The one thing that always frustrated me about switching my routine so often (back when I followed such advice) was: when do I get stronger? Just when I would begin to make progress, it was time to start over. And since the routine was completely different, I could never be sure exactly what weight to start with, so there would be an initial trial-and-error stage, so by the time I started making progress, it was time to start over, AGAIN. I found that these stops and starts really added up and sent my wheels spinning.
While the success of many top level bodybuilders and powerlifters can be reasoned and excused using a number of factors, I can’t help but notice that most of them have stuck with the program(s) they found most successful. Not that they didn’t make changes WITHIN the routine, they just spent more time making progress than starting over. And, as someone stated earlier in this thread, if you lift more than you did the previous session, it’s already a different routine.
On a related note, I think the variety within DC and Westside gets overlooked. Because they cycle the actual lifts on such a constant basis, a couple of blasts on DC or several rounds of Westside would provide similar variety as several different routines used in the same amount of time.
[quote]leon79 wrote:
The one thing that always frustrated me about switching my routine so often (back when I followed such advice) was: when do I get stronger? Just when I would begin to make progress, it was time to start over. And since the routine was completely different, I could never be sure exactly what weight to start with, so there would be an initial trial-and-error stage, so by the time I started making progress, it was time to start over, AGAIN. I found that these stops and starts really added up and sent my wheels spinning.
While the success of many top level bodybuilders and powerlifters can be reasoned and excused using a number of factors, I can’t help but notice that most of them have stuck with the program(s) they found most successful. Not that they didn’t make changes WITHIN the routine, they just spent more time making progress than starting over. And, as someone stated earlier in this thread, if you lift more than you did the previous session, it’s already a different routine.
On a related note, I think the variety within DC and Westside gets overlooked. Because they cycle the actual lifts on such a constant basis, a couple of blasts on DC or several rounds of Westside would provide similar variety as several different routines used in the same amount of time.[/quote]
I have believed in a personal system for a long time that is somewhat roughly similar to DC though I started it long before I ever heard of DC. With session crossover it’s moderate frequency, lowish volume and very intense if intense is defined as failure and beyond.
The only system I’ve ever even considered abandoning mine for is full DC and the only reason I haven’t done that is because mine is still working and has been for the last 2 years.
The point is, a system that works, works. It is not necessary to abandon that system for another one for progress to continue through a career if the subject has the self aware good sense make useful adjustments within that system.
[quote]ScottM wrote:
I don’t think it should be any surprise to people here that if you put a hard training individual on a low(ish) volume, semi frequent split focused on progression of very few exercises per bodypart that people will flourish with them.[/quote]
Any system built on those principles cannot fail. BTW, “very few exercises” does not mean “NO isolation movements”.