When to Change Up Your Exercise Routine

Knowing when to switch things up is imperative to constant progress.

Struggle knowing when the right time to switch up your training routine?

Historically, I have had a hard time knowing when to mix up my workouts for optimal results. I used to hammer one training program over and over again. I would see immediate results in the beginning and think, “Well it worked, so it must work forever.” Shortly after, I would stop making progress.

This is called a plateau, and is extremely common in the fitness world. Our body’s job is to adapt to whatever life throws our way, and this includes exercise. When we do 3 sets of 10 push ups 3 times per week for a month, our body will adapt to that activity…no more, no less.

The only way it will get stronger or grow bigger is if we give it a REASON to. This only comes in the form of a different stimulus. That stimulus could be more weight, more reps, different tempo, use dumbbells instead of a barbell, or a completely different set of exercises.

Research shows that people typically begin to plateau from a training program within 4-8 weeks, depending on how conditioned you are before starting the program. An out of shape person is not going to plateau as fast as someone in great shape, as they have more room for improvement.

I discuss this in more detail in the video below.