Quote:
Originally Posted by
Omar1223 
i was thinking about starting a new thread but decided against it because it is similar to this thread. How often do you guys switch up your workouts? How long does it take for your muscles to get "used to" a certain workout or exercise? Thanks.
I was stalled for a while until I started switching up my workouts every 6 weeks or so (max--sometimes every month). Now I'm back to steady (though slow) gains as long as I'm not in a cutting phase. I tend to do full body, heavy routines two or three days a week for up to a month (5x4s doing the big compound movements, for example), then do another four or so weeks dropping the sets, upping the reps, keeping it in the moderate range, still full-body (so e.g. 4x6-8 or so), then I drop the sets and up the reps even further, and do an upper body/lower body split (and all exercises in supersets) for about 4-6 weeks; during that phase, I'm lifting four days a week, which is the most I ever lift, but is possible largely because I'm pushing less weight and the sessions are shorter. During all phases, cardio consists of HIIT, never done on the same day as a weight session, usually anywhere from twice to three times a week. And making sure to eat enough to offset the caloric requirements of the cardio. I basically CAN'T do cardio after leg days when I do the upper/lower body splits, though--if you can manage to do sprints the day after you do squats and deadlifts supersetted, even at relatively easier weights (say, 3x8-12), you didn't push it hard enough the day before. After that, I tend to take it easy for a while, doing full-body supersetted lifts that are more focused on cardio and muscle endurance than strength or hypertrophy. Then I go back into it. I never use the exact same exercises in successive routines. If I did standard squats for the first phase, I'll do front squats for the second, etc., then go completely different and do something like Bulgarian Split Squats for the third. Gotta keep the muscles guessing.
