How do i know if i should swich up my workout?

I have heard that every few months your body gets use to your exercise routine and you should swich it up for optimal calorie burning.

I love the eliptical, how do i know if my body is getting use to it and i should swich it up?  When im on i always do one of the programs.

i dunno, but i would think 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it!'  :D

good luck!

I think that changing the elliptical programs is a great thing to do. You're still doing the type of workout that you prefer but you're changing it up as well. That's what I do.. I loove the elliptical so I just change programs often.

Either of the following are good reasons for me to switch up my routine

- I'm eating like I should and exercising like I should, but not seeing the results I saw when I initially began

- I don't feel challenged

-I'm bored and not motivated to the workout any more

I've read you should switch cardio machines every 2 weeks because your body becomes adjusted to it and you don't burn as many calories. Mix things up often, always keep your body guessing.

Cross train! If I ever say anthing about fitness, it's CROSS TRAIN. Absolutely, switch it up. You need to keep your body constantly challanged. I often see women who religiously attend Step class...6 days a week. They are the Step Queens..showing off, jumping the highest, impressing [and/or scaring the newbies in the back row] but I had many of those Step Queens train with me and they literally feel like they are going to die after some interval training on things like a treadmill.

I recommend cross training during the week. Don't stick to the same routine day to day. Adding in weight/strength training will give you optimal results.

For example

Monday: Strength Train

Tuesday:Elliptical

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Strength Train

Friday: Hiit or Treadmill or Cycle or some type of Group Fitness cardio class

Saturday: Strength Train

Sunday: Rest

That's just an example, of course. But, I hope you get my drift! :)

Mix it up. Even if you are using the treadmill or elliptical everyday do something different. Interval training, sprints, race walking. Lift hard and heavy 3 days a week. Not consecutive. Use heavy weights and change it up every 4 weeks or so. And during the week mix it up in little ways with the weights. Different moves, hold the weights differently. Do some regular calisthenics, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, crunches, leg and ab work, planks.

One thing to think about is that as you get used to exercise, you become better at doing it, i.e. you don't have to put as much effort in as you did initially to get the same amount of work out.

The best way of making sure that you are putting the right amount of effort is to measure your heart rate during the exercise and make sure that it's in the right zone. As you get fitter, your heart rate will drop for the same speed and you then should compensate by running faster or the equivalent (this is the "your body gets used to it" statement).

My mix is 2 days of high-intensity cardio for about an hour each at about 80% of max heart rate (about 160 bpm for me) and 3 days of intervals at about 85% (around 170) for about 30 minutes plus breaks.

As I've got fitter, I've started pushing myself more by running/rowing more intensively. This way you never get used to it because you are constantly challenging your body.

You can get a chest-strap heart-rate monitor online for about $25-30 and it should work with any of the machines in your gym.