Why You Should Never Do The Same Workout Twice In A Row

We all know the mega runner who logs five miles every morning, or the barre star who’s done the same class for three years without missing a day. But we’ve also heard that mixing up our workouts is key to all-around fitness. And that, friends, couldn’t be any truer.

Any kind of physical activity is generally good, but changing it up frequently will help your body reap maximum benefits, says Dr. Donald Dengel, an expert in exercise physiology at the University of Minnesota.

“Any form of activity is good activity,” Dengel told HuffPost. “But speciality is not the best way to work our bodies. Variety is what we want.” Here’s why.

Mixing up your workouts keeps muscles in check.

Doing the same thing every day increases your chance of injury from using the same muscles over and over. Think of a runner who suffers hip or hamstring pain after consistently running six days in a row, says Dr. Michael Jonesco, a sports medicine expert at Ohio State University.