[Maureen L]

I was telling my son (34 yrs. old.) about my workout routine and he was telling me that I should be mixing up my weight lifting routine as my body gets used to the same old thing and that I wouldn't get the best results by doing the same workout everytime.
I do 2 sets of 15 reps at my max and then every 4th time I add another 5 lbs. to it as I get stronger.
He said that I should do maybe 30 reps of lighter wts. sometimes and then sometimes I should do maybe 7 or 8 reps of a lot heaver wts. That this would help get better results.
He's not a PT but has done quite a bit of lifting ...have you ever heard anything like this and does it work?

[Firmgirl]

yes, you should change your routine every 14 days as the body will adapt to the same weight and routine if done over and over.
I tend to do my heaviest weights first, then med., then light and build back up going from light to med. to heavy in a pyramid pattern, but the reps/sets/weights will vary the on the days I do the routine.

[Mel]

He's right, you need to change things because your body adapts after a few workouts. Not only should you change rep counts, but change the exercises that you do. The are endless different exercises for each body part.

One of the reasons to change your rep counts is so that you don't train your muscles to fatigue at a specific time. I do this mostly on leg exercises. Some days/exercises I'll do heavy/low rep count (6-8) then follow it with a high rep count exercise. For example, I'll do sets of squats at 10-8-6-6 reps, then follow it with hack squats or leg presses with 20 rep sets.

Don't forget to change the actual exercises as well as your poundage and reps.

Mel

[RobertW]

He is right IF you are an ADVANCED trainee and can no longer regularly increase reps and weights. Advanced bodybuilders like Mel can no longer get enough stimulus from doing the same exercises for workout after workout, because she can't keep slapping another 5# on the bar every week or adding another rep.

You may just end up slowing your progress as your body learns each new exercise when you could focus on making the maximum strength gains while you still can. When you start to plateau is when I would worry about regularly rotating your workouts.

"If it ain't broke don't try to fix it". You will know when there is a problem.