How Often to Change Workout?

[Dan_L]

Hi Guys,

I'm about to start my first Chad Waterbury workout tomorrow and going to go for either ABBH or BBB. I have been working out on various routines including 5x5 for just over a year.
My question is how often should I change from one workout to the next? I have downloaded the excel spreadsheet and by the looks of that the ABBH program lasts 47 days and the BBB program lasts for 21 days, is this correct?

Cheers,
Dan

[JoshDunn]

I think those days sound about right.

ABBH that was printed on t-nation is actually made up of ABBH1 and ABBH2 so technically they are two programs.

General rule is change programs every 4or so weeks but I like Chads stuff that changes at 3wks. It keeps me interested.

Chads programs are very well designed so just do them as prescribed and you'll be fine.

Enjoy.

P.S I prefered BBB over ABBH but thats just me personally.

[He-man]

Welcome Dan!

In my personal experience this all depends on your training experience. I have been training for a few years now, so after 4 weeks I start getting bored and need a new program. That is why I like Chad's programs. Most of them are 3-4 weeks, take a week off, and then start a new one.

In the book, Chad has abbreviated some programs down to 4 weeks including ABBH. I have done most of Chad's programs once and am currently doing week 7 of the Waterbury Summer Project which changes every 2 weeks. If you have been training for over a year, I would suggest trying any of his 4 week programs and then another one after that. The year long program in his book is the way to go because of the variety of the workouts. If you are looking forward to your next workout it is a lot easier to be consistent.

I preferred most of Chad's programs over the 2 you mentioned, but they are more of the beginner routines compared to some of his others. Total Body Training, Triple Total Training, and SOB Training are some of my favorites. Waterbury High Frequency Training and Waterbury Summer Project are also great programs, but I find these way more demanding and can only do a cycle like that once a year. I am looking forward to trying the Total Strength Program after I am through with this and 10 x 3 For Fat Loss for the summer time. I will start a workout log on this site once I do to track my progress.

Chad is the king of changing rep ranges, which to me is the best way to keep your muscles guessing. So in summary, I find the longer you train the shorter I like to go before changing exercises, 2 - 4 weeks to avoid mental and physical burnout.

Good luck and get the book, you won't be dissapointed!

[mom2w]

I've tried other programs, but always come back to Chad due to the variety. I don't like doing the same thing every time I go to the gym. You won't with his stuff. If you have MR, those are excellent progressions. Otherwise, do a program as written at tnation and then go to the next one-- in other words, don't repeat a program asap when you finish it.

[CSCSTrojan05]

A general rule is that your body adapts to a workout after 6 times.

I'm a firm believe in having a progression method for each workout--whether that be increasing load, density, volume, or acceleration/tempo.

[gobbla]

There's a few considerations (which have already been hit on).

1. Boredom, if you don't want to do the workout you won't push yourself. If you're interested and excited you'll make more progress regardless of any other factors.

2. You'll adapt to rep ranges before actual exercises. Having some variation there is going to help keep the program from getting stagnant. At some point you'll need to change the exercise itself. Keeping in mind that changing the exercise can be as simple as changing your hand\wrist\foot position.

3. The bigger the exercise the less often a change will be necessary. You can keep doing standard compound lifts for some time before needing to make a change.

So the big question is "How do I know when I need to make a change?". The answer is "When you stop progressing." The biggest concern\idea is just like CSCS says, you need to consciously try to progress every single time you train. That doesn't mean add weight every time, every single lift. It means every single session your biggest priority lifts (your first 1\2 in your program) increase, more lbs\sets\reps. Progression is #1 and needs to be the goal of every session.

[Dan_L]

Thanks for the help guys, just finished this routine and really enjoyed it, time for ABBH now.

Dan