How often do you change your routine

[The Deadlifting Dog]

I agree with switching exercises if your joints begin to hurt. Skull crushers wreak havoc on my elbows after awhile so I switch to close grip bench press when that happens.

As for the deload, I tend to do them about every three months. In your opinion, should I be doing them more frequently?

your body will tell.
are you getting injured?
are you getting stronger?

[Gallowmere]

your body will tell.
are you getting injured?
are you getting stronger?

This isn’t always the best indicator. By the time you hit legitimate OT status and have ceased all progress (or even regressed), you’ve likely dug a hole so deep as to be counterproductive. I’ve seen reports of athletes requiring months of “deload” (doing nearly nothing) to be able to get their recovery back online. Granted, I doubt anyone here does anything so severe as to ever cause this, but it’s more to illustrate the point of waiting until shit is breaking down isn’t a great idea.

[The Deadlifting Dog]

This isn’t always the best indicator. By the time you hit legitimate OT status and have ceased all progress (or even regressed), you’ve likely dug a hole so deep as to be counterproductive. I’ve seen reports of athletes requiring months of “deload” (doing nearly nothing) to be able to get their recovery back online. Granted, I doubt anyone here does anything so severe as to ever cause this, but it’s more to illustrate the point of waiting until shit is breaking down isn’t a great idea.

Don't disagree...

My point.. a little different than yours is...
If you are getting injured then you are lifting too much.

If not then..

If you are getting stronger then can experiment with lifting a little more or less.

If you aren't getting injured and aren't getting stronger then you probably aren't lifting enough.

There are also little things that help to see where you are at such as grip strength.
Grip strength weakening is usually a sign of fatigue.

I am a big believer in mandatory deloads.
It is better to stay a little undertrained and healthy than a little overtrained and injured.

The number one thing is to avoid injuries.
Progress will come if you can keep training, eating, and rehabbing somewhat correctly.
No progress gets made if you get injured.


side note: this is all way oversimplified. (You actually train to build up fatigue overtime. The deload is to get rid of the fatigue. The constant state of some fatigue causes growth... The trick to not to train at a too fatigued state for too long.)

2nd side note: injuries are different than aches and pains... by the time you are ready for a deload everything will probably ache a bit... but you won't be outright injured.

[Wannabhuge14]

Don't disagree...

My point.. a little different than yours is...
If you are getting injured then you are lifting too much.

If not then..

If you are getting stronger then can experiment with lifting a little more or less.

If you aren't getting injured and aren't getting stronger then you probably aren't lifting enough.

There are also little things that help to see where you are at such as grip strength.
Grip strength weakening is usually a sign of fatigue.

I am a big believer in mandatory deloads.
It is better to stay a little undertrained and healthy than a little overtrained and injured.

The number one thing is to avoid injuries.
Progress will come if you can keep training, eating, and rehabbing somewhat correctly.
No progress gets made if you get injured.


side note: this is all way oversimplified. (You actually train to build up fatigue overtime. The deload is to get rid of the fatigue. The constant state of some fatigue causes growth... The trick to not to train at a too fatigued state for too long.)

2nd side note: injuries are different than aches and pains... by the time you are ready for a deload everything will probably ache a bit... but you won't be outright injured.

All very good info and much appreciated. What do you think about doing cardio during a deload? Should it be kept the same intensity, lowered, cut out?

[Gallowmere]

All very good info and much appreciated. What do you think about doing cardio during a deload? Should it be kept the same intensity, lowered, cut out?

Different metabolic pathway, so unless you’re just completely fucked up from resistance training, keeping cardio in place, or even upping the frequency could be useful.
As a completely n=1 example, I’ve always found that I feel much more recovered after cardio intensive deloads than those where it’s reduced or removed. My biometrics (RHR, HRV, etc.) seem to confirm the feeling as well. My best guess is that staying moving is extremely helpful in flushing out the metabolic waste that accrues during resistance training.
I’m sure we’ve all made the classic mistake of sitting around and doing nothing for a while after a hard squat session, and hated life for days afterward as a result.