Don’t Change Everything…

…when you change up your program.  There’s a simple reason for this:  The most common reason for changing a routine is lack of results.

As an example, say you stop losing fat on a weight loss program, and you change your feeding schedule, your diet composition, your workout frequency, and your training partner.  Assume fat loss resumes.  What caused the change?  Was it because you eat less when you eat 6 meals a day vs. 3 meals?  Was your previous training partner letting you slack off during your leg workouts?  Is the extra (albeit minor) caloric expenditure the thing that tipped the scales in favor of weight loss?

When you change everything, you can’t identify what specifically caused the change (this is the problem with most studies, by the way).  And if you can’t identify what specifically caused the change, you’ll just be guessing when you’re faced with that problem again.

Change just one variable, on the other hand,  and you’ll know whether it works or not.  You can systematically eliminate factors that make no noticeable difference, freeing you up to concentrate on those things that give you the biggest bang for your buck.  And while the process might require a little more time (if you guess wrong the first time), it’s valuable in the long-term, since you won’t have to guess every single time.

There’s one exception to this rule, of course.  Change everything when you’re burned out and you’re ready to give up on exercise forever.