Do you stick to a specific routine, or mix it up?

tigersword

If all you want from your exercise is to burn calories, then doing whatever you want at random and constantly changing is fine, as long as it keeps you moving & not quitting.

If you have a goal like gaining muscle, getting stronger, faster etc. then you need to get a plan and stick to it so you can progress.

This. If you're constantly changing your routine for no reason, then you can't measure progress.

Alternatively - if you're constantly changing your routine for a reason you can still measure progress - increased strength (weight lifted), increased strength endurance (number of reps), reduced body fat, improved VO2 max. All these are valid measurements irrespective of routine.

I'll say this is half true. I agree for someone experienced, this is true. For a beginner however, a lot of those variables can be tricky to judge. For instance, if I'm front squatting 200 pounds, then randomly shift to the back squat and put up 250, does that automatically mean I'm stronger? In general, people back squat more than they front squat, so it wouldn't be a valid comparison. Unfortunately, as we see all too often on this forum in general, people tend to react to a single event, and don't have the necessary experience to place it into context.

cwolfman13

It depends on the time of year for me.

Right now it's cold and stuff so my primary focus is in the weight room. If I get out on my bike on a couple of nicer days per week then that's gravy....just trying to maintain some cycling base right now, I don't need to get in a ton of miles. I'll also do some spin here and there at the gym and cross train with other cardio, usually on Saturdays after my lifting session as that's when I have the most time.

As the weather improves into spring I will be on my bike a lot more...generally 5 days per week with varying mileage. I have the Santa Fe 1/2 Century Ride in May so I'll start putting in the miles come February and will ultimately build up to my ride in May. My program has me doing various miles per day with one really short ride, a couple of medium distance rides, and one long ride per week...It's really that long ride that I work on increasing every week...I try to increase my mileage by 5-10% of so every week and will go from doing about 50 miles per week to about 100 miles per week. That's about as much as I can take before I really start losing interest so I doubt I'll ever be doing a full century any time soon. I still lift while I'm doing this, but lift differently, particularly as I near the event...I can't squat and deadlift every time out when I'm putting that many miles on the bike.

In the summer I just like to have fun...I resume my standard lifting routine and dial back the cycling to a couple of days per week and start doing a lot more trail rides, etc rather than road riding. I also do some swimming and hiking as well and like to get out to play a little golf at least once per week. I'm not much of a runner, but I do like doing some fun mud runs during the summer.

As I move into fall, cyclocross season will be cranking up. Unfortunately I was injured this year so never was able to race...just practice...but hopefully this year I'll be able to get out and actually race on Sundays and practice a few days per week. It is a different kind of cycling...rather than long, staunchy miles, it's pretty much balls to the wall sprinting for 30 - 45 minutes in the mud and the dirt. It's a lot of fun and very intense.

Then full circle to winter and the cold and seeking the refuge of my heated weight room.

sijomial

Alternatively - if you're constantly changing your routine for a reason you can still measure progress - increased strength (weight lifted), increased strength endurance (number of reps), reduced body fat, improved VO2 max. All these are valid measurements irrespective of routine.

I'll say this is half true. I agree for someone experienced, this is true. For a beginner however, a lot of those variables can be tricky to judge. For instance, if I'm front squatting 200 pounds, then randomly shift to the back squat and put up 250, does that automatically mean I'm stronger? In general, people back squat more than they front squat, so it wouldn't be a valid comparison. Unfortunately, as we see all too often on this forum in general, people tend to react to a single event, and don't have the necessary experience to place it into context.

That wasn't the kind of measurement I was suggesting - do people really compare different lifts? The measurement obviously has to be the same lift or it's apple & oranges.
An example:
I dropped out bench press from my regular routine for a month or so to do the 100 push up challenge - just for the challenge and a bit of fun. That didn't stop me from doing an odd set of bench press just to measure my progress (or in reality lack of progress!) in bench press at that time.