I was wondering as my workouts are usually spontaneous in that I don't consistently do the same exercises or the same sets/reps. One day I might do powerlifts, another olys and yet another something like oddlifts or bodyweight exercises. So is this bad, good, or is it indifferent?
I guess it's down to your own personal preference how you want to work out! I personally do the same workout on the same day of the week with same sets/reps. That way I can see if my lifts are increasing if I do it consistently.
I tend to do an overall workout, meaning not just working one or two specific areas at a time, however, my reps tend to stay the same as my weight gradually increases with strength. My workouts will consist of both weights and plyometric excercises.
Its not necessarily a bad thing Blevunly... It depends on lot on whether you are working the same muscle groups or not in successive workouts. Ideally, for a muscle group to increase size and strength you need to be working it near maximum at least twice a week. It can be hard to measure your improvement without some kind of regular set that you do to compare with previous weeks.
I don't think its bad, it just takes slightly more consideration going into what you are going to do then having the same routine daily or weekly. I like changing things up when I am working out consistantly because I get bored easily. However, to keep myself from neglecting anything (for the love of God men, start doing some leg work! some of you look like you're about to snap those little spindles you call legs) I have to keep records of what I did and take a few minutes before I start to plan out a complete workout. Man I need to get out of school and back into a gym!
I lift 3 times a week and get bored easy so I switch it up so I will be consistent. I always hit the upper and lower body every workout. So as long as I'm hitting everything It's a decent workout?
haha this is so true! One of the main reasons to hit legs during EVERY workout, is that legs are the largest muscle mass in your body. When you smash you legs, you get much larger spikes in growth hormone, testosterone and IGF-1 which are all anabolic hormones and help you gain muscle. Sounds pretty good to me. I wouldn't be worried.
it's not a bas thing, variety keeps the muscles stimulated and it makes the muscles adapt to different sets/reps not allowing it to become complacent
I'd say good that you wont adapt to it easily, but probably bad that it's hard to track progress and how heavy you should be lifting.
I don't know. You could track it by having a set workout once a week to monitor progress. That way you can monitor and still get a good variety in. Personally, I never worried that much about monitoring as I wasn't interested in it. Like I said, I think it just takes a bit more forethought going in then having a set routine.
It'll depend on your aims and what you want out of it, if it's just for general fitness or staying in shape just about any sensible regular exercise is fine. If you're looking for progress in a particular direction, it will most likely be slower than if you have a routine set to your aims. I guess if your attention span is short repeating the same routine can get monotonous and increase the likelyhood of missing workouts. If this is the case then it seems fine, some exercise usually being better than none.
I believe that this question needs to looked at long and hard and then when you go about your life ask others this question, you will have a new and improved version of what you mean. Spontanious exercise huh. We all go about activities that challenge our body and in life things happen in a seemingly spontanious manner. Sure you will follow many patterns but there is always going to be something unexpected in your life. I pitty anyone that doesn't experience that. Because of my belief in this I think that we all will have to endure a very surprising and out of the blue test of will and physical integrity. Thus it makes sense to me to perform excersize in a spontanious manner because it is simply how nature works. Patterns and droning systems are unatural so follow your heart and be rewarded with the strength that you always desired.
What you are doing sounds somewhat similar to the crossfit regimen. One of the primary ideas espoused by crossfit is that routine is to be avoided in exercise. Part of the reason behind this is philosophical, the idea that you are preparing yourself for any unexpected challenges that might come your way, and that your training should reflect that - but the other part is that they believe that the improvements in neurological efficiency that come with a regular routine damage the movement's, or workout's effectiveness in building raw strength and developing metabolic conditioning. I'm really in no position to comment on that accuracy of their assertions, but at least some people think what you're doing is all right. (With regard to crossfit specifically, it seems to be very good at developing conditioning, in particular the sort of conditioning required for MA (my experience corroborates this), but as anything it is not perfect. One of the main criticisms it draws is that it is inferior in developing limit strength - a flaw that can be corrected I imagine by either modifying their ideas or adding in pure strength cycles at some interval)
I like your response Freyr and I respect your input. I will take it to heart and merge it with my own beliefs and see if it helps grow and develop as a human being.
Like a few others have already said, the short answer is "it depends." If you're already pretty serious about workouts and are an experienced lifter, then you'll probably see some benefit from switching it up. Some of the strongest guys I've met (pound for pound) switched up their routines every 4 or 6 weeks. The crossfit types are ridiculously fit... but a solid routine is the best realistic way to measure your progress. I got much stronger by doing the same routine for about 4 months- a circuit style routine with compund lifts and heavy weight. I guess this isn't much help- my final answer is that your routine should depend on your goals.
