# Frequency of changing routines?



## scout200 (Aug 11, 2010)

How frequently should I change my weight lifting routine?  What works  better: Should I constantly change it up to keep my body guessing or  should I keep at it until I hit a plateau?

-Scout


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## PushAndPull (Aug 11, 2010)

Depends on the routine. I love 5x5 routines, but my sets generally look something like 5,5,5,4,2 and then I work up to 5x5. I think lifting heavy like this I could make progress for a very long time. For example, I have yet to experience heavy squats as ineffective. That said, i've also experienced far more injuries doing these type of routines compared to others. So I now put a 3 month lid on these kind of routines, even if they're still giving good results. Then I cycle in a routine that's less taxing. These routines are more designed for maintaining strength and giving my body a break. I've also changed my routine to address lagging areas, once I feel the little lagger is brought up to speed, the routine is over. Frequency depends on the reason for changing your routine. I don't pick an arbitrary routine in order to "change it up" or set a specific time period for all my routines. You should have a reason for why you picked that routine and why you decided or didn't decide on a time frame. End of rant.


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## LAM (Aug 11, 2010)

scout200 said:


> How frequently should I change my weight lifting routine?  What works  better: Should I constantly change it up to keep my body guessing or  should I keep at it until I hit a plateau?
> 
> -Scout



If it's not broken then don't fix it.  the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does.  that being the case sometimes changing the order in which exercises are performed is better than changing the actual exercises themselves.  changing up exercises to frequently is counter productive to increasing maximum strength levels.  repetition builds neurological pathways which is how we become more efficient at most tasks.  think about who would be the better squatter the person who squats 2x a week or the person who squats only 2x a month.

plateaus occur for a variety  reasons this is one place were training logs are a big help as you can look back at your wo over a period of time and see where you have been progressing etc.


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## scout200 (Aug 13, 2010)

PushAndPull said:


> Depends on the routine. I love 5x5 routines, but my sets generally look something like 5,5,5,4,2 and then I work up to 5x5. I think lifting heavy like this I could make progress for a very long time. For example, I have yet to experience heavy squats as ineffective. That said, i've also experienced far more injuries doing these type of routines compared to others. So I now put a 3 month lid on these kind of routines, even if they're still giving good results. Then I cycle in a routine that's less taxing. These routines are more designed for maintaining strength and giving my body a break. I've also changed my routine to address lagging areas, once I feel the little lagger is brought up to speed, the routine is over. Frequency depends on the reason for changing your routine. I don't pick an arbitrary routine in order to "change it up" or set a specific time period for all my routines. You should have a reason for why you picked that routine and why you decided or didn't decide on a time frame. End of rant.



I really like your suggestion about cycling.  I know everyone is different and I would like to determine my personal time frame for cycling...  How did you determine your "3 month lid"?   

-Scout


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## scout200 (Aug 13, 2010)

LAM said:


> If it's not broken then don't fix it.  the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does.  that being the case sometimes changing the order in which exercises are performed is better than changing the actual exercises themselves.  changing up exercises to frequently is counter productive to increasing maximum strength levels.  repetition builds neurological pathways which is how we become more efficient at most tasks.  think about who would be the better squatter the person who squats 2x a week or the person who squats only 2x a month.
> 
> plateaus occur for a variety  reasons this is one place were training logs are a big help as you can look back at your wo over a period of time and see where you have been progressing etc.



Hey Lam,

You brought up a good point... have you heard of "Muscle Confusion"?  I've been told that the only way to sustain continuous weight training success, is to keep your body guessing.  That's why I initially asked the question.. lol - I need advice!  But you're absolutely right!!  A person who squats 2x's a week will see more benefits as opposed to someone who squats only 2x's a month.  Help, I'm confused!! lol

-Scout


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## PushAndPull (Aug 13, 2010)

scout200 said:


> I really like your suggestion about cycling.  I know everyone is different and I would like to determine my personal time frame for cycling...  How did you determine your "3 month lid"?
> 
> -Scout



Most of my injuries have come somewhere in 4-6 months of training. So I figured 3 months is a good amount of time. You can still make good gains but it's not overkill. It's been working good so far.


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## Gazhole (Aug 13, 2010)

Change your program when you stop seeing results, or start to notice signs of overtraining/overreaching, or simply get bored with it.


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## dmaipa (Aug 15, 2010)

young lifters get into the habit of constantly changing up their routines because they want to keep their muscle "guessing".  If you constantly change your routine then you will never really progress, stick with a program and take it for everything it's worth.


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## scout200 (Aug 16, 2010)

PushAndPull said:


> Most of my injuries have come somewhere in 4-6 months of training. So I figured 3 months is a good amount of time. You can still make good gains but it's not overkill. It's been working good so far.



Gotcha! Thanks.

-Scout


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## scout200 (Aug 16, 2010)

dmaipa said:


> young lifters get into the habit of constantly changing up their routines because they want to keep their muscle "guessing".  If you constantly change your routine then you will never really progress, stick with a program and take it for everything it's worth.



So I should throw that "confusing your muscles" theory out the window?  The reason why I originally asked is because I started hearing more and more about the theory but several don't believe it's true...

-Scout


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## gtbmed (Aug 16, 2010)

Muscles don't think.  How can they be confused?


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## LAM (Aug 16, 2010)

scout200 said:


> Hey Lam,
> 
> You brought up a good point... have you heard of "Muscle Confusion"?  I've been told that the only way to sustain continuous weight training success, is to keep your body guessing.  That's why I initially asked the question.. lol - I need advice!  But you're absolutely right!!  A person who squats 2x's a week will see more benefits as opposed to someone who squats only 2x's a month.  Help, I'm confused!! lol
> 
> -Scout



muscle confusion is bull shit and a made up term.  repetition builds neurological pathways in the brain this is how we all get "better" at things.  as the saying goes repetition is the mother of skill.  for maximum increases in strength in exercise "X" your must master the proper form and technique of that exercise first.  person A benches only 1x a week and person B benches 2x a week.  B will perfect his technique much sooner than A which will enable him to make faster increases in strength, etc.

muscle confusion is a good way to sell products like P90X as people are always looking for that magic bean. advertisements with lean athletes sell products but don't confuse having a low body fat with strength.  being lean is only a direct indicator that insulin sensitivity is high in the body.

many times simply changing the order of exercises is better than re-doing a whole training routine and don't forget periodization!


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## cshea2 (Aug 16, 2010)

LAM said:


> muscle confusion is bull shit and a made up term.  repetition builds neurological pathways in the brain this is how we all get "better" at things.  as the saying goes repetition is the mother of skill.  for maximum increases in strength in exercise "X" your must master the proper form and technique of that exercise first.  person A benches only 1x a week and person B benches 2x a week.  *B will perfect his technique much sooner than A which will enable him to make faster increases in strength, etc.*
> 
> muscle confusion is a good way to sell products like P90X as people are always looking for that magic bean. advertisements with lean athletes sell products but don't confuse having a low body fat with strength.  being lean is only a direct indicator that insulin sensitivity is high in the body.
> 
> many times simply changing the order of exercises is better than re-doing a whole training routine and don't forget periodization!



I agree with you that you shouldn't change your workout if your still seeing results, but what's wrong with benching only once a week? I've made much better gains since switching to benching once a week. Obviously benching twice a week you will get more comfortable under the bar and perfect your form quicker then someone who benches only once a week, but in terms of strength I don't think benching twice a week would be more effective.


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## dmaipa (Aug 17, 2010)

i agree with everyone who says that "confusing muscles" is BS. if you are progressing on an exercise and making gains why would you feel like you have to confuse it.  Keep killing that exercise till you stop making gains, switch the exercise out and put in a new one.  You can always come back to the old exercises.

also benching twice a week will not cause a person to gain strength, etc. faster.  Tho you can bench twice a week if you pay attention to the volume and intensity, and how hard you train the other muscles to avoid overtraining or overuse of a muscle which will then lead to an injury.


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## LAM (Aug 17, 2010)

cshea2 said:


> I agree with you that you shouldn't change your workout if your still seeing results, but what's wrong with benching only once a week? I've made much better gains since switching to benching once a week. Obviously benching twice a week you will get more comfortable under the bar and perfect your form quicker then someone who benches only once a week, but in terms of strength I don't think benching twice a week would be more effective.



in terms of periodization you will make strength gains quicker "with" a properly designed program.  the more microcycles of strength training that you accomplish over a given period of time the greater the increases in strength.  the body only adapts in response to stimulus


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 17, 2010)

PushAndPull said:


> I don't pick an arbitrary routine in order to "change it up" or set a specific time period for all my routines. You should have a reason for why you picked that routine and why you decided or didn't decide on a time frame. End of rant.




To put things simply...Change is great and you should do it. What pushandpull says here is exactly right. All your body is doing is adapting. When you workout, if you workout well you are trying to do something your body struggles with. It doesn't like to struggle so it adapts and improves in order to make things easy for itself. By designing a routine with planned variety, you decrease the chance that your body will be happy with it's current state.


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 17, 2010)

LAM said:


> If it's not broken then don't fix it.  the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does.  that being the case sometimes changing the order in which exercises are performed is better than changing the actual exercises themselves.  changing up exercises to frequently is counter productive to increasing maximum strength levels.  repetition builds neurological pathways which is how we become more efficient at most tasks.  think about who would be the better squatter the person who squats 2x a week or the person who squats only 2x a month.
> 
> plateaus occur for a variety  reasons this is one place were training logs are a big help as you can look back at your wo over a period of time and see where you have been progressing etc.




I have to say I do not agree with much of this post.

 First if you use the incline and decline bench your body does know the difference. Most incline and decline benches greatly change the usage of the supporting muscles. For example, incline uses a lot of your anterior deltoid. If you want to focus on mainly pec and tricep development, change the angle only slightly. You can do this by putting a 25lb weight under the bench either in the front or back to create they angle you need.

Neural pathways are most important to novice builders. Strength gains for the first 4-6 weeks of a novice lifter primarily come from improvements in the nervous system. After that point muscle development is the primary difference, although you continue to develop neurologically. You improve neurologically by a few different ways. The rate of fire of motor units can increase and the number of muscles innervated by the motor unit also affect strength. If you stick with the exact same routine for a long period of time, you will limit the number of motor units affected during that time. If you plan for variety, you can use more motor units in more ways. Put simply you can either train a few in the same way for a long period of time, or you can train many in many ways. You body will improve itself and adapt with greater efficiency with the latter method.


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## LAM (Aug 17, 2010)

MMAWannabe said:


> I have to say I do not agree with much of this post.
> 
> First if you use the incline and decline bench your body does know the difference. Most incline and decline benches greatly change the usage of the supporting muscles. For example, incline uses a lot of your anterior deltoid. If you want to focus on mainly pec and tricep development, change the angle only slightly. You can do this by putting a 25lb weight under the bench either in the front or back to create they angle you need.



Pecs, Lies and Surgical TapeSense and nonsense about strength training research
by Charles Poliquin


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## stevo123 (Aug 17, 2010)

i found it got very boring doing the same routine day in and day out so i really try to mix it up not just for the muscle confusion but to take the dull out of the workouts to


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 17, 2010)

LAM said:


> Pecs, Lies and Surgical TapeSense and nonsense about strength training research
> by Charles Poliquin




That pretty much agreed with what I said. "First if you use the incline and decline bench your body does know the difference" and not what you said, "the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does."  As mentioned in the article you linked to, the muscle recruitment varied depending upon the different factors such as a change in angle or grip. But I can say that in your link, he mentions several students but doesn't cite any of them. We don't know if the research was from a local high school, read on a website or out of a professional journal. He does mention the need to read good journals, but why doesn't he tell use where he got his pec info? Any way, he did point out the  J_ournal of Strength and Conditioning Research_. That is a good one. I still have stacks of them from back when they weren't so damn digital!


I will say not all research is good research and because he doesn't cite the "paper" he read, no one can look at it and determine if the study was done correctly. I took a few research methods classes when I was in college and the entire point of the most advanced one was to look at published research and determine if their study was valid, reliable etc. It's not hard to find poor work even in quality journals. The professor in that class had a side job of reviewing studies before they were published in a profession journal and he explained that although much of what you find is good work, not all of it is. One example I remember from back in the mid 90's was an research article that determined creatine was worthless because it didn't improve performance for athletes on a cycle ergometer. This was on of the worst studies I had ever seen as they literally concluded creatine did nothing to boos performance by doing an aerobic test for a compound that improves anaerobic performance. It was fundamentally wrong.

Sorry for the research rant....but thanks for posting a link that backs up part of my previous point.


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 17, 2010)

stevo123 said:


> i found it got very boring doing the same routine day in and day out so i really try to mix it up not just for the muscle confusion but to take the dull out of the workouts to


 

That is another good reason!


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## Flathead (Aug 18, 2010)

I think it all depends on the person. If your doing your routine to the fullest & are able to consistently increase your weights, there is no real set duration. I personally will do a rotation where I do Westside Barbell for 3-4 months & then one month of a 5*5 routine & then repeat.


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## LAM (Aug 18, 2010)

MMAWannabe said:


> That pretty much agreed with what I said. "First if you use the incline and decline bench your body does know the difference" and not what you said, "the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does."  As mentioned in the article you linked to, the muscle recruitment varied depending upon the different factors such as a change in angle or grip. But I can say that in your link, he mentions several students but doesn't cite any of them. We don't know if the research was from a local high school, read on a website or out of a professional journal. He does mention the need to read good journals, but why doesn't he tell use where he got his pec info? Any way, he did point out the  J_ournal of Strength and Conditioning Research_. That is a good one. I still have stacks of them from back when they weren't so damn digital!
> 
> 
> I will say not all research is good research and because he doesn't cite the "paper" he read, no one can look at it and determine if the study was done correctly. I took a few research methods classes when I was in college and the entire point of the most advanced one was to look at published research and determine if their study was valid, reliable etc. It's not hard to find poor work even in quality journals. The professor in that class had a side job of reviewing studies before they were published in a profession journal and he explained that although much of what you find is good work, not all of it is. One example I remember from back in the mid 90's was an research article that determined creatine was worthless because it didn't improve performance for athletes on a cycle ergometer. This was on of the worst studies I had ever seen as they literally concluded creatine did nothing to boos performance by doing an aerobic test for a compound that improves anaerobic performance. It was fundamentally wrong.
> ...



You are doubting Charles Poliquin?  do you have any idea who he is?  That's like doubting the strength training advice of of Tudor Bompa or Louie Simmons which is of course utterly ridiculous.


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## Flathead (Aug 18, 2010)

I think people saying "Muscle Confusion", is a bad way of describing "Muscle Variation"


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## LAM (Aug 18, 2010)

stevo123 said:


> i found it got very boring doing the same routine day in and day out so i really try to mix it up not just for the muscle confusion but to take the dull out of the workouts to



yep, that is a big part of training. another problem that causes a lot of people is that they really don't train with a purpose, which is where setting certain fitness goals comes into play.  many people worry to much about calories burned, etc. during exercise instead of becoming more efficient at it.

in terms of strength Tudor Bompa and Louie Simmons recommend having several core strength exercises that you alternate.  say for example you train chest 2x a week.  On Day 1 you might do flat bench barbell and decline barbell and on Day 2 you would do incline barbell and flat bench barbell.  Then when you hit a plateau on one of the exercises you switch to another.  this is easier with some body parts than others as there are only so many closed chain exercises to do for the major body parts.


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 18, 2010)

LAM said:


> You are doubting Charles Poliquin?  do you have any idea who he is?  That's like doubting the strength training advice of of Tudor Bompa or Louie Simmons which is of course utterly ridiculous.



Uhhh....you are starting to worry me.  Read the first paragraph. I agree with the article, it also proves my point of how you were wrong. What I didn't like about the article was his lack of siting sources.


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## dave 236 (Aug 18, 2010)

Flathead said:


> I think people saying "Muscle Confusion", is a bad way of describing "Muscle Variation"


I think the've found it's a good way to sell overpriced training dvds.


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## returnofthdragon (Aug 18, 2010)

dave 236 said:


> I think the've found it's a good way to sell overpriced training dvds.



There will always be someone trying to make a buck with or without a good program. But if you do the exact same thing all the time you are just asking for slow gains and plateaus. Muscle confusion is a great term to sound cool, but using a variety of ways to stimulate growth is still a solid idea.


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## Flathead (Aug 19, 2010)

dave 236 said:


> I think the've found it's a good way to sell overpriced training dvds.


 

Absolutly


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## LAM (Aug 19, 2010)

MMAWannabe said:


> Uhhh....you are starting to worry me.  Read the first paragraph. I agree with the article, it also proves my point of how you were wrong. What I didn't like about the article was his lack of siting sources.



lol I stated that changing the angle only changes the pattern of muscle fiber recruitment which is exactly what Charles and the EMG studies showed.   the primary movers used in the exercise does not change.  people make such a big deal out of these exercises like they are so different.    

it's basic physics, the load is staying on the vertical axis so the forces on the body are the same.  the only thing that changes is the relative angle of the body to the ground so from flat bench to decline or incline the body is going from being parallel to being perpendicular to the ground which causes the shoulder to articulate and there is flexion in the deltoid.   it's not rocket science


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## scout200 (Aug 19, 2010)

Ha, wow!  See.. this is why I'm confused! LOL  Is the consensus for or against variation?

-Scout


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 19, 2010)

LAM said:


> lol I stated that changing the angle only changes the pattern of muscle fiber recruitment which is exactly what Charles and the EMG studies showed.   the primary movers used in the exercise does not change.  people make such a big deal out of these exercises like they are so different.
> 
> it's basic physics, the load is staying on the vertical axis so the forces on the body are the same.  the only thing that changes is the relative angle of the body to the ground so from flat bench to decline or incline the body is going from being parallel to being perpendicular to the ground which causes the shoulder to articulate and there is flexion in the deltoid.   it's not rocket science




Wow. I’m almost speechless. I would love to spend a couple hours educating you about what his article says and what the implications are, but I don’t have time. 

I’m going to break this down for you one last time then move on.  First the article you linked to states, “I highly recommend taking college courses on the basic sciences, such as anatomy, biomechanics and exercise physiology.” Have you done this? I have, but not only the basic ones but also the advanced with a B.S. and M.S. and more. I don’t know everything but I’ve gone way beyond “basic physics”. I have the education, experience and certifications. Have you ever used an EMG? I have. I always want to learn more, which is one reason to come here, but you have to know how sort the good stuff from the crap. Here are some of the things you need to understand.

1st: The description in your second paragraph above is not physics, it’s kinesiology

2nd: With your "basic physics" you don't do bench, incline or decline on a vertical axis. They are on a plane.  If you modify your incline by rotating the bar on an axis I hope you don't knock your spotter out. No big deal, just not a correct use of terms.

3rd: When your reference an article, read it and know what it means. In your first post you said_ “the body does not know the difference between incline and decline bench but your mind does”_ Guess what, the mind is part of the body! That’s not important for this post though. You also said,_ “lol I stated that changing the angle only changes the pattern of muscle fiber recruitment which is exactly what Charles and the EMG studies showed. the primary movers used in the exercise does not change. people make such a big deal out of these exercises like they are so different.” _* The article you like to refer to contradicts both your statements when it says, “ With this information, I could now confidently answer this pec training question by saying that incline presses would be best for the upper pecs, and flat bench presses would be best for the lower pecs.”*  Did you skip that sentence in his article or something? If you had taken the classes he mentions it wouldn’t matter if you had read that statement as the rest of the article explains how this type of thing is true. You also said, _“lol I stated that changing the angle only changes the pattern of muscle fiber recruitment which is exactly what Charles and the EMG studies showed.”_ When the article says,* “another study that did EMG measurements of the incline, flat, and decline presses. It found that the maximum recruitment of the upper pecs was with an incline press, and the maximum recruitment of the lower pecs was with a flat, not decline, press”*

To understand your linked article, you really don’t need a lot of knowledge, just pay attention. Please when you link to an article to prove your point, please make sure you have read and understand it!  I could go into detail to explain how all of this really works, but as I said, I don’t have time. I hate to get so irritable, but you aren't paying attention even though you are trying to help.


Scout200 – I’m sorry to take up your thread with all of this. I just hate misinformation. With anything fitness related you will find a lot of individual differences. You have to try different things to figure out what works for. Most people will respond best to exercise variations planned into their macrocycle. Variations are not limited to  changes in angles, but changes in technique, weight, sets, reps, total volume etc are all ways to add variety. Make sure whatever you do, you plan for it. Don’t just go to the gym and mess around. Check out the sticky posts above. There is a lot of good info there.


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## scout200 (Aug 20, 2010)

MMAWannabe said:


> Scout200 ??? I???m sorry to take up your thread with all of this. I just hate misinformation. With anything fitness related you will find a lot of individual differences. You have to try different things to figure out what works for. Most people will respond best to exercise variations planned into their macrocycle. Variations are not limited to  changes in angles, but changes in technique, weight, sets, reps, total volume etc are all ways to add variety. Make sure whatever you do, you plan for it. Don???t just go to the gym and mess around. Check out the sticky posts above. There is a lot of good info there.



Hey, don't apologize!  I'm looking for feedback and advice - even if it's contradictory...  It's all a learning experience and you have contributed greatly! Thanks!

-Scout


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## gtbmed (Aug 20, 2010)

You don't have to change your routine that often.  A lot of times simply changing the order of exercises or the rest intervals is enough.


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## gtbmed (Aug 20, 2010)

And I also agree that incline v. decline pressing changes muscle recruitment.  Look at the position your arms are in at the bottom of the lift for evidence of that.  In an incline press the elbows are below the torso which means more delt and pectoral involvement in bringing the weight to a position where the triceps can lock it out.


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## LAM (Aug 20, 2010)

MMAWannabe said:


> Wow. I???m almost speechless. I would love to spend a couple hours educating you



eduacating me?ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..let me knowwhen you have done over 30,000 hours of research on this sport in 25 years then get back to me.

primary movers are the same..sorry I mispoke when I said plane vs axis..


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 20, 2010)

LAM said:


> eduacating me?ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..let me knowwhen you have done over 30,000 hours of research on this sport in 25 years then get back to me.
> 
> primary movers are the same..sorry I mispoke when I said plane vs axis..




Yeah, your knowledge experience and understand really shows.........

If you have done 1/2 of what you said, it's obviously not sinking in. You make too many rudimentary mistakes that someone who knows 1/2 of what you claim to wouldn't make. 

Axis-Plane, easy "typo". 
Physics-Kinesiology, lack of understanding shows a little.
Not understanding the significance of the difference between a primary mover and muscle fiber activation, this may be over your head. 
Referring to an article that contradicts your point and supports the person you are having the discussion with and constantly insisting that you know what your are talking about even though the *info you use to back you up directly contradicts you*....priceless.

I'm sure you are full of good info in many topics. The specificity of our debate obviously isn't one of them. I'm sure there is some area in strength and conditioning where you could teach me something. Science obviously isn't one of them. I don't want to come on here and make fun of anyone or start crap. Hell most of the time in this area everyone is right because what works can be very individual. But I just can't keep quiet when someone contradicts themselves then sticks with their story. Seriously, this is a joke that just keeps getting more amusing. Just let it go and move on. As long as you are going to state that there is no difference between flat, incline or decline because they all move vertically and have the same primary mover, I'll just respond with a pair of quotes from you.



LAM said:


> Pecs, Lies and Surgical TapeSense and nonsense about strength training research
> by Charles Poliquin





LAM said:


> You are doubting Charles Poliquin?  do you have any idea who he is?  That's like doubting the strength training advice of of Tudor Bompa or Louie Simmons which is of course utterly ridiculous.


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## N_I_C_K (Aug 20, 2010)

I personally don't ever change my entire routine. Sometimes I'll modify it though. Do bench for a few weeks than dumbbell bench the next few, sometimes throw in a little decline bench. Same with incline, do it for a few weeks than the next few dumbbell incline. So it's the same movement and work the same muscles, just different lifts. 

But I've also heard of people who change there lifts everytime they workout. Like let's say a friend is doing a push workout. For example, one day he'll do: DB bench, incline bench, DB military, tricep extensions, and dibs. Later on in the week on another push day he'll do: bench, DB incline, military bench (BB), flies, and kickouts. So they work the same muscles but they are different routines. I don't know how effective this is but he claims it works and he likes it. 

I'm sure you've heard of P90X. The whole approach of that is change. Do this routine for however long and than change it up after a certain amount of days. They claim it keeps the muscles guessing and doesn't allow them to adapt to certain types of routines. I've heard from one friend who is currently doing it that its excellent and he's getting a lot stronger. Is this true? I don't know but that's what he claims. Although I can see that he's gotten more definition now. 

Maybe different ways work for different people? I couldn't tell ya. But from personal experience you don't really need to change. Maybe modify a few workouts if you get bored, but other than that I don't think its necessary.


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## scout200 (Aug 24, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> You don't have to change your routine that often.  A lot of times simply changing the order of exercises or the rest intervals is enough.



You mentioned that you "don't have to change your routine that often".. What should the frequency of change be?  Thanks for the advice!!

-Scout


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## MMAWannabe (Aug 26, 2010)

I just read an interview with Ms. Olympia, Iris Kyle. Here's something she said, "..one workout I'll do bent-over rows and the next  I'll do T-bar rows.....I'm always switching up. One day I'll do close-grip pulldowns, and the next I'll do them with a wide grip. One day, I'll do my rows overhand and the next underhand"   I'm guessing she knows something as she's been Ms O since 2006.


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