Do You Have to Change Exercises Every 4 Weeks?

**Photo Credit: Flex Lewis

No, you don’t.

Changing exercises frequently is not a necessity, and you can make progress just by manipulating your load and total volume (i.e. the weight on the bar and the set and rep schemes).

However, changing exercises on a semi-regular basis – think 4-12 weeks – does pose benefits, and some of those benefits are as follows:

 

1. Bring up weak points or re-emphasize strong points.
2. Reduce the risk of overuse injuries.
3. Prevent boredom.

 

Let’s cover each benefit individually.

 

1. You’re Only as Strong as Your Weakest Link…or Your Strongest Link

Each movement or exercise performed in the weight room works the body in a different way.

Therefore, only training one exercise or movement pattern will develop strength in some muscles/movement patterns, and weaknesses in others.

Let’s use the squat as an example.

Although each squat variation stresses the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and low back (among other things…those are just the main muscles being used), the back squat – where the bar is loaded on your traps or posterior delts (i.e. the back of your shoulders) – emphasizes the posterior chain (hamstrings, low back).

A front squat – where the bar is loaded on your front delts (i.e. the front of your shoulders) – emphasizes the anterior chain (quads, abs).

If you only train the back squat, that movement – and the muscles that are heavily stressed during the back squat – will get stronger.

The front squat, however, won’t get stronger (at least not as strong as your back squat), and your hamstrings and low back will become more developed than your quads and abs.

By changing exercises on a regular basis, you ensure this doesn’t happen (to such a large degree).

You’ll always have movements or muscle groups that are stronger than others, and you should definitely play to those strengths by emphasizing them in your training.

But, you’ll also have movements or muscle groups that are weaker than others.

And by bringing those up – and closing the gap between your strong points and weak points – you’ll become much stronger overall.

 

2. Injuries Suck (So Try to Avoid Them)

Just as certain movements and exercises tax your muscles in certain ways, they also tax your joints in certain ways.

And over time – if you perform the same exercises without ever changing them up – this can lead to injury.

Now, this isn’t guaranteed.

There are people who perform the same exercises for years at a time and never have any problems.

But, not everyone can do that (I can’t).

Some people’s joints give them the *middle finger* if they perform an exercise for too long.

If you’re one of these people – and things start to get achy after a couple months performing a particular exercise – you may want to opt for a more “high variety” approach.

 

3. Boredom Crushes Progress

Lastly, doing the same exercises over and over again can get extremely boring.

Why is this a problem?

Because boredom decreases motivation.

A lack of motivation decreases consistency.

And a lack of consistency leads to zero results.

If you don’t get bored easily – and can continue performing the same exercises over and over with high levels of effort and enthusiasm – by all means, keep doing it (if you aren’t developing glaring weak points or feeling beat up).

But, if you do get bored easily, there’s nothing wrong with implementing more variation.

After all, training should never be boring.

Hard maybe, and there will definitely be movements or exercises you dislike (probably because you’re bad at them).

But if every training session makes you feel like you wanna stick pens in your eyes, something needs to change.