Most of us who are working out go through a routine, and then become very familiar with that routine. At times, we will change exercises up and try to activate the muscles differently. Most of us know that confusing the muscle is one of the main keys to changing and growing our bodies. When someone wants to progress while exercising, it is not always about just trying to lift more and more weight, hoping the muscles will grow and grow.
This can be a sure way to cause injuries to the body. Is it okay to add weight and try to get stronger? Yes, absolutely. But that is not the only way, and that also should be done with some common sense. For example; if you can only do five repetitions with a hundred pounds on a bench press, clearly you do not put two hundred pounds on, hoping for the same amount of repetitions. A person might add two and a half or five pounds to get stronger, but also put a little more stress on those muscles being activated by the movement. This is a much safer approach to gain strength while progressing slowly.
When it comes to confusing the muscles, there are many ways to approach it. Let us start with one simple way that can easily be remembered throughout the weeks and months. If you are following a routine or just starting out, this will be very easy to remember. If you are doing a routine for example such as chest Monday, back Tuesday, shoulders Wednesday, legs Thursday, and arms Friday. When it comes to the following week, start with something different which will also be different throughout the week. For example, now it will be legs Monday, chest Tuesday, back Wednesday, arms Thursday and shoulders Friday.
The reason for this is because, if you keep doing the same muscle groups on the same day every week, the muscles already know what you have planned, in a sense. If you were to do the same exact muscles every week, then it is important that the routine of those muscles change, such as different workouts, reps, sets or even the amount of weight for the specific muscle group.
As the weeks start to go on, generally the weight for exercises should be increasing knowing that you are getting stronger. If you have been doing the same weight for weeks then it is time to step it up and challenge yourself, trying to progress to the next stage. If you started with ten pounds for dumbbell shoulder presses the first week, then about a month in and beyond the weight should have slightly increased to about twelve and a half pounds or even more.
An easy way to remember what you have done in the past is to simply write everything down. Yes, it can be tedious work but, it will help you see how far you have gone and how well you are progressing throughout the weeks and months. Always remember to rather change the days you did a muscle group from the last week, or make sure you are changing the exercises, reps, weights or even sets for that muscle group to progress and change your body.