When someone finds a workout that clicks, they tend to stick with it. Runners lace up their sneakers, lifters pick up their dumbbells, and yogis roll out their mats, often for years on end.
But variety isn’t only the spice of life—it can also unlock better fitness, experts say.
“When you perform the same exercises over and over, your muscles, joints, and nervous system become more efficient at those movements,” causing progress to plateau, explained Erin Nitschke, CPT, a certified personal trainer and American Council on Exercise health coach. “Changing your workout routine periodically helps you continue to challenge your body, improve your strength and endurance, and keep your workouts mentally engaging.”
How often should you switch it up? We asked experts to find out.
If you’re exercising simply to stay active and healthy, without a specific goal like building muscle or losing weight, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to what you know and love, said Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College.
But “assuming your goal is to progress, is to improve, you must be progressively challenging your muscles,” he told Health. “You have to progressively challenge your body beyond its present capacity to see progressive improvements.” In other words, you won’t see gains without change.
If your tried-and-true workout feels easy, that should tell you it’s time to ratchet things up, said Sarah Pope, CPT, a certified personal trainer with Life Time in Virginia. How long it takes for a particular workout to feel easy depends on your body and where you are in your fitness journey. But as a general rule of thumb, shoot to change up your routine every four to six weeks, Pope said.
Even if you’re not too concerned with optimizing your fitness results, there are good reasons to vary your exercise routine from time to time, Nitschke added. Variety can help prevent boredom, burnout, and injuries from repeating the same motions over and over.
Change doesn’t have to be as drastic as trading Pilates for powerlifting.
“Small shifts like adding new exercises, increasing weight or reps, changing the order of movements, or modifying rest periods can be enough to stimulate new growth and prevent plateaus,” Nitschke told Health. “The goal is to keep your body guessing, not to shock it.”
For example, if you primarily strength train, you don’t have to stop doing classic moves like squats and deadlifts, Schoenfeld said. You could just increase the weight you’re using for those moves and consider rotating in some new exercises to complement them.
Or, if you’re a runner, maybe you switch a couple of your weekly jogs for Pilates or weight lifting to work your body in new ways and take some pressure off your joints, Pope said. “Find something you love and stick with that,” she said. “Then do the things you need and the things that support [that activity].”
Before trying new exercises, make sure you understand how to do them with proper form, either by consulting a trainer or instructor or by watching videos beforehand, Schoenfeld suggested. When learning many strength exercises, it can be beneficial to start by performing them on a machine— which helps guide your form—then progress to doing them on your own when you’ve got the movement down, he said.
And remember, even if you had your old routine down pat, it may take time to get up to speed with a new exercise, class format, or form of cardio, Nitschke said. “Gradually increase intensity and volume rather than jumping all in on day one,” she cautioned.
“Our bodies love to be comfortable,” Pope told Health. But in the gym, comfort isn’t always a good thing. Doing the same routine over and over will likely yield diminishing returns, while raising the chances of boredom or a repetitive-use injury.
Aim for versatility in your workouts, whether that’s sprinkling in new exercises, gradually increasing weight or reps, or incorporating some cross-training into your schedule. Change doesn’t have to be dramatic—but it should be consistent, with some novelty added to the routine every month or two. Your body and mind will thank you.
