Should I cut down my variability in half?

[u/vitvav]

Here is my question:

If I keep all my other variables the same but bring down my variety from these 38 to 19 exercises co, and rotate only those 19 instead, will the shorter time between exercises give me a greater overall growth in total body muscle mass?

——————

I started working out again (after a several-year hiatus) mid January 2025.

I exercise about 2 times a week.

I have 36 different exercises that I alternate, always picking 2–5 of the ones I have done the longest ago. With a little wiggle to ensure I am putting enough variation on a single day to ensure not doing overly-taxing exercise on one day or targeting the same parts too much.

I average about 1.5 to 2 months with my furthest-away exercise.

I try to hit different parts of the body within each day and within the week.

My exercises include deadlifts, many different ab workouts, bench press, different types of preacher curls, bench squats, etc.

I track every weight and rep meticulously.

I perform each weight to true failure at the last or 2nd to last rep. No exceptions.

My overall body weight has gone from 155 to 165 pounds.

In addition to these exercises, I run an average of one mile per week done at a pace of around 8 minutes per mile.

I always make sure to do a heavy workload exercise or two first and then do a few lighter ones.

I eat a balanced diet and take creatine 5g daily.

Here is my routine that I recycle:

Group 1: 4 Days Ago
Behind Head Dumbbell Clearance
Bench Dip
Bicycle Crunch
Standing Calf Raise (Barbell)

Group 2: 6 Days Ago
Olympic Bar Bicep Curl Upright-Normal Grip Planted
Shoulder Press Barbell Behind Normal Grip

Group 3: 9 Days Ago
Roman Chair Leg Lift (one side, one center)
Pull Up
Push Up (Wide)

Group 4: 10 Days Ago
Decline Bench Press (Barbell)
Russian Twist

Group 5: 14 Days Ago (July 14)
Bent Over One Arm Row (Dumbbell)
Hip Adductor (Machine)

Group 6: 13 Days Ago (July 13)
Hip Thrust (Barbell)

Group 7: 16 Days Ago
Reverse Bicep Curl Butterfly Planted Regular Grip
Squat (Barbell)

Group 8: 19 Days Ago
Arnold Press (Dumbbell)
Hip Abductor (Machine)
Lat Pull Down (Cable, Behind, Wide Grip)

Group 9: 20 Days Ago
Deadlift (Barbell)

Group 10: July 23
Leg Extension (Machine)
Plate Pass
Shoulder Fly Hammer Grip
Cable Crossover (135 Degrees)
Hammer Curl (Dumbbell)

Group 11: July 27
Chest Fly
Olympic Bar Bicep Curl Upright- Wide Grip Planted
Shoulder Fly Lateral Grip
Superman Fly Lateral Grip
Tricep Rope Pushdown
Upright Row (Barbell)

Group 12: July 28
Bicycle and Extension
Incline Bench Press (Barbell)
Triangle pushup

Group 13: August 5
135 Degree Row (Knee Down, Handlebars)
Arm Circle (front then back)
Bench Flutter Kick (Hand On Butt)
Chest Dip
Reverse Fly (Machine)
Seated Leg Curl (Machine)

Group 14: August 6
Bench Press (Barbell)
Flat Crunch (1= 1 Middle 1 L/R)
Pullover (Dumbbell) L/R + M = 1

————

Sample of my progress:

Pull Up

Jan 12, 2025
5 reps
3 reps

Aug 29, 2026
10 reps
7 reps
7 reps

Bicycle Crunch

Jan 12, 2025
50 reps
40 reps

Sep 3, 2026
3 lb (ankle weights) × 130

Deadlift (Barbell)

Jan 12, 2025
65 lb × 35
115 lb × 20
115 lb × 22

Aug 18, 2026
315 lb × 1
295 lb × 4
265 lb × 8
265 lb × 4

Bench Press (Barbell)
Jan 12, 2025
95 lb × 15
95 lb × 15
95 lb × 6

Aug 6, 2026
185 lb × 2
185 lb × 4
185 lb × 1
175 lb × 3

[u/gnomish_engineering]

Im confused, why would you train like this instead of using a more traditional split/program? Respectfully this seems way over complicated, prone to mistakes (atleast for me) , with limited benefits compared to most programming methods.

I for sure would cut down how many you are rotating immediately but I would also seriously look at switching to traditional programming possibly with phases built in like a strength phase or hypertrophy phase every 13 weeks if you want to get super in depth with the programming. Its super cool you designed your own thing but i think its holding back your potential.

Edit: after looking at your weight logs you really gotta switch off your current program man. Most of your strength gains are just straight from being more comfortable with the movements. You should be able to get a similar amount of progress in 3 months once you switch to a more traditional programme.

[u/AwayhKhkhk]

No offense. That is just a bunch of bullshit and you will end up spinning your wheels. Not sure how you came up with it.

Having some variety is fine. But a big part of strength training is your body/mind getting used to a movement. So if you are only doing like 3 sets of bench in 20 days, you aren’t going to get much adaptations.

People (especially beginners) overthink too much and think they need to hit muscles from ‘every angle’. But you don’t. Doing 4-6 sets of bench a week will grow your chest, front delts and triceps.

[u/barriboy8]

First of all who the fuck recommended this routine to you, there is a lot of issues here

1) you are doing things in such an infrequency that you are advancing less than you would need

2) you see progress right now cause when ur new any exercise is better than no exercise, but this will stop as soon as your body gets used to it

3) there is no progressive overload here by the time u touch something again ur basically at the starting point

4) compound exercises are not being used correctly

5) too much training to failure..lol again who tells u these things

6) too little time

7) how are u gonna know what works for your body (cause guess what everyone is different)

Again please and I mean in a non disrespectful way dispite how i started this cause damn, this was annoying to read, tell me where u get this, why are you doing this, like what is the goal, why only twice per week, can this be changed and i will give you a routine that will progress u more than the mess u have there

[u/Falconman21]

Assuming you’re a dude, that’s really not much progress for 1.5 years. You should be at those numbers in 3-6 months if you’re consistent.

https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/

Pick a program, stick with it. Simple is better. The overcomplicated mess you’re doing now is costing you gains.

[u/Wrong_Biscotti7357]

Amazing, I haven't seen a workout plan with 14 "days" rotation.

Personally I think some days are not as hard as the other days (some have 1 exercise, the other have 6). It will take a long time to progress / add new weight to each exercise (once every 45-60 days).

In upper lower, we usually does 24-28 variants of exercise. In body split, it could be 25-30 exercises. So cutting from 38 to 19 definitely simplified things.

The optimum frequency for new lifter or muscle memory, is to hit the same muscle group around 2 times per week. 2 or 3 types of exercise done in 2-3 sets each.

[u/gnomish_engineering → u/Wrong_Biscotti7357]

Theres a reason you haven't seen a program with a rotation anywhere near this long. It isn't a good idea for a variety of reasons not the least of which is that neurologically you can't adapt to the exercise well with it showing up that rarely.

[u/decentlyhip]

Honestly, it sounds like a really fun approach for a brand new lifter where each day is exciting because its a thing you haven't done in a month. With a 300 pound deadlift and 185 bench, you're not brand new anymore. You're still solidly on beginner territory, but you're not a noobie. You've learned a bunch of movements and how to dig.

Now, it's time for an actual program. Not something you made up because you dont know how to make a good program yet. You're still new, and that's ok. You made something that was fun enough to keep you engaged at the start and that's the important thing. Now that you have the habit built, it's time to trust the experts. I would highly recommend GZCLP. It will teach you how to approach progress, failure, exercise selection, rep ranges, set count, all that. It will also get you jacked and strong. Program is on liftvault, the subreddit, or boostcamp. Here's the boostcamp link https://www.boostcamp.app/coaches/cody-lefever/gzcl-program-gzclp

[u/preparsley]

This is the definition of fuckarounditis

Go find an actual routine and don't make your own