is a change of routine necessary

[sigweed]

TO train more specifically for rugby, i dropped the 5x per week 1 bodypart per day routine for a 2/3 day fullbody routine. Since then I've seen tremendous progress in size, stregth, and power. The routine is never the same exercises (except frequent squats) but pretty much follows a template (i.e. some type of squat, either flys or incline press, etc)...
anyywas because of the constant cahnge in exercise, do i still need to change my routine up to something different (its been 3 months) or can i just keep sticking with it?

 

[KillahBee]

Personally, I always say if it ain't broke don't fix it. When you plateau, that's the time to start looking at changing things. I assume you are doing some cardiovascular work for rugby?

 

[calitrainman]

I like to change my routine some every 4-6 weeks. This way, I'm not giving my body enough time to plateau. However if progress is still being made with what your doing (even after as much as 3months), just keep up with that......do what works!

 

[Cynical Simian]

If it's working, stick with it. The key to improvement isn't different exercises, it's progression. The reason some people have success with the "you must change your routine every X weeks to 'surprise your muscles'" bodybuilding dogma is that it sometimes accidentally accomplishes this. You can break through plateaus with the same routine and with more control by decreasing the weights for a few weeks (deloading) then ramping back up to (and hopefully surpassing) your PRs over the next few weeks.

 

[blut wump]

It sounds as though you've built change into your program already. The template seems solid. Stick with it, especially since it's clearly working.

 

[sigweed]

Cool thanks guys

yea blut that was basically the basis behind my question. I remember reading about guys doing that a long time ago but i never really figured out if it worked or not.
And Killah my season just ended, so ill be on off season for like 6 months now. It'll be interesting to see what happens when i go from running 4-5 days a week to just 1-2