How do you "vary" your workouts?

[AandF6969]

I always hear about varying your workouts to keep gains coming and to avoid plateauing. Is changing an exercise every week and maybe doing a few heavy negatives/super sets/drop sets every other week enough? Or do you need to completely rework your schedule?

[nsa]

I switch up the exercises every month.

[bad_man]

I have about 6 exercises per bodypart and I choose 2 or 3 each day. It all depends on what I feel like doing that day and whether there is an exercise that I haven't done in a while.

[doby48]

I change my routine every 6 weeks, and just throw in drop sets randomely. I always do a couple of drop sets with each workout, just mixup with what exercises.

[ttuPrincess]

depends on what machines and weights are open when we finish each exercise.. Coldstone normally has a semi-plan set up for us when we head in .. but if someones in the way we just work around it.. but our workouts change each week.. keeps thing interesting

[Warrior]

I alternate intesities all the time. Depending on how intense the last one was is how intense the follwong one will be. I usually alternate a basic POF type (sometimes with some static contraction traininf - especially for biceps and delts) or GVT (Poliquin) day with more intense EDT (Staley) or Holistic (Hatfield) stuff. Sometimes I'll switch out and keep intensity low for a few weeks and not do really any advanced training - only when I feel the effects of overtraining setteling in...

[saboudian]

[QUOTE=AandF6969]I always hear about varying your workouts to keep gains coming and to avoid plateauing.[ QUOTE]

"I think the biggest fallacy in bodybuilding is "changing up" "keeping the body off balance"--you can keep the body off balance by always using techniques or methods that give your body a reason to get bigger=strength"

[Warrior]

"I think the biggest fallacy in bodybuilding is "changing up" "keeping the body off balance"--you can keep the body off balance by always using techniques or methods that give your body a reason to get bigger=strength"

I agree... to an extent. One of the biggest misconceptions is that you must confuse the muscle - when you really can not confuse it.

But switching up your routines over micro (days) or macro (months) cycles, such as the methods used in periodization will help keep you goal orientated (muscle mass, strength or leaning up) as well as training different more endurance-orientated muscle fibers vs always hitting the fast-twitch. Switching up is also good to keep off certain types of overtraining that can develop out of simple boredom with your routine.