How Often Should You Change Your Workouts for Best Results?

Muscle Confusion... Is changing exercises every workout good or not?

Question:
When should you change your exercises?

Answer:
As soon as they stop working for you...

When it comes to changing your workouts and exercises you're going to hear all kinds of opinions. Some people take the "muscle confusion" way of thinking and recommend changing your exercises for every single workout.

Others may take the complete opposite approach and believe that you can stick to the same exercises forever.

And some people recommend that you change your exercises when you get bored with your current routine.

But the ideal time to change your exercises is when they stop working for you.

Whenever you start a new exercise or workout routine your body goes through a series of phases.

Adapt - Grow - Plateau.

First you have to learn how to do the exercise, and in the process of doing this your body will adapt to that exercise.

Then your body will grow in response to regularly doing that exercise over and over again.

But eventually your progress is going to slow down and you're going to hit a plateau and struggle to make any further progress with that exercise.

Once you realize that you're progress has hit a plateau you should change up your exercises or change your workout routine in some way in order to provide your body with some unique muscle stimulation. This will start the whole adapt, grow, and plateau phase all over again.

If you try and change your exercises too soon, than you'll potentially limit the gains that you could have made if you went through the entire process of adapt, grow, and plateau.

[nijowe]

Honestly, weight, total volume and frequency should be the variables you change, not the exercises. Sure, you can change the exercise every now and then, but don't fool yourself to think that it is ideal. What would be ideal is probably keeping the same basics (most popular probably being deads, squats and bench), and rotating your auxiliary exercises. Beginners probably don't need any auxiliary exercises anyways, they will do great with some basic compound lifts as their body adapt so well to the stress.

The body is working on stress recovery adaptation cycles, if you platou, you are either not recovering (not eating or resting enough) or your stress is insufficient to cause an adaptive response (you are not doing enough work).

[MAGAMAN]

Never really understood the whole "muscle confusion" thing. Muscles do one thing and that is to contract. You are either working a muscle or you are not. If your muscle is contracting through Squats or deadlifts, it is still contracting. The only thing that I can see that would make a difference is changing the volume or intensity of the workout. So going from 3x5 heavy to 5x10 with less weight would make a difference, but doing low bar squats and then switching to high bar squats or front squats won't really make a difference if you are hitting the same muscles with the same amount of weight. The only difference is that the different exercises will hit slightly different muscle groups, so one may hit the Glutes harder while the other may hit the Quads more.

If I'm trying to build a stronger chest and increase my bench, I'm not going to stop benching and do something else every 6 weeks, I'm going to continue doing the bench and only change intensity and volume when things start to lag.

[wattoman]

i dont really ever change too much myself. the only thing i really ever change up is the volume and rep tempo.

[cristiifteme]

Nice, good information. Exactly what i need. Keep it up.

[guillotinedeath]

I changef my routine 2 months ago best change so far .. definitley keeping it for a long time

[MegaLifeChanging]

I have competed in bodybuilding completions years ago. My opinion is that it is good to group your muscle workouts so that you give them time to recover. example: don't do triceps, then next day shoulder presses or chest because both use triceps. Is good to change workout, not necessarily more than every three months. Heavy days, Light days too.

[DaLooseGoose]

LOL i do that SAME method now! i USED to do it wrong, like how the guy said. Now I do a new exercise, and i STICK to it for a long while until i just absolutely cannot improve at it anymore (the plateau Lee mentioned). BEST method of exercising I found, after years of lifting at the gym

[josian]

I like to stick with the same
Exercises in my workout routine

[trevor]

Lee, do you have any suggestions for different split routines? I've done push pull legs and the regular body part splits. I just want something completely different but beneficial. Thanks in advance. Love your videos by the way.

[ForzaTerra]

What about the big lifts like bench, squat and deadlift, just change variation?

[bluechucks]

I just do a burnout set after I do a compound lift, for example I usually do squats 5x5 and a burnout set and I do atleast one rep more every time

[mspencer]

Hey Lee!!
i need your advice.
I'm a leftie, my left arm is stronger than my right but my right arm is bigger. its very noticeable especially when I'm flexing my arms.

please i really need your reply..

[alexr]

Lee have you got any advice on how to recognise when you've reached a plateau?

[pelgrin]

I don't think you have to change you workouts unless you have to be can't do a certain exercise or want to try something new as long as you push yourself progressive overload more volume or more weight what you think Mr Lee?

[juzzblaze]

I pretty much do the same routine wheni go to the gym, will adding more weight each week prevent a plateau??

[terrele]

hahahah lol ure fast!!!! asked this today and already got an answer!! huge thanks man!!

[stanwells]

Okay, so I have a "Dead Lift" Program.  and about 6 weeks I am not improving -- your plateau period.  Would you change from doing standard deadlifts to dumbbell deadlifts or sumo dead lifts or drop the weight and go for more reps?  I try and do both barbell and dumbbell in the same workout -- or would you go to something totally different?

[IndraneilLahiry]

hey sir i really need a help i am already in 1000 cal deficit n i can't cut more because it will go way lower than my bmr and i have hit serious plateau at 19% body fat.. should i uptake my cals a little for some days n then cut again or keep cutting? plzz help..

[youthijames]

I am working out allot and I am not seeing it

[terrele]

ive got another question hahah, sometimes i can have a very good workout like i gave it all and a day after i wouldnt be sore at all or a bit sore ? is that a bad sign? it usually happens with my shoulders i never feel sore after training them and sometimes some other parts too.