Do You Make This Muscle Building Mistake?
A reader, KB from England, wrote in to ask a question about building muscle.
"I read in a fitness magazine that if you continue with a workout for longer than six weeks you’ll actually become less fit and less muscular," wrote KB.
"Do I need to shock my muscles by changing exercises every six weeks? How long should the 4-day routine in the Maximum Muscle Plan be followed before changing the exercises so my muscles don't adapt to them and become less effective?"
It's a good question. After all, the "change exercises every 4-6 weeks" mantra usually gets repeated in most of the popular fitness magazines on a regular basis as if it's some kind of undisputed fact. Maybe I'm being a little cynical, but the fact that such advice coincides with their publication schedule doesn't seem to me an entirely coincidental one.
Changing exercises
Constantly changing exercises is not necessary, or even desirable, if you're trying to build muscle. Personally, I don't see a major problem with using the same basic exercises over time. What I like to do is stick with the main exercises (like the bench press, squat and pull-up), and then change a few of the other ones every month or two. This keeps things "fresh" and stops me getting bored. Changing some of the exercises also helps to reduce the risk of some "overuse" injuries.
The two main factors that stimulate muscular growth are progressive tension overload and metabolic fatigue. The simple act of changing exercises won’t automatically “shock” a muscle into growth.
Yes, it's true that when you try a new exercise, you'll tend to get stronger relatively quickly. But this isn't because you've suddenly gained a lot of new muscle. Instead, the reason people make rapid improvements in strength with a new exercise is that their nervous system gets better at recruiting muscle fibers.
In other words, when you change exercises, any increase in strength has more to do with the fact that your body is using more of the available fibers in a muscle. It's not because the fibers themselves have got any bigger.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should follow the same workout week after week, month after month. But just because a part of your program has become easier doesn't mean you need to change everything. If a 50-pound barbell is too light, then add some more weight. If walking on the treadmill is too easy, then increase the speed or the incline instead. You don't need to change the whole thing.
Now, I know this might sound like I’m going against the grain. But I’m certainly not the only one who thinks that the case for constantly changing exercises is not a particularly strong one.
Variety for variety’s sake
“The proper way to include variety in the program is to use it in ways that reinforce training goals,” write strength training experts Mark Rippetoe and Dr. Lon Kilgore in their excellent book Practical Programming, "so that different types of training during the week have a functional purpose. This means that the variety lies in the way the basic exercises are applied, and not in a bunch of new exercises.”
“Variety for variety’s sake is pointless," they continue. "All training must be planned, and success must be planned for. All the variety in the world is no substitute for correct planning.”
In his book Beyond Brawn, Stuart McRobert also cautions against too much variety:
“You can use variations of the basic movements for variety, but you do not have to. There is even danger in using variety because you can lose focus and get caught up in an excessive assortment of exercises.”
Jason Ferruggia, author of Muscle Gaining Secrets makes a similar point:
"There is so much information out there these days that people don’t know who or what to believe. And because of this they are confused. They are constantly reading something different and always in search of the next best thing."
"So what does all of this lead to? Too much variety."
"Every week you read something new and think that you found the missing link to your training program. So you add it in. Or you switch your program completely. Either way, you are making a huge mistake. When there is too much variety there is too little consistency. And this leads to a miserable lack of progress.”
If you’re the sort who gets easily bored, then changing your workout frequently can help to keep you interested and motivated, which is a benefit in itself. But it’s a mistake to jump from one program to the next simply because you've been following it for X number of weeks. You don't need to.
About The Author
 Christian Finn holds a master's degree in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and has been featured on BBC TV and radio, as well as in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Fit Pro, Zest and other popular fitness magazines.
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