Are You Asking Yourself How Often Should I Change Up My Workouts?
One of the better questions that I have gotten in a long time came this morning for a middle aged man who has been working out at my gym for a few months now. He asked me how often should I change up my workouts? As a longtime personal trainer in Austin, as well as a gym owner for nearly a decade, I get a lot of good questions. I say this one was exceptional simply because a lot of people ask it, and seemingly very few people seem to know how to answer it.
The reason it’s impossible to answer it quantitatively and definitively, is because there is no such formula, nor much of any formula at all in the health and fitness world that would apply to everybody. It would be like me saying that the first 10 people who read this blog entry should consume 1500 calories per day, and no more. That, obviously, is utter nonsense. It too would be utter nonsense for me to know exactly when you should switch up your workout. The only way I could answer the question of how often should I change up my workout, is if I’m training you. That way, I have a full understanding of who you are, how your body operates, your genetics, imbalances, weaknesses, what your limits are, etc.
A lot of people have suggested in various muscle magazines and other such publications, that it is a good idea to change up your workouts every 8 weeks. I personally see absolutely no scientific reasoning for this, but it does hold some water, however. The fact that anything repetitive can be utterly monotonous and therefore off putting after a while, means that if you keep things fresh, you may stand a better chance of sticking with it. Obviously, if you want any results in the gym and with your nutrition, you need to stick with it.
A personal training client of mine told me that her previous trainer, when asked the how often should I change up my workouts question, told her that you need to switch up your workouts every month so that your body doesn’t get used to what you are doing, and you will then continue to make gains. This too, is rather silly. If you want to know a great example as to how this is completely a fallacy, look no further and the guy or gal who plays catcher in a baseball or softball game. What does the catcher do all day in practice, and in games? He or she stands up, sits down to squat, and he or she holds the squat position. They quickly rise from the squat position to throw out a runner at second base, and they then repeat the process until it’s their team’s turn to bat. Ball players at that level are not allowed to lift heavy weights in the gym for fear they could incur a devastating injury and derail their career. With all that said, show me a catcher with skinny legs. You’d be hard-pressed to do it. It’s the same monotonous repetition over and over again. Up and down, up and down. They don’t change how they sit, they don’t change how they squat, they don’t change how they rise to throw the ball to another player. They do the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. Guess what? They have big strong legs as a result of it.
If you were wondering still how often should I change up my workouts, you are really the only one who can answer that, unless there are extenuating circumstances such as and balances, injuries, sport specific training, etc. It is up to you to keep things fresh for yourself so that you will want to continue on. If you like changing things up, and embracing new challenges, that is great. Change it up all you want to. If however, you are the type that enjoys a routine, and you don’t like to stray from it very often, that’s ok too. Different Strokes for different folks as they say. The most important thing, is that you stick with whatever it is you choose to do.
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Andy
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