Muscle confusion is all about adding variety to your workout routine. Your body will reach a point where it becomes very comfortable with the exercise routine that you are doing. When that happens, gains come to a screeching halt. This is when you have to throw your body a curve ball and change things up.

It might make you anxious to think about ditching your current workout, but don’t worry; you can always come back to it – after you add some variety in for a few weeks. In addition to forcing your muscles to adapt and grow, a new routine will help you to stay mentally fresh, too. When you get too used to a workout schedule you tend to go through the motions and there is very little intensity.

Here are some suggested splits for adding a little bit of Muscle confusion to your workouts.

• Try two weeks of doing no weight work at all. Simply do push-ups, pull-ups, dips and other body-weight exercises for your workouts. Keep the repetitions high and add a set or two. Instead of doing 3 sets of each exercise, shoot for 5 sets.
• Go super-heavy for two weeks. After two weeks of no weights, you should be itching to slap some plates on the bar. Go ahead, but go heavy. Shoot for the 3-5 rep range. Do basic exercises like the bench press, squats and dead-lifts. Keep the weights heavy, rest times generous and sets average.
• Change your grip for two weeks. Go back to the exercises you usually do, but change your grips. Instead of a standard barbell curl, do a reverse grip curl (palms facing down). Instead of doing standard squats, use an extra wide stance. You get the picture—do your normal routine, but change the way that you do the exercises.
• Finish up the muscle confusion cycle by going back to your standard workout. Note any changes that have taken place over the past 6 weeks. Can you lift heavier weights than usual? Are you able to squeeze in more reps? How do you look in the mirror?

      

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