How often do you change your routine

[Wannabhuge14]

How often do you change things up? Let's say you're doing an upper/lower split do you only rotate in different movements or do you go to something entirely new such as an upper lower push pull legs type of thing? Just curious to know your guys' approach.

[Gallowmere]

I don’t.
Been running the same program for going on four years and still making constant real, quantifiable progress. Don’t fuck with what works.

[Wannabhuge14]

I don’t.
Been running the same program for going on four years and still making constant real, quantifiable progress. Don’t fuck with what works.

My thoughts exactly. Progressive overload is most important to me and that's hard to do if you constantly change exercises. I don't buy into the whole "shocking the muscke* broscienece approach

[Gallowmere]

My thoughts exactly. Progressive overload is most important to me and that's hard to do if you constantly change exercises. I don't buy into the whole "shocking the muscke* broscienece approach

In my experience, people who do buy into that nonsense don’t keep a quantified training log, and do shit by “feel” and chase soreness and pumps, which have been repeatedly shown to be shitty indicators for any actual growth.

[Wannabhuge14]

In my experience, people who do buy into that nonsense don’t keep a quantified training log, and do shit by “feel” and chase soreness and pumps, which have been repeatedly shown to be shitty indicators for any actual growth.

Couldn't agree more. I think extreme doms are moreso an indicator of overtraining. The best training session is one that you can recover from and be ready to train again once protein synthesis has ceased. I keep a diet journal as well as training and weight log.

[Gallowmere]

Couldn't agree more. I think extreme doms are moreso an indicator of overtraining. The best training session is one that you can recover from and be ready to train again once protein synthesis has ceased. I keep a diet journal as well as training and weight log.

Same here. Pick any random date in the past four years, and I can tell you what I weighed, ate, and lifted in that day.

[The Deadlifting Dog]

How often do you change things up? Let's say you're doing an upper/lower split do you only rotate in different movements or do you go to something entirely new such as an upper lower push pull legs type of thing? Just curious to know your guys' approach.

Being 50 I am probably older than you so factor that in.

I have what's called a deload week (an easy block or week) every 4-5 weeks so what I do is...

I will bench regular grip for 4-5 weeks and gradually increase the weights.
I will also do accesories... for chest say incline DB flies.

After my deload week I will switch it up and do CG bench and flat DB flies with the next 4-5 week cycle.

I switch up my exercises more for relief on the joints then for muscle confusion.
When you lift for strength muscle confusion is the exact opposite of what you want.
You really want to hammer down the same exact technique again and again for strength.

For deads I might do conventional one block then the next cycle will be sumo...

For squat I might do low bah one cycle then do cambered bah the next cycle.

Again... I switch up the exercises more for relief on the joints.
Doing the exact same motion again and again can cause wear and tear.
It is better to switch up the angles every now and then IMO.

[Wannabhuge14]

Being 50 I am probably older than you so factor that in.

I have what's called a deload week (an easy block or week) every 4-5 weeks so what I do is...

I will bench regular grip for 4-5 weeks and gradually increase the weights.
I will also do accesories... for chest say incline DB flies.

After my deload week I will switch it up and do CG bench and flat DB flies with the next 4-5 week cycle.

I switch up my exercises more for relief on the joints then for muscle confusion.
When you lift for strength muscle confusion is the exact opposite of what you want.
You really want to hammer down the same exact technique again and again for strength.

For deads I might do conventional one block then the next cycle will be sumo...

For squat I might do low bah one cycle then do cambered bah the next cycle.

Again... I switch up the exercises more for relief on the joints.
Doing the exact same motion again and again can cause wear and tear.
It is better to switch up the angles every now and then IMO.

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?

[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.

[Test Monsterone]

I will switch things in and out on certain body parts because I just can’t fit that many exercises in one workout. Mostly for back, as there are so many different back exercises. For things like arms, chest, and shoulders, I stick to the same exercises. If I’m injured I’ll switch to something that hurts less.

[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.