How often should you change your gym program is a common question we get asked. This concept is called “periodization”. The answer? It really does depend on a lot of different factors. How long have you been training? Are you a seasonal athlete? Do you have any injury history? Are you making progress, plateauing, or regressing? Are you bored? Have your goals changed?
It’s good to ask yourself these questions every so often. Sometimes we feel the need to switch it up. Maybe we want to cut for summer. Maybe we want to put on some more muscle. Maybe we are getting bored with the same routine and just need to shake it up. But is it necessary to change our training?
Traditionally, we’ve liked the idea of block programming. And to be fair, I still implement this type of system with a lot of my clients. Block programming just means cycling on and off periods of traditionally low volume/heavy work and high volume/work to allow our bodies to be adapted to different energy systems, movements, loads, intensities etc. Historically, every 12 weeks or so we’d change from a strength block with really high intensities, to a hypertrophy block with higher volume and lower intensities. I still really like this training method because it allows people an opportunity to work on different things in each 3 month block. I find it’s great to constantly give us new stimulus, work your high intensity and low intensity energy systems, try new exercises, and maybe most importantly, avoid attrition secondary to fatigue and boredom.
The counterargument is that by constantly changing back and forth, you’re not really building on all of your gains for a long enough period of time to really enjoy the fruits of all of your labor. Just when you start to really see the work pay off, you switch back to a completely different routine. I think this is a really valid reason not to work on block programming. I think some more elite athletes with very specific goals probably shouldn’t use this, and instead focus all year long on making gains exactly where you want them.
But for most amateur level athletes or weekend warriors or people just trying to get healthier, block will give you more versatility, help you to avoid boredom, and can be programmed more effectively along periods of bulk and cut that allow you too look your best during those seasons where you are wearing less clothing and get bigger during seasons where you can afford to gain a little extra belly fat along the way.
No system is right, it always comes down to making a plan that works best for you.