Hi guys, I’m currently running a full body split, and i do just one exercise per musce group.
But I’ve noticed that some of the advocates of low volume training tend to have 2-3 rotations per muscle group (some that come to my mind are Dante Trudel who has 3 exercise rotations in his Doggcrapp, “bodybuilding focused” version of Greyskull LP, in the book Greyskull 2.0 from Johnny Paine, Ludovico Lemme from Rhinochoaching, Jordan Peters in his beginner/intermediate routines etc).
So let’s say, instead of always doing bench press, rotate between Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Dips, would it be better (currently i’d do bench press every workout and progress is decent btw, just as an example).
My goal is to put mass overall
You really gotta suck it and see. Rotating exercises weekly never worked out for me (does work if I rotate in 6-12 week blocks) but I know others that swear by it.
Yes, its always better to do different exercises. The thing is it will take time for you to be able to track progress. Once you have completed 2-3 full cycles of all lifts, you will now be able to see the progress.
UNLESS you are very new to this and you actually need to practice movements. If thats the case then doing same exercise means more practice of a movement and then it will lead to more gains and less injuries in a long run.
Dr. Darden advocates variety in your training and it could mean many different things, (weight, reps, order, intensity or exercises)
Rotate them all and you will never get stale
Muscle growth is a process of adapting to stress, and adaptation is stimulated most efficiently by applying the same stressor each time. Thus, I’m a big believer in sticking with the same few exercises for several months, switching up only when it’s clear you’ve gone stale on them (you’ll know).
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I feel like there’s a lot of room for both.
The bigger movers take some practice and you can really progress on them, so I think make those the staples and stick with them.
The other assistance stuff is easy, not really appropriate to aggressively progress, and you can judge by “feel;” I don’t think it matters at all which variation of curls you do on a given day.
Your issue isn’t exercise selection
It’s how hard you’re working
Any exercise is great if you train like an animal
You can take the best exercise in the world, train like a big girls blouse and it will be as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
It all comes down to how hard you work
Yours sincerely
Chong aka Captain Anecdotal
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First: you need to know what works for you. Banging out bench presses week in week out, adding nothing to the bar, or feeling niggles in your shoulders, are signs that you need to consider a divorce (or at least a trial separation) from the big lift. This would be the biggest change I would make if I could turn back the training clock.
Second: your environment will dictate what you can and cannot do. I train at home but I have enough equipment to get by. If it was more limited, as it has been in the past, then routines would have to be more fixed.
Personally, I now use DC with its 3 rotations (which you mentioned in your post) and it has been a revelation for me. Simply because I have been able to progress in almost linear fashion with each rotation. After 15+ years of training experience, I do not recall any other system of training that has yielded such results.
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How long have you been training for mass? How long do you plan to train for mass?
How long have you been using this full body, limited lift plan? How long do you plan to stick to this plan?
If you’re new and only plan on using this routine for a short time before you switch to something else, stick to limited moves.
Lifters and coaches who plan these schemes for the long term either add lifts over time( like Reg Park) or rotate lifts over time or workout to workout (like Bill Starr)