Can I Change My Workout From Time to Time?
Dear Lifehacker, I heard that I should “mix it up” and change my workouts at the gym. A bodybuilding friend of mine told me this is called “muscle confusion” and will make them grow. I only know a few exercises in the gym, so changing them is even more difficult. What am I doing?
Thanks, confused Karl
Dear Karl! First, muscle confusion is by definition stupid. A group of cells lacks the ability to think, let alone confuse. According to fitness blogger and Westside Certified Barbell Trainer Jordan Sayatt :
The term “muscle confusion” is based on the theory that constantly changing workouts will prevent your body from adapting to your workouts, thereby “shocking” your muscles and causing them to progress unhindered. It is a myth.
In this sense, muscle confusion is not supported by anything I’ve seen in current strength training research, and shouldn’t be influencing you to constantly change your workouts in the hopes of “shocking” your muscles. This is nothing more than hyped fitness marketing bullshit.
We’ve already talked about the dangers of hopping and sticking to a program – switching from one routine to routine in the hopes that it will make a difference is more likely to hinder your progress than push it to the next level. But there are two additional reasons why this is of utmost importance.
If you are below average (for example, squatting twice your body weight), you will be able to make linear progress in the gym. This means that if you keep your exercises the same, you can do more – either more reps or more weight – in the next session, provided you have enough time to recover.
To make this progress, you must be methodical. According to nutritionist and fitness writer Martin Berkhan:
The only thing that needs to be changed from week to week is the bar load or the number of reps with the same load you used the last time. If you do everything right, they should increase. Everything else remains the same; movements and the order in which you performed them, sets and rest periods between sets. You are not adding anything new.
Many people are “confused” because they find training to be more fun. And yes, it might be nice, but it means missing out on something better. In Martin’s words:
This is the only way to objectively assess your progress and see if you are heading in the right direction. It can seem tedious to keep doing the same movements every week, and the attraction of “blending” can seem overwhelming. But fatigue is soon replaced by the much stronger joy you get from the weekly lifting of the lifts.
But don’t worry, you are not doomed to do the same workout for the rest of your life.
It’s still important to change a few things
There are two main reasons why you may need to change your exercise selection or program:
- Trauma, damage
- When the program stops working or the exercise stops progressing.
The first is self-explanatory. Generally, if something in your body is broken, try not to use it, let alone load it with tens of pounds of weight.
In addition to injury, there may be reasons to intelligently change certain things. For example, low, medium, and high repetition ranges contribute to more muscle and strength gains in one way or another, and you will never achieve all the benefits if you stick to one range at all times. For example, fewer reps are great for testing your strength and getting injured from heavier loads, while more reps are good for working out form problems that may be limiting your progress.
Also, if you stop progressing on an exercise or program and give it at least 4-8 weeks, you may want to consider switching to another program or replacing the exercise with an alternative exercise. This is especially true for assisted exercises, as problem areas will change as your muscles develop.
An example of this would be bench press assistance. You may be unstable in the beginning as you get used to the pattern of movement required, so add in the dumbbell bench press, which is great for training stabilizing muscles in your shoulders and back. But when you get stronger, stability will no longer be an issue. Instead, you may feel that your triceps are lagging behind, in which case you can change the assisted work to a narrow grip bench press.
However, if you just want to accelerate your growth, remember that there are two truths in strength training. First, no program or exercise lasts forever. Progress will naturally slow down and stop as your body approaches its natural limits. If you haven’t reached that point yet, the second truth is true: Any good daily routine will work as long as you stick to it.
Regards, Lifehacker
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