Consistency and routine are the backbones of any fitness program. If you want results, you have to stick to your workout habit. But sometimes a routine can stall progress. If you’ve hit a plateau in your training and you want to take things to the next level or get back on track toward your goals, varying your workouts could be the key. Read on for advice from two personal trainers on how often you should change your workout routine, how to mix things up, and the benefits you might see. According to Alex Songolo, personal training manger at Life Time 23rd Street in New York City, one of the most significant benefits of varying your workout routine is injury prevention. “If too much of a good thing can be bad, too much of the same thing, particularly concerning your workout routine, can be harmful. When you only do the same workout movements, time and time again, you do not give the primary muscles that assist you in executing those movements adequate time to recover, which will put you at risk of injury through overuse,” he says. Overuse injuries can cause pain and swelling, or even damage to tendons, muscles, and bones. For example, if you run a lot without varying your routine, you could experience shin splints, knee pain, or other injuries. Varying your workout routine can keep you motivated if the same type of exercise starts to get boring. “It can help keep things exciting and improve overall motivation since performing the same moves repeatedly can get monotonous for some,” says Anna Victoria, certified trainer and creator of the Fit Body App. Research published in 2019 shows that mixing up your routine can increase your motivation without getting in the way of results. If boredom is preventing you from sticking to your routine and giving it your all, try choosing different exercises to keep things interesting. When you always do the same type of exercise, it’s easier to neglect specific areas or muscle groups. Switching things up can ensure you’re building a balanced, symmetrical physique. “You will be able to build a more visually pleasing and symmetrical physique when you challenge your body in different ways with different movements. This is because, with varied movements, you can recruit different muscle fibers during your workouts and build a more toned physique,” says Songolo. When your body has to adapt to a new stimulus, it can lead to more strength and better performance. “Doing different moves will challenge your body in different ways, leading to further muscle breakdown, recovery, and therefore an increase in strength,” says Victoria. If you’re routinely missing certain areas of your body, you might hit a strength or performance plateau due to a weakness that isn’t being addressed. Switching up which exercises you do can better ensure you’re hitting all those small muscle groups and supporting structures that keep you pushing for those personal bests. Although variety is the spice of life, it’s important not to get carried away. Mixing things up too often can create chaos since you won’t be able to monitor how you are progressing and whether or not you’ve plateaued. “I recommend doing the same workouts for at least two weeks in a row, and then you can change them up," says Victoria. "The reason for that is because if you change workouts every single week, you will not be able to keep track of progressive overload and if you are truly increasing reps or weight from week to week." Songolo suggests assessing on a case-by-case basis and speaking to a personal trainer who can help you make a personalized plan based on your results and goals. For most people, though, switching things up by adding or changing movements each week is ideal. “That said, generally speaking, it is best to mix up a few different movements in your workout as frequently as every week for your body to adapt and change, and you should transition your entire routine every 6–8 weeks,” he says. There are several ways you can inject some novelty into your workout routine to get results and avoid a plateau. First off, if you haven’t been closely monitoring things like reps, weight, distance, speed, and other metrics for your workouts, getting that data can point you in the right direction for making changes that get results. Songolo recommends checking your rest times if your progress is stalling. “The first thing that can vary your routine is paying attention to that stopwatch function on your fitness watch or phone. Often we are taking too much rest when we are training. And while it may not seem like a big deal in the moment, your body notices,” he warns. Playing with your rest times can change the whole game. For instance, if you’re hoping to burn fat or get your heart rate up higher, shortening rest times will help increase intensity, whether it’s with strength training or sprints. If you are trying to push for that personal best with weightlifting, longer rest times can give you the chance to recover more effectively. Similarly, sticking to the same reps, weight, and sets can lead to a plateau. If you are using weights, switch between heavier and lighter. For bodyweight exercises, switch up the tempo by varying the time under tension. “For example, if you are performing a squat, instead of just going up and down at a regular pace, count out three seconds on the downward and upward phase of the movement—and control your body, moving more slowly through the movement, to match the count,” Songolo says. Simply changing the movement you do while keeping the same intensity can sidestep a plateau. “Swapping one move that targets a certain muscle group with another move that targets that same muscle. You want to be sure that you are swapping like for like. For example, swap a squat for a glutes bridge but not a squat for a biceps curl,” advises Victoria.
Adding variety to your workout routine not only avoids boredom in order to keep you motivated, but it also encourages your body to keep changing, progressing, and adapting. When your body is forced to work harder to keep up with these changes, it can’t plateau. Keep in mind that for progress to occur, there needs to be some structure. It’s how you play within the lines that keeps you growing and advancing toward your goals. Grace Cary//Getty ImagesWe train to give our bodies a new stimulus to adapt to—one that forces us to get stronger, faster, fitter, or more efficient. The catch is that our bodies do adapt to the stimulus over time, which means we have to change our workout every so often to give our bodies a new challenge. The godfather of fitness Jack LaLanne himself once told me that his secret to avoiding plateaus was religiously changing his workout routine every three to four weeks. He was pushing 90 at the time, and though certainly past his physical prime, he was still remarkably fit and strong, thanks to heeding his own advice. LaLanne understood that the human body is incredibly adaptable, which is why he switched up his workouts so much. Should you follow suit? Or how often should you change your workout? Here’s what to know. More From Bicycling
Changing workout routines every three or four weeks is a good rule of thumb, but it’s just that, a general rule of thumb. For the best results, you should change it up according to your experience level and where you are in your training cycle and/or season, says Menachem Brodie, C.S.C.S., head coach at Human Vortex Training, USA Cycling expert coach and USA Triathlon coach. “Some parts of your routine can and should stay the same for two to four months, while you might change other elements every seven to 10 days,” Brodie says. Again, it’s all about priming your body for continual adaptations and those go beyond the muscular level. Your body also responds to strength training at the hormonal level, within your central nervous system, and in your connective tissues. Depending on how much riding, racing, or other endurance activity you’re doing, all of that needs more or less time to train, recover, and continue making positive adaptations. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. If you are a beginner or are performing a set of exercises for the first time, it will take your body about two weeks to orchestrate the neuromuscular coordination and joint positioning required to learn each movement pattern. Then tack on another three weeks to make anatomical adaptations. So you’d ideally perform a set of moves for five weeks before changing them. That said, everyone from beginners to advanced athletes should perform dynamic warmup exercises considerably longer before switching those up, Brodie says. “Your dynamic warmup exercises, such as side lunges with arms overhead, knee pulls, and other bodyweight compound movements, are a great place to address many of your imbalances and movement issues, which take longer to learn and adapt to. You should keep those pretty much the same for two to four months,” he says.
Swapping exercises isn’t the only way to alter your routine. While you may want to repeat the same exercise for several weeks before changing it, you’ll want to change the loading scheme much more frequently, Brodie says. The loading scheme is what creates your perceived intensity or how “hard” a move feels, and influences how your body will adapt. You can change the loading scheme by adding weight or by changing the number of sets and reps or even the tempo (the time to execute each repetition) at which you perform a given exercise. For example, if you’re performing a basic deadlift for 3 sets of 10 repetitions, to change the loading scheme, you would perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions at a heavier weight. Or you could change the tempo, performing 4 sets of 3 to 4 reps, taking three seconds to lift and three seconds to lower, which makes the perceived intensity harder. “Changing the load scheme every seven to 10 days is where the magic happens,” Brodie says. “That’s how you continue to see benefits over the long run.” You should also plan to change your strength routine as you change your endurance routine. For instance, when you ramp up endurance training, turn down the volume—but don’t come to a screeching halt—in the weight room.
“During your heavy riding season, continue to work on your weaknesses and the other muscles and movements that don’t get used as much during those activities,” Brodie says. For most of us, that means going way easier on our legs, but continuing to work on glutes (which are notoriously weak in endurance athletes), core, upper back, shoulders, and other supporting muscle groups for short sessions three to four times a week. Finally, don’t forget to build in complete recovery. You need to “deload” on a regular basis to let your muscles and nervous system completely recuperate from regular, rigorous training. “A good place to start is progressing for three weeks and then taking an easy, recovery week,” Brodie says. “Two easy ways you can do this are to simply keep the weight the same but do one fewer set of each exercise, so instead of doing 3 sets of 8 repetitions, do 2 sets. Or you can decrease the weight you’re using by 10 to 15 percent and keep the sets and repetitions the same. The important thing is to decrease the stress you’re putting on the body.”
To get the best results, you should change up parts of your workout every three to four weeks depending on your experience level and the time of year. Remember to master your form for several weeks first and then change up the loading scheme more frequently. Selene Yeager“The Fit Chick” Selene Yeager is a top-selling professional health and fitness writer who lives what she writes as a NASM certified personal trainer, USA Cycling certified coach, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, pro licensed off road racer, and All-American Ironman triathlete. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. |