You have probably heard me talk about muscle confusion in the past. The idea behind 'Muscle Confusion' includes many common workout sayings including, but not limited to:

"You've got to change your routine a lot or your muscles will get used to the same one and stop growing."

"You've got to 'trick' your muscles and keep them guessing."

"If muscle growth hits a plateau, you have to 'shock' the tissue in order to resume progress."

"Changing your workout routine often will give you a better 'pump', which leads to more muscle growth."

Although these sayings might be true to some extent, the one point that is commonly missed when talking about muscle confusion is that of volume load. Yes, muscles CAN become adaptive to whatever you throw at them, but instead of talking about muscle confusion, lets pony up to the squat rack and talk volume overload.

You can talk muscle confusion until you are blue in the face, but if you never mention volume overload and recuperation, you are missing the boat. If the muscles are not 'volume overloaded' and adequately recuperated between those volume overload sessions (workouts), they simply stop making progress.

I have heard many trainers tell client that if their progress stops, they should simply "change their routine." Yet a simple change of routine typically yields little (if anything) for the following reason:

Here's a pearl for all of you...muscles are incapable of being "Confused!" Furthermore, muscles cannot be baffled, perplexed, puzzled, or even "bewildered" in any way.

Ok, I am guilty of this too. Clients come to me and tell me nothing is working for them. My first question to them is to ask what training regimen they are using. More importantly, I should be explaining to them that workout routines need to be somewhat rigid and the recuperation time between workouts needs to be flexible.

For instance, you know people who nearly go into a depression if they miss a workout because they think it will result in a setback. Their rest days between workouts are rigid - as if they've made a pact with their muscle tissue and the tissue has agreed to recuperate in the time that's been allotted.

I can attest to the above statement because that used to be me. Every Saturday was leg day, every Sunday and Wednesday was an "OFF" day where I only did cardio. Monday was chest, Tuesday was back, Thursday shoulders, and Friday was arm day. Talk about rigid...I was so rigid I was stiff as a board ALL THE TIME...sore that is, and plateaued in my gains.

Let's review: When you are not seeing results, ask yourself if you are challenging your muscles with enough resistance. Secondly, ask yourself if you are getting adequate rest between training sessions. Thirdly, ask yourself if you workouts are consistent. Finally, is your workout sequence flexible enough to allow rest days for recuperation.

Until next time, train hard and smart!