Thread: Mixing It Up

Why would you want to make any changes if you are continuously progressing?

Thats the thing, the only thing I want to change is the accessory movements. Not the main lifts. I'm just starting to see symmetry issues and wanted to know if I should change to stop those from happening..

Don't mess with success man.

Originally Posted by Marat

Why would you want to make any changes if you are continuously progressing?

To progress faster or to not get bored.

I'm a huge proponent of change. I would never design a program that uses the same sets and reps each week. Most athletes I've trained progress faster with more variety in their program. I believe you get more neuromuscular progress with change, hit less plateaus and less change you get bored. But along with others here, I do agree with the old phrase, if it's not broke, don't fix it. If you are happy with your progress and aren't bored, don't change anything. What works for oe person isn't necessarily what's going to work for someone else.

Originally Posted by Marat

Why would you want to make any changes if you are continuously progressing?

Spot on!!!

If you want to change it up, then change it up. The more you experiment, the more tuned in you'll be to how your body responds to each movement.

The issue is if you are turning everything on it's ear week to week, it's difficult to process the feedback and figure out how each variable impacted you.

Additionally, you will invariably hit a plateau at some point. Since you've basically blown your load by already manipulating so many variables, you may struggle to find the variable that needs to be manipulated to get through that inevitable plateau.

I used to change my accessory work every 4-5 weeks when I did a 5x5 style program.

The truth is that the accessory stuff doesn't matter that much compared to the big 3 lifts. I agree with Marat though - when you hit a plateau, it's going to be hard to tell whether it was from the periodization of your training or from the change to your accessory work.

I'll let it roll and adjust the delts later on then :P