As a coach, I often have clients/athletes ask for a new workout program quite frequently. This is SOMETIMES needed, but how often should people be changing their workout routine up? Is there a magical number of days, weeks or months on a plan?

The Fitness Industry is Filled with a Ton of Useful Information

But is also filled with a lot of info that unfortunately has ZERO evidence-based results. I’m sure that everyone has heard someone say, “You have to shock the body each week”. Where switching programs can produce a new stimulus for muscle, sometimes it’s not always the best thing for gauging progress. I truly believe that the best results come by following a program consistently until you hit a plateau where results are no longer being achieved. I have achieved my best results and also the best results for clients through progressive overload. Progressive overload means that each week, you follow the same program and track your workout, the weights you lift, the reps you get etc. Each week you should push to beat yourself by either increasing the weight slightly or beating your previous amount of reps. By doing this each week, you are forcing your body to adapt and in turn, this will produce more muscle. If you were to change your program too often, it makes it extremely hard to monitor and track progress.

If you are making progress with a program, there is absolutely no reason to change it up.

Continue pushing to beat your previous week and you will continue to see results. Once there are a few weeks that no progress was made (as long as all other factors like nutrition and rest are in check), it might be time to change up the routine. Until then, stay consistent and watch the results keep on comin’!

WRITTEN BY MATT GULLIA