Taking A Novel Approach
“I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better”
What I mean when I say a “novel” stimulus is a fresh stimulus, a change in regularly scheduled programming that provides the nervous system with something new to respond and adapt to.
Introducing a novel stimulus to your training has a range of benefits in both the short and long term. I’m going to quickly cover the two of these, followed by some examples on how you can introduce some novelty in your training.
Just a quick note; this intervention should be measured against your training history and the fitness traits you’re trying to develop.
At the start of your training journey every new thing you read or every new program that you come across seems to be the “one weird trick” to boost your progress. This admirable enthusiasm often leads to a very naive view of how training should work, and leads a lot of newer lifters to switch up their approach before you have the chance to recover and adapt to a training stimulus (phenomenon affectionately known as program hopping). This will delay your progress. Progress in the gym takes time, and the newer you are to training, the less likely I would be to introduce something fresh and new. Give a program/ approach a good shot before you change anything, how long you should wait will also depend on what you’re trying to achieve…
You could reason that the frequency with which you should aim to switch up the stimulus and introduce some novelty into your training, should be parallel with the degree to which neural adaptations contribute to the fitness trait you’re trying to develop. That’s a mouthful, but what I mean is that athletes training predominantly for strength will benefit from this advice far more than those looking to build muscle, as adaptations of the nervous system contribute far more to building strength than they do to building muscle, which is partly why building strength is so much quicker than building muscle. By extension, changing the stimulus for strength gain will net you more gains in the short term, while the same cannot be said for building muscle. Building muscle is a long, slow process. Getting frustrated with lack of visible growth is not a valid reason to overhaul your program, even for the sake of novelty.
Short term benefits
Dissipate cumulative fatigue
At the end of a training block, or series of training blocks using similar movements, it's common to experience a build up of chronic fatigue and soreness.
The longer you train without a deload, either globally or site specific, the more fatigue will accumulate and the potential for injury large and small will increase.
The amount of time you should spend without a deload depends entirely on the person and their style of training. If the stress of your microcycle is low, you may go long periods of time without needing one. Likewise if your current microcycle is quite stressful, you may need to call a block early to accommodate for this fatigue.
Introducing a fresh, novel stimulus will present the opportunity to dissipate fatigue, as the loading required to present a stress large enough to disrupt homeostasis and warrant adaptation is reduced. As well as this, some site specific fatigue may be reduced as priorities change.
Present an opportunity to target weaknesses
It is also an opportunity to target lagging areas in terms of muscularity and/or strength. Changing the plan of action to accommodate fatigue allows the opportunity to even out your game.
If you’ve been pounding the pavement focusing on upper body development for a block or two and you’re starting to feel the cumulative intensity and volume increases on the elbows and shoulders, it could pay to back off on both of these metrics and leave room for some increased lower body work. This is especially true for seasoned hypertrophy focused trainees who may find the training volume needed to drive large full body adaptations exceeds their global recovery capacity, and so may cycle priorities for training.
Powerlifters may do the same if they choose variations to selectively target certain muscles or muscle groups. For example in previous blocks I have added quad dominant accessories such as the belt squat and leg press, recently I have switched my focus to hamstring development in the form of RDLs and hamstring curls, as training weeks progressed my ability to recover from the increased quad volume started to decrease.
Reintroduce sensitivity to competition specific movements, and old favourites
Similar to the previous point, taking a break from your typical programming for something novel and new allows you to desensitise from a typical training stimulus, so that when you return to normal programming, it will have a sense of novelty to it and you may find some quick and easing increases to load on the bar. Having a bank of movements/ training protocols you enjoy/ know to be effective is a great way to reliably progress and enjoy the process. This underlines the value of periodically exploring new avenues in training to find more options and potentially some new favourites.
Have the craic
Highly specific can be very repetitive and mentally draining. As you go through multiple specific training blocks it can feel like beating a dead horse. At this point progress may have stalled, fatigue has accumulated, and you might just generally feel a little bit shit. Taking a break from this style of training to try something new can be incredibly refreshing. If you find yourself in a total rut with training, I’ve found the less specific you can be, the better. Give yourself the opportunity to try some new things, go outside the box, and by extension feel what it’s like to get some sort of newbie gains again as your nervous system adapts to the strange new stimulus.
I wouldn’t worry about retaining muscle and strength. If you’re doing some sort of resistance training and are eating appropriately, you will regain your strength quite quickly with a return to regularly scheduled programming, only with the added benefit of reduced fatigue and a fresh mindset.
Long term benefits
Prioritising enjoyment and its link to long term adherence
These are all great points to inject some novelty into your training process. However I believe the main reason people should periodically prioritise novelty is the potential for increased adherence in the long term.
In order to get lasting results, the main factor to consider is the length of time you’re willing to work for them. Building a large amount of strength and muscle is a slow and difficult process, to stay consistent with difficult training over many years you must enjoy the journey. Keeping things fresh, new, and exciting is a surefire way to maintain high levels of motivation during the inevitable down periods when you struggle to get yourself into the gym, when your lifts decrease, and when the everyday struggles of life build up (which is a certainty).
At the end of the day, lifting weights is just a hobby with many benefits. Keeping things light hearted and fun should be on the priority list for those that want to enjoy their time and see long-lasting results.
How to introduce novelty?
As I alluded to earlier, novelty comes in all different shapes and sizes, and can vary in specificity depending on your training history and goals.
On a short term, block to block basis, changing the load and/ or movement pattern may be desirable depending on your proximity to competition. It’s worth noticing that specificity is not as clear cut as we once thought, and we can take advantage of load specific or movement specific novelty to maintain progress & momentum, and to keep training interesting.
On a medium term basis, multiple blocks at any given time, you may decide to change the focus of your training to target weaknesses and lagging muscles. I gave an example earlier about switching my accessories to bias my hamstrings after an extended period of time giving my baby quads some love. With accessories, especially those selected from a hypertrophy standpoint, I always suggest sticking with the same movements and rep ranges for a long period of time, as building muscle is a slow and arduous process. As well as this, outside of heavy, low rep sets, strength gains are largely indicative of muscle growth due to the lack of adaptation on a neuromuscular level.
Zooming out, season to season or even year to year, it is not uncommon to switch up your priorities in terms of the global fitness adaptations you wish to pursue. Whether you’re an athlete trying to round out your game for a sport, or if you’re a hobbyist in the general population, bringing a holistic approach to your health and fitness is advisable in the long run. Perhaps during the cold, dark winter months you like to hibernate indoors, clanging and banging in the weight room building your size and strength, and during the longer, warmer summer days you reintroduce cardiovascular training (and maybe even some sports specific practice). This will involve dropping sessions from your typical training routine, and switching into maintenance mode for some fitness traits. You’ll often find gains are made rather quickly when you reintroduce a new style of training. The minimum effective dose of this training will be quite low, and you may enjoy a semblance of newbie gains once again. You will get back to your old fitness levels very soon, and can then start to work towards setting new personal bests. This style of cyclical, seasonal training may suit the general population, and can be very rewarding.