius Washington, NASM certified trainer.
“In order for the muscles to have a reason to change, they must have a stimulus,” he says. “Imagine your normal route home. You’ve driven that route so many times that it's second nature, but the moment an animal runs across the street, your mind is shocked and you’re forced to focus. It’s the same with our muscles. Doing the same exercise makes the mind-muscle connection dull. When we change the exercise, the mind is shocked, and the muscles are re-stimulated, which gives the muscles a reason to change!”
As an example, Washington suggests swapping a dumbbell lateral raise for a lying incline lateral raise on a bench, a standing cable lateral raise on a cable machine or with resistance bands, or moving between a plank and side plank. Each of these exercises target the shoulder muscles, but in slightly different ways.
3. Try Hybrid Training
If you love resistance training, but have been resistant to cardio, hybrid training could be an excellent option to ease you in. “Add a power or cardio burst between your strength training sets to improve your conditioning and athletic performance,” Lynch advises. “Combining strength and power training helps build explosive strength while keeping your heart rate up. This type of training also improves your cardiovascular fitness and burns more calories than traditional strength training.”
A study in the journal Circulation reviewed data from 4,331 people and found that hybrid training was superior to HIIT, steady state jogging, and pure weight training for heart and lung health.
Here are some examples of hybrid training to get you started:
For beginners:
Goblet Squat + Marching in Place: Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest and perform goblet squats, then immediately follow with 30 seconds of marching in place to keep your heart rate up.
Seated Shoulder Press + Step Touches: Perform a seated dumbbell shoulder press, then do side-to-side step touches for 30 seconds to maintain movement without high impact.
For more advanced exercisers:
Deadlifts + Jump Squats: Perform a set of deadlifts, then immediately follow with bodyweight or weighted jump squats to build strength and explosive power.
Overhead Press + Battle Ropes: Do a set of overhead presses, then do 15-30 seconds of battle ropes to engage your shoulders and core while keeping your heart rate up.
There are countless powerful ways to mix power and cardio into your routine. Lynch says, “Experiment with different combinations of exercises to find what works best for you.
4. Ruck Your Walk
Step up your usual walk by adding a weighted backpack (aka a ruck) to build strength and endurance. “Rucking boosts your cardiovascular fitness while working your core, shoulders, and legs more than standard walking. It's low impact and helps build strength and resilience while mimicking real-life movements, like carrying groceries or a child,” Lynch says.
Rucking burns up to three times more calories than walking without a weighted pack, according to the Cleveland Clinic. One study found that older adults who performed weighted step exercises improved their leg strength, power, and overall functionality.
The best part: There’s no gym or expensive equipment required. “Rucking can be done anywhere, making it a convenient way to add variety to your fitness routine,” Lynch says. “Start with a lightweight pack and gradually increase the weight as you get stronger.” You can purchase an exercise rucksack specifically designed with weights or simply use your own backpack and load it up with dumbbells, weighted sandbags, or household items like water bottles or canned goods.
5. Go Backward
Sometimes, the way to move forward in your training is to go backward in your direction. “If you are used to walking on a treadmill, try walking backward. If you are used to running, try running backward for a bit of your run,” Washington advises. “Often during cardiovascular exercise, our minds tend to drift or ‘turn off.’ Simply by going backward, our mind has to ‘turn on’ and focus. Even though the exercise is the same, the mind has to be much more alert, which improves cognitive function.”
Walking in reverse not only supports you mentally, but physically as well. “Most people have had issues with their knees. Walking backward has been shown to help rehab bad knees,” Washington explains. “Reverse lunges are a good example. When we lunge forward, those ligaments and tendons in our knees get stretched a good bit. If we step back and go down into a reverse lunge, we don't have as much pressure going through those ligaments and tendons. The same can be said for walking backward!”
6. Recruit a Friend
Everything — including exercise — is better with a buddy. “If you are used to going on a walk by yourself, bring a friend next time,” Washington suggests. “This will help take the mind off the walk and shift it more toward the social aspect. We as human beings are more social than we are active. If we add a social component, we tend to do the activity for a longer duration.”
Indeed, research shows that people who exercise with companions are 32% more likely to reach sufficient physical activity and 45% more likely to enhance their mental health. Another study found that working out with a friend improved performance and doubled the workout time compared to those who exercised solo. In addition to walking or jogging with friends, you can also invite pals to a group fitness class or yoga session.
7. Hit the Trails
Take your run into the sun and onto the trail. “Try swapping the treadmill or track for trail running to engage stabilizing muscles and add variety to your workout,” Lynch advises. “Trail running improves your balance, coordination, and ankle strength because your body has to adapt to uneven terrain. The change in scenery also boosts mental clarity and reduces workout monotony. Remember to start with easier trails and gradually progress to more challenging ones as your fitness improves.”
Spring is your time to shine. “Embrace the longer days and warmer weather by taking your workouts outdoors, where you can soak up some vitamin D and enjoy the variety that nature provides,” Lynch says. “And whether you're outdoors or indoors, remember to keep your workouts fun and fresh."
This article was medically reviewed by Barbara Dougherty, APRN, FNP-BC.