Programming Exercises in the Same Order Each Workout?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

This question is in regards to 2 articles you wrote and were recently shared on fb. “4 reasons you suck at building mass” and “7 reasons you’re stuck at medium”. You made some great points on making sure you’re at least trying to beat your numbers from the previous week. I get that and it makes sense.

If this week I’m benching 175 and in 6 months I’m benching 210 then I’m probably going to be bigger. I want to try to work this into my periodization scheme but my question is, wouldn’t that mean I would be doing mostly the same exercises every session and in the same order? Because if I for instance start my chest day with incline bench, then the next session I end with incline bench, I will be significantly weaker the following session.

Also, I was taught that exercise variety is key so your body doesn’t get used to the same routine week after week and plateau. Which is why I make it a point to never do the same routine as I did in the previous session, which makes it hard to continually try to beat my numbers. I always incorporate the important compound lifts, but use a variety of isolation work.

I hear what you said in regards to choosing exercises that have the greatest potential for overload, that makes perfect sense, so will I stick to these same lifts every session? and in the same order? Thanks for the reply

2

Same movements, same order. That’s how I always did it so that way I had ideal contrasts to compare. That just made the most sense to me.

As far as the variety piece, you sound like an intermediate so that really doesn’t apply at all. And in fact, one really never has to do that at all if they understand the principles of progressive overload and simply changes the method in which they perform the reps, i.e. changing rep tempo, or even moving hand or feet spacing to different areas in relation to the bar.