Bit confused as to whether or not you really do need to 'switch things up' every 4-6 weeks or so to 'shock' the body. Seems like some people think the body will adapt very quickly to stress from certain programs so you need to change it up every so often. However there is also people that think all you require is progression from workout to workout with deloads every few weeks until you stop getting stronger.
I never really bought into 'shocking muscle growth' or any of that when training. I have found personally that small weight increments are definetly the way to go for me. Although i remember back when i started training I used to simply go into the gym and do whatever i felt like and tried all sorts of different programmes and i definetly made progress but maybe that was just beginners gains.
Was also reading this article which was what sparked my question;
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/weight_trainings_dirty_little_secretAlthough I know t-nation is generally a load of crap but he makes some interesting points.
Then on the other hand there is this article which makes a lot of sense and seems very logical and is generally what i follow:
http://www.leangains.com/2011/09/fuckarounditis.htmlSome of the points martin makes in case you guys cant be fucked to read it all;
"The only thing that should be changing from week to week is the load on the bar or the reps with the same load you used last time. If you're doing it right, these should be increasing. Everything else stays the same; the movements and the order you did them in, the sets and the rest periods in between sets. You don't add in new stuff.
This is the only way you can fairly evaluate your progress and see if you're headed in the right direction. It might sound tedious to keep doing the same movements every week and the appeal of "mixing it up" can seem strong.
However, the tediousness will soon be replaced by the much stronger joy you get from seeing your lifts go up on a weekly basis. Don't fall for "muscle confusion" bullshit. The only ones confused are the people who keep talking about such nonsense."
"Never choose training weights at random. You look at what you used last session and make the choice based solely on that. Not on your ego. Not because you feel like trying higher or lower reps for shits and giggles.
There many good progression models but I will recommend two common models that I use depending on the situation."
I think its true about too many people training 'instictively' im making great progress doing a simple strength programme at the moment, squatting 3 x a week and adding weight to the bar every workout till i stall.
Opinions? Sorry for the wall of text, but im bored and killing time before going to the gym this morning