So how regular should I change the workout routine?

I do essentially the same workout and I am wondering, just how regular should I do a restructure or change some of the exercises.
Not just change reps or weights but actually change the exercises.
I have basically been sticking with the same workout with a few minor variations. I am also thinking about going to a split routine, ie abs and legs, chest and arms etc. and trying for four rather than three times per week.
Ryder13

 

Minor changes are enough, small changes will prevent you from hitting a plateau. I personally make changes to my routine every 4 weeks.

I would recommend a full body routine 3 times per week for mass gaining.

 

My fitness teacher always recommended me to change up my workout routines every 3-4 weeks because generally our bodies get used to the same workout and will plateau. When you workout, every day should be different, and each time you should generally be increasing/decreasing weight depending on what you want to work on. If you do the same routine, same weights for a while, you will plateau and you won't see much improvements compared to changing up your weights every couple of days.

 

I have made a bit of a change recently in my routine. I went from three workouts a week, generally the same one, three times a week. I now do what I guess is a split routine with an A and a B, done four times a week. Yes for me I think this is a good change.
I will try making minor adjustments to the individual exercises as well.
Ryder13

 

I guess it really depends on how you feel yourself. I for example get very tired of the same routine for a couple of weeks so I find myself switching it up every 2 weeks or so. I also feel that my body benefits from it as well since most of our bodies adapt to a certain workout and this prevents it from losing weight.
I would recommend switching it more often!

 

You should always be looking to improve in terms of weight/reps/sets, after all we are all trying to do progressive workout routines..right?

 

Someone new to training will be able to train for longer than 4-weeks without changing their routine. You should continue on the routine if you are making progress and change it up when your progress starts to stall.