The short and simple answer is…………YES! YES! YES!

Muscle confusion is a technique used to stimulate maximum muscle growth and/or development. The actual idea is to constantly vary your training exercises and techniques to keep your body from adapting to your regimen to the point that your gains come slowly or stop. I have heard many fitness professionals say they believe in changing your routine every four weeks. My approach is a bit more radical than that. I believe that your routine should vary each time you work a muscle, with the exception of what I call foundation exercises.

Foundation exercises are those that work a muscle so efficiently that they should be performed every time you train it. Here are my foundation exercises:

1) Chest – bench press or d.bell chest press or pushups

2) Back – pullups and seated cable rows

3) Biceps – barbell curl

4) Triceps – dips

5) Shoulders – d.bell shoulder press

6) Legs – squats 

7) Abs – rollouts

I include these exercises every time I work the corresponding muscle group. By tracking my routines in a journal (read the “best techniques to build muscle” blog for more on this), I can make sure I’m increasing intensity every time.

The rest of your routine should vary each week in some way. This doesn’t mean every exercise has to be completely different. Even a small change such as a different grip or sequence can be enough to give the muscles a new challenge. Make no mistake though, varying the exercises in your routine is one of the best ways to push your muscle fibers to the limit. Check out my online fitness videos, if you need some new exercises. You will probably pick up at least one new thing. Until next time…… 

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