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change lifting routine every 8wks?

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

Just curious. I have been on a strict lifting schedule for 8weeks now. I do a 4day split, record everything I'm doing, and always up my weight if possible to keep my muscles working. I still experience muscle soreness after each workout. Is it wise to continue my routine and just keep challenging my muscles by upping my weights or should I change up the exercises all together? I've been looking online for different 4day split routines and most involve many of the exercises I'm already doing, so I'm not sure what other exercises to do if I don't do the ones I've been doing. For example if I work triceps and chest I will do four exercises for each muscle group, typically 4sets,each around 10-12reps. I rest very little between..maybe 30seconds so I keep my heart rate up. Thoughts?

Replies

kinmad4it

Muscle confusion as is promoted by some people is utter bo**ox! You keep the muscles "confused" by increasing the intensity/volume of your routine. There is absolutely no need to keep changing up a routine every magic number of weeks.
Now changing up routines to compete with boredom and getting fed up of doing the same thing over and over and over again is another matter and one that is purely down to personal taste and preference.

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

Ok..that's good to know.

I will likely switch up a couple of the exercises because I just don't like them, but overall I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing.
One other question a little off topic but deals with weights. I've heard that women should stay away from exercises like shrugs and upright rows because it will make their traps big. Any thoughts on that? As you can see I'm still learning.

Roadie2000

Muscle confusion as is promoted by some people is utter bo**ox! You keep the muscles "confused" by increasing the intensity/volume of your routine. There is absolutely no need to keep changing up a routine every magic number of weeks.
Now changing up routines to compete with boredom and getting fed up of doing the same thing over and over and over again is another matter and one that is purely down to personal taste and preference.

That's mostly true, but there are lots of benefits to changing up your routine every once in a while. You'll work some new muscles, or work your muscles in a different way and you will see some newbie gains again. Plus you want to challenge your body in different ways or you will get too 1-dimensional fitness wise.

Roadie2000

Ok..that's good to know. I will likely switch up a couple of the exercises because I just don't like them, but overall I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing.
One other question a little off topic but deals with weights. I've heard that women should stay away from exercises like shrugs and upright rows because it will make their traps big. Any thoughts on that? As you can see I'm still learning.

How big your muscles get will depend on your diet. For women to build big muscles it will take a long time and they will have to eat a calorie surplus. If you're eating on a deficit and trying to lose weight your traps won't get much bigger.

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

Thanks for the information.

Isn't different weight exercises kinda the same though as far as working a muscles. So say for example I do overhead extensions on the cable machine..isn't it kinda the same as doing overhead extensions with dumbbells. When i tried to look up different types of exercises to do online I basically came up with the same ones I"m doing just using different equipment eg..dumbells, cables, barbell etc..Sorry if these are silly questions..like a said I'm still learning.

Azdak

Muscle confusion as is promoted by some people is utter bo**ox! You keep the muscles "confused" by increasing the intensity/volume of your routine. There is absolutely no need to keep changing up a routine every magic number of weeks.
Now changing up routines to compete with boredom and getting fed up of doing the same thing over and over and over again is another matter and one that is purely down to personal taste and preference.

That's mostly true, but there are lots of benefits to changing up your routine every once in a while. You'll work some new muscles, or work your muscles in a different way and you will see some newbie gains again. Plus you want to challenge your body in different ways or you will get too 1-dimensional fitness wise.

The disconnect exists when people don't understand the difference between "muscle confusion" and "varying your training stimulus". The first is gibberish, the second an essential training strategy. Varying the stimulus is done in a planned, structured way that remains focused on one's goals. As you say, there are many benefits to those types of changes.

terizius

For me, there are about 8 exercises that I "always" do. I used those to track my progress and include them into pretty much every workout routine I do. But, all of the "accessory" lifts, I change about ever month or so. I do this, as others have said, to vary the training stimulus (hit the muscle a different way) and to avoid getting bored. The program I'm currently following has these principles built in (Shortcut to Size by Jim Stoppani). It even goes a step farther and changes the rep range up every week. Anyway, there are countless variations on pretty much any exercise.

BTW, in regards to overhead extensions with dumbbells vs cable, while the movement is essentially the same, the stimulus is different using cables vs dumbbells because:

"they provide constant tension on your muscles during an exercise. When using free weights, you only experience resistance when you’re working against gravity. With cables, the resistance is constant throughout the movement – and this can result in a more efficient workout on some exercises"

(from - http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/exercises/free-weights-vs-cables)

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

For me, there are about 8 exercises that I "always" do. I used those to track my progress and include them into pretty much every workout routine I do. But, all of the "accessory" lifts, I change about ever month or so. I do this, as others have said, to vary the training stimulus (hit the muscle a different way) and to avoid getting bored. The program I'm currently following has these principles built in (Shortcut to Size by Jim Stoppani). It even goes a step farther and changes the rep range up every week. Anyway, there are countless variations on pretty much any exercise.

BTW, in regards to overhead extensions with dumbbells vs cable, while the movement is essentially the same, the stimulus is different using cables vs dumbbells because:

"they provide constant tension on your muscles during an exercise. When using free weights, you only experience resistance when you’re working against gravity. With cables, the resistance is constant throughout the movement – and this can result in a more efficient workout on some exercises"

(from - http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/exercises/free-weights-vs-cables)

Thanks so much for explaining it to me..it's much clearer now.

terizius

My pleasure. If you have any more questions I can try to answer, just let me know