How often do you change your routine?

[Swole_2112]

A popular opinion, today, is that a routine should be changed every 6-8 weeks so as to avoid your body becoming "use" to it. Some change the movements, entirely. Some merely change the rep range, sets, rest period, etc. Anybody have thoughts on this?

[Blut Wump]

6-8 weeks is a long time to be hammering at the same routine, week after week. I try to change up whenever progress stalls on a lift, which rarely takes longer than a month and often less.

[DrewDog]

when I get bored and when I'm switching up my main goal (ie mass > strength, bulk > cut).

I prefer routine's that have a lot of built in variation so I don't get bored. I've been doing a variation of the same routine, WS4SB 3, since last Nov. and I'm still having fun cause there are a ton of different exercises to choose from.

[rmexico]

Unless you've stopped making progress, I don't think that completely changing a routine is a good idea. If you overhaul your program every few weeks, you'll never be able to figure out what you need to do to get stronger. I get stuck for two reasons: [1] I'm doing too much work, or [2] I'm not doing enough work. Often, it seems that doing something really simple like adding a high-rep back-off set, taking it easy for a week, or temporarily subbing one exercise for another gets progress going again.

[MR.cashcream]

I switch my routine up almost weekly, where as I throw in different secondary movements...of course I never steer away from my major compound moves....but every few weeks or a good month or so after I notice a stall, I'll rearrange a new tactic to approach my compound moves.

[Cynical Simian]

I pretty much agree with what most others have said: as long as you're making progress, don't stop (as always, the caveat "injury considerations aside" applies). And that leads to the one point that hasn't been made explicitly yet: how long it takes to stall varies greatly depending on where someone is in his/her training career. An advanced lifter like BW might load hard for 3-4 weeks then have to deload (i.e., change something, usually reps/sets, to reduce workload), while 6-8 weeks might be perfect for an intermediate lifter. And a novice might lose out on a good deal of progress by listening to some bodybuilding mag and completely changing things up after 8 weeks. So, unfortunately, there isn't any easy, absolute answer and you just have to find out where you are on that spectrum.

As for changing movements vs. changing reps, sets, etc., while it depends on the magnitude of the change of movement (i.e., doing BTN push presses instead of strict OHPs is fine, doing leg presses instead of back squats isn't) , the latter is in general preferable when one of your compound lifts stalls. A lot of people underestimate what can be done through programming but manage to make such adjustments accidentally by changing lifts (e.g., reducing workload by switching from barbell to dumbbell bench and "magically" coming back stronger on the former). Again barring injury, there's a handful of compound lifts that should in some variant be part of most people's training, and it's better to keep progress going on them through programming than trying to do something completely different just for the sake of change.

[Beverly McD.]

The powerlifters in my gym typically have their schedules set months in advance of the next competition. They know exactly how much weight, and how many reps on each specific exercise. Whatever the schedule calls for on that given day, they do. No excuse is acceptable. If you miss a workout due to illness or death in the family, you make it up as soon as possible, preferably by the next day.

[TheSuaveOne]

When I'm bored or stalled. No specific time.

[Sarge]

I just tweak. no more changing routines.

http://www.afboard.com/forum/fitness-training/2022-video-about-progress-tweaking-your-program-matt-kroc.html

[ashley2212]

When I'm bored or stalled. No specific time.

x2

I just go with the flow. In time you get a feel for when you're stalling or need a tweak. I don't keep track of how often it happens but I'd say probably every 4-6 weeks.

[HerDOC2005]

depends on your goals!

if you training for a lift...then the base of your training shouldnt change much, just tweak a few things here and there...

if your training to grow...then I think you should change things up atleast every couple months...

if your trianing to stay sane...do what you want! :D

Peace

[silver_shadow]

you need to TWEAK your routine as often as 3-4 weeks. i follow a routine based loosely around the WSB template, so i'll do 3 week mesocycles for ME and change up the assistance lifts whenever i change the ME lifts.

[jhotsauce7]

every 8 weeks.... i also rotate through repetition ranges during the 8 weeks, no matter the training style. right now I am doing a modified DC, and will be moving to 5x5 soon

[Auzzie]

Depends on your goals really, for bodybuilding type training I think you need to change it up every few weeks.

But back when I was powerlifting we would have training mapped out for 8+weeks at a time,.

[getjacked]

you need to TWEAK your routine

yeah tweaking is fine, meaning just changing exercises, or reps, or whatever.. the problem is people get on the internet (overload of info) and do 2 weeks of a westside based routine, then see some post and switch to a "5x5" routine, repeat and switch to a "westside for skinny bastards" routine, repeat and switch to a "bodybuilding" routine.. all the while making little to no progress.

[bigpetefox]

I change my routine every 6wks, every week I change the movements and set/rep scheme.. I also take off the week prior to the change in program..

[Blut Wump]

I think that, to a large extent, one should think about why an exercise is in your workout schedule.

It's great in the early days when all you need to do is to turn up to the gym and move some heavy weight then go home and wait while you go and get stronger before turning up again at the gym to move some even-heavier weight. You can reproduce that state for brief periods later in your training after a layoff or with chemical supplementation.

As for the rest of the time, you have dead-stop stalls, slow progression and back-sliding as you try to discover where your weaknesses lie and, even harder sometimes, just how to tackle your weaknesses once you've discovered them.

Sometimes exercises will be in your workouts just for maintenance purposes, sometimes they'll be there because you really need to work on something, sometimes they'll be there since you've dealt with your weakness and are able to progress in your main lift again for a while.

For example, you stall on bench and decide that your triceps suck. In light of this, you reduce volume on straight bench and blast your triceps for a while with dips, Tate presses, close-grip benching and some extra overhead presses. After some sessions like this, the extra work for triceps becomes inappropriate and you can return to regular benchwork to make overall progress in the lift again.

Some will work periodized programs having a built-in change after three or four week blocks of volume or peaking. Others might periodize particular lifts or muscle groups while aiming for linear progress on an ancillary exercise.

Examine your reasons for performing a lift before scheduling it and you might find that your workouts will morph and evolve more.

[matt1990]

I personally don't change my program around that often unless there's a major glitch in it or I'm trying to find a program that fits my desired goals and expectations. The only thing that changes on an average of 6-8 weeks is my cardio training, sometimes sooner than that. Because i get bored lol :D

Matt~

[getjacked]

It's great in the early days when all you need to do is to turn up to the gym and move some heavy weight then go home and wait while you go and get stronger before turning up again at the gym to move some even-heavier weight.



personally i think you can do this for far longer than current bodybuilding or training magazines/articles say you can.

i did this up until a 605 deadlift (natural). nothing i did was special, i just deadlifted every week, ate a lot of good food and slept a lot.

i still think that people change stuff way too fast way too much. it doesn't allow you to gauge what actually works or doesn't work for you.

as far as the rest of your post i agree completely..

[trivial]

Right now working with a trainer, some of the exercises are consistant, but the workout varies every time I see him.