Picture this: you’ve finally found a workout routine that feels right. You’re seeing steady progress and feeling stronger, more energized, and motivated. All is going great when, a few months later, something changes — you start to feel like you are not progressing, and no matter how hard you push, progress seems to stall. You might have reached a plateau.
The number one reason for hitting a plateau? Doing the same exercise routine or type of activity for an extended period. Other factors, such as lack of sleep, overtraining, and poor recovery, can also play a role. But there’s one often-overlooked culprit that can stall your progress, too: exercise redundancy.
But what is exercise redundancy, and how can you avoid falling into this trap? Let’s find out.
What is exercise redundancy?
Exercise redundancy occurs when you include multiple exercises in your workout routine that target the same muscle group in the same way. This results in inefficient training, as the muscles are worked similarly, preventing further adaptation and stalling progress.
Imagine it’s leg day, and your routine includes three exercises: barbell hip thrust, barbell glute bridge and Bulgarian split squats. While these exercises are great for targeting the glutes, you’ll end up overloading this specific muscle and neglecting the other muscles in your legs. By repeating the same pattern over and over, you limit your muscle development and can miss out on fully activating your quads, hamstrings, and calves. To avoid redundancy, it’s essential to balance your exercises and hit all the major leg muscles from different angles.
Examples of Exercise Redundancy by Muscle Group
To better understand exercise redundancy, let’s break it down by muscle group with some examples:
- Chest: If you’re doing barbell bench press and dumbbell bench press, you’re repeating the same movement with different gear. This limits muscle activation and can hinder growth.
- Back: A routine with lat pull-downs, pull-ups, and chin-ups targets the same muscles. Mix in rows and deadlifts to engage different angles and stimulate further growth.
- Shoulders: The seated shoulder press and Arnold press focus on similar motions. Add exercises like face pulls or rear delt flyes to target the rear delts and balance your shoulder development.
How to Avoid Exercise Redundancy
1 – Variety is the spice of life
Instead of repeating exercises targeting the same muscle, mix up your exercises, ensuring you’re targeting all the muscles. Pair a bench press with dumbbell flyes to guarantee you’re working several parts of your chest. You can also toss in compound movements that work for multiple muscle groups.
2 – Quality over quantity
Your workout doesn’t need endless exercises. Focus on perfecting your form and progressive overload, making sure your routine targets all the relevant muscle groups.
3 – Adjust your reps
Varying your rep ranges and adjusting tempo can help prevent plateaus by challenging your muscles in new ways. For example, switch from low reps (3-5) for strength to higher reps (12-15) for endurance.
4 – Plan ahead
Design your weekly training split to allow for adequate recovery. A push and pull routine, for example, guarantees you work all muscles without overloading any area.
