My workouts are stale, got anything that can light a fire underneath me?

Training variation is good for a power lifter for many different reasons. The first is the boredom.  Performing the same workout day in and day out, week after week can lead to boredom and decrease your desire to train. The second is, lack of variation can lead to over training and repetitive use injuries. If you perform the exact same types of workouts every week, certain muscles and muscle groups will be trained more than other muscle groups. Over time this can lead to muscular imbalances which can lead to injury. By varying your workouts, you decrease the risk of injury by challenging your muscles in a new way. Finally, if you perform the same workouts consistently, eventually your body will stop responding to them and performance will halt. If you are looking for a change and something fun, yet challenging, and similar to power lifting. I'd recommend trying strong man competition training for a few weeks or months. The lifts of odd shaped objects likes stones, crosses, sand bags, and kegs will provide you with a challenging workout that will engage your muscles in ways they have not been worked before. The lifts are challenging but also a lot of fun and the new strength from having to lift cumbersome objects will improve your strength on the bar when you come back to it.

Adding variety is the spice of life AND what helps you reach your health and fitness goals. Home based workouts are a great way to do just that and there are several DVD's that are easy to fit into any schedule and space available. Turbo Fire combines High Intensity Interval Training with moderate intensity kickboxing for a fun fueled class that will have you burning up to 9x the calories and wasting body fat. Bob Harper also offers a variety of extremely effective home based workouts via DVD, though they require an investment in some equipment.

You can also consider taking your workout outside if the weather is cooperative. Don't limit yourself to walking and running though, parks provide a wide variety of tools at your disposal if you're creative. You can also sign up for a local boot camp class to challenge you and teach you a few new things about fitness. Most gyms offer passes available online as well. Lifetime Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness both offer downloadable 7 day passes. With these you can try new classes or simply step into a new environment for some much needed inspiration.

ALSO, surf the net for free online workouts www.michellecfitness.com