I'm staying in a hotel in Cardiff which has a gym. So of course I gave it a try. I do like trying different gyms, different machines.
This hotel one has the same brand of machines as the gym at home, but a different assortment of types. And this morning, I definitely notice a difference, a few places where muscles are complaining (this is good). It's amazing how much difference a slightly different-angled machine makes, or a slightly different design of machine. The hotel had two machines (hip adduction and abduction) that my usual gym has annoyingly got rid of. Or maybe it's just the effect of working out in a different environment. But whatever it is, it seems to help. The soreness this morning tells me I was in a rut.
The place I used to use in Staines had completely different machines - a different make - they worked in very different ways. It had a chin-up machine that worked by pushing upwards under your feet, which I liked. But I hated their leg curl machine.
I suppose the moral of the story is to avoid getting into a rut of a "usual" workout that you always do. After 4 to 6 weeks, it gets stale. And there are always creative alternatives. (Recently, for my legs, I went back to doing lunges, which I hadn't done for a long time. Ouch! The first time, I could really tell the difference).
I can sort of hear the free weights fans pointing out that, with barbells and dumbells, you can vary it infinitely, and use a different angle every time. This is true, and I am a fan of free weights, but many gyms don't have them, and even with them, it's still easy to fall into a rut and always do the same thing every time. You still have to remember to change it around and do something new.
