Does switching up your workout make you bigger?
Effects of variable resistance training versus conventional resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Variable resistance training may activate muscles more evenly across the range of motion, but this didn’t lead to greater overall muscle growth.
It’s logical to assume more uniform muscle activation = better growth, but the data says otherwise—especially in beginners.
Practical Takeaways
Stick to 3–5 consistent compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) for the first 3–4 months of training. Don’t waste time or money switching routines weekly.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Variable resistance training may activate muscles more evenly across the range of motion, but this didn’t lead to greater overall muscle growth.
It’s logical to assume more uniform muscle activation = better growth, but the data says otherwise—especially in beginners.
Practical Takeaways
Stick to 3–5 consistent compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) for the first 3–4 months of training. Don’t waste time or money switching routines weekly.
Publication
Journal
Sport Sciences for Health
Year
2023
Authors
M. Fuentes-García, E. Malchrowicz-Mośko, Arkaitz Castañeda-Babarro
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Claims (6)
Changing up your workout routine all the time—like switching exercises every week—won’t make your muscles grow bigger than sticking to the same routine, even if you do more total work in the varied version.
If you're new to lifting weights, whether you switch up your weights and reps (variable training) or stick to the same routine (conventional training), you'll build muscle at about the same rate—neither method is better than the other for getting bigger muscles in the first few months.
Using machines or bands that change how hard they feel as you move might make your muscles work more evenly during an exercise, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll grow bigger muscles faster than with regular weights—especially if you’re just starting out.
Doing varied weight workouts might hurt your muscles a little less than doing the same routine over and over—but you still gain just as much muscle, meaning you don’t need to feel wrecked to get stronger.
We don’t really know if variable resistance training works well for athletes or over long periods—most studies have only looked at beginners and for a few months at most.