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Should you do the same exercises every day?

By Brian Foley from Activate Fitness
Being active is great - but what if you do the same exercises every single day - will that help you stay fit?
Here’s the answer:
If you have a fitness regime in place but always do the same thing, you’ll get some of the benefits of activity, but you won’t get all of them. With some adjustments, your hard work could create even greater results.
For example, someone who runs three kilometres at the same pace every single day is going to be much better off than someone who isn’t active at all. Running has many benefits; physiological and psychological and works your cardiovascular (heart and lungs) system, and regular activity is great for maintaining your health.
But the body adapts to the demands on it, and once it’s adapted to be able to run three kilometres at a certain pace, it doesn’t make any additional changes. You still burn calories, get your heart working and use your muscles, but you won’t get a lot fitter. You won’t continue to get faster or stronger. In training, we call this “hitting a plateau”. Improvements stop, and sometimes you might even slide backwards a little.
To make further improvements, you need to change things to put new stresses on the body and force it to adapt.
For example, you could run three kilometres in less time, you could run four kilometres, or you could do three one kilometre intervals at a very fast pace with rest between efforts. All these variations still involve running but would cause your body to make positive changes again.
It’s the same thing with weight training. If you do dumbbell biceps curls for three sets of eight reps at 5kg every day, your body won’t change much. It has the capacity to do the work, so it doesn’t add more. But if you asked it for three sets of 10 reps, or to move 8kgs instead of 5kg, it would adapt to accomplish the effort. Your muscles would grow.
So if changes to your routine are needed to keep making progress, how do you know what to change and when? That’s where a competent coach comes in.
HOW A COACH CAN HELP
First, you must get the right programme in place to start, and it should be based on your exact health and fitness goals. Some people just take a routine from a magazine or the Internet and do it over and over. Again, it’s great to get moving, but that routine won’t be perfect for you, and your needs will change.
When we create programmes we find out exactly what people want to accomplish, and then we put an ideal plan together.
Then we monitor progress, and we evaluate daily, weekly and monthly results. Because we’re experts, we can tell when you’re ready for a new challenge that will ensure you’re always moving forward. Programmes are constantly updated to ensure you’re training optimally.
Beyond physical adaptation, there’s also something else to consider: boredom. By including some variation in your programme, we’ll keep you interested and engaged.
Running the same three kilometres every day on the same path can grow stale, and sometimes boredom makes people quit activities.
But what if we had you do that three kilometres on a more rugged trail that challenges your balance and strength with obstacles and climbs? Or what if we had you stop running every 500m and perform 10 lunges?
A good coach is always working to make sure a client is moving toward goals as quickly as possible while staying motivated.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR TRAINING PLAN!
If you’re already active but feeling bored with your routine, we can energise you by setting some goals and adjusting your training plan. If you like your current routine but have stopped making progress, we can help you start moving forward again while maintaining some of the elements you enjoy.
And if you’re thinking about becoming active, we can make sure you start on the right foot and continue moving forward for years.
With a coach behind you, you’ll never hit a plateau or experience boredom. Instead, you’ll make steady progress toward your goals.
To find out how a coach can help you, book a free consultation with us by visiting www.activate.ie.
News
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.
News
Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]

Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.
Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.
This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.
Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.
“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.
“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”