As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. And if you want to keep your exercise habits spicy—or should we say, if you want to keep making progress toward your fitness goals—you might be wondering: How often should you change your workout routine?

But mixing things up is about way more than warding off boredom. Keep reading to learn why changing your fitness routine can lead to greater success and how often you should make  tweaks.

How Often Should You Change Your Workout Routine?

It’s tempting to come up with a weekly or monthly workout routine you like and stick with it, well, indefinitely. But if you’re training pretty regularly, you should probably make some changes every 4–6 weeks, says Peloton instructor Sam Yo. “This is usually the timescale most fitness programs are based on,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean you have to totally overhaul your fitness routine each month. “It could be something as simple as increasing reps, adjusting intensity, or swapping in new exercises that serve the same goal but challenge the body in a new way,” says physical therapist Lori Diamos, founder of Pearls from a PT.

Finding new ways to challenge your muscles after about 4–6 weeks is key, because that’s when a fitness routine starts to feel predictable to your body. “Without variety, you lose the stimulus needed to keep making gains,” Sam says. Your body adapts to your standard workout, so the workout becomes less effective. “Changing things up helps avoid this plateau by continually challenging your body.”

That said, the ideal time to make changes varies, depending on your goals, fitness level, and how you like to train. “For beginners, I actually encourage sticking with a consistent program for 6–12 weeks,” Diamos says. “The body needs time to learn new patterns, build a foundation, and start forming better movement habits. Too much change too soon can make it hard to know what’s really working.” Plus, beginners will often see more noticeable progress without making many switches to their programming thanks to “rapid neurological adaptations” commonly known as newbie gains, Sam adds. 

But if you’re a more advanced or competitive athlete, you might benefit from changing your workout routine after a shorter time frame. “More experienced individuals may need to change things up every 3–4 weeks, as their muscles adapt more efficiently and require new challenges,” he says.

That also depends on your goals, of course. If you’re training for a marathon, for example, you won’t need as much variation in your plan because your focus will be on logging more miles. But if you’re trying to build muscle, you’ll “need more frequent changes to continue seeing results,” Sam says. 

And if you’re recovering from an injury or managing chronic pain, you “may need to stay with a gentler routine longer to avoid flare-ups,” Diamos says. “Like most things in movement and fitness, it really depends on the person and the purpose.”

Why It’s Important to Occasionally Switch up Your Fitness Routine

Think about a movie you’ve watched multiple times. The first time you saw it, you were engaged, paying close attention, hanging on to every word of dialogue. Now? Even though you love this movie, you can have it on in the background and barely notice it.

Switching up your workout routine fights off this kind of adaptation: Your body will get used to doing the exact same thing and plateau if you never make changes—like your workout is just running on autopilot in the background. But with the right variations at the right time, you can keep making progress toward new and bigger goals.

“Our bodies are smart,” Diamos says. “They adapt quickly. When the challenge is always the same, progress tends to slow or even stop.” 

A fitness principle called progressive overload is the key to continuously moving forward, Sam says. Progressive overload involves strategically increasing training intensity over time to constantly challenge your body. “You need to take your body out of its comfort zone,” Sam says. “That’s when it adapts, grows, and gets stronger.” 

Looking for a simple place to start? The Peloton App has tons of different types of workouts at various intensities and several Programs that help you progress toward different goals, so you can always find something new and challenging you’ll enjoy.

Signs It May Be Time to Change Your Workout Routine

So how can you tell if your same-old workout routine is no longer delivering results? It helps to tune into what your body might be telling you.

One of the most obvious red flags is boredom. “If you’re bored or feel like you’re just going through the motions, your body probably feels the same way,” Diamos says. Sound familiar? Try making some changes in your fitness habits and see if you can recapture that spark. “Change brings a new challenge and gets your brain and muscles working together again,” she says.

Then, think about your fitness goals and whether or not you’re really making progress toward them. Are you able to lift heavier weights than you could on this same program a few months ago? Are you more flexible? Are you faster? If your answers are no, it’s probably a good time to switch things up. “If you’re not seeing results, you’ve likely hit a plateau because your muscles have adapted and become more efficient, decreasing the stimulus needed for growth,” Sam says. (Psst: Peloton’s Benchmark Strength collection can help you keep track of your progress.)

You might also want to change your routine as you age. “I don’t train with the same intensity I did in my 20s now that I’m approaching my 50s,” Sam says. “Now, it’s more about maintaining mobility, balance, and overall function. It’s less about how much I can bench and more about how well I want to continue to move.”

Notice especially how you feel at the ends of your sets. “If the last few reps in your sets feel too easy, that’s often a sign it’s time to progress,” Diamos says.

Lastly (and hopefully it won’t come to this), watch out for pain or discomfort. “If something starts to hurt or feel off, your body is trying to tell you it needs a different approach,” Diamos says. “Often, this can be a sign of overuse or repetitive strain. When we do the same movements again and again without variation, we stress the same tissues and joints over time.”

Tips for Changing Your Workout Routine

Routines are easy to follow, and changing your habits will require a bit of time and effort. Fortunately, you don’t have to shake up your training plan entirely. “The sweet spot is having a solid base and adding purposeful tweaks,” Diamos says. “Variety is great, but it needs to be strategic, not random.”

Here’s how to add a little more variety to your workout routine:

1. Start with Small Changes

Introduce a few new exercises into your routine or increase the weight you’re already using, Sam says. Ease into these changes gradually “so your mind and body can adapt,” he says. And remember, “progress isn’t about always pushing to the max; it’s about being smart, sustainable, and strategic.” 

2. Switch Directions

Creative yet minor tweaks like switching your grip or changing your body position or direction during certain exercises can be really effective. For example, maybe there’s an exercise you usually do standing that you can do “on all fours, half kneeling, or with a reach in a different direction,” Diamos says. “Muscles and joints were designed to move in three planes, but we often train in just one. When you start exploring those other planes and positions, you wake up new muscles and challenge the nervous system in a totally fresh way.” If, for instance, you always do basic supine crunches on the mat, you could try working some standing crunches into your routine instead.

3. Try a Mix of Modalities

Include strength, cardio, mobility, and flexibility workouts in your usual routine. “This helps prevent muscular imbalances and reduces injury risk,” Sam says. It may also help stave off boredom. (There are 16 different modalities to follow along with on the Peloton App if you could use some inspiration.)

4. Experiment with High and Low Intensities

You can adjust all sorts of exercise variables beyond the exact movements you choose to do. “Switch up the intensity, the type of workout, and your training frequency,” Sam says. “Include deload weeks and recovery periods to give your body time to rest and reset.” You can also experiment with different rest times between sets and exercises, Diamos adds.

5. Seek Guidance

If you’re unsure how to switch up your routine in a way that will help you keep improving, consider reaching out to a coach, trainer, or other fitness professional. “Professional support can help improve results and keep you accountable,” Sam says.

6. Listen to Your Body

Changing your workout routine might bring about different physical feelings as you work new muscles in new ways. But “if you feel pain or extreme fatigue, it might be time to adjust your routine or prioritize recovery,” Sam says.

The Takeaway

You need to exercise consistently if you want to see real progress in strength and stamina. But your body adapts quickly to your fitness routine, meaning it’s important to add strategic variety to your training program roughly every 4–6 weeks. That said, beginners may want to wait longer (around 6–12 weeks) before changing their workout routine to build up a foundation, whereas experienced exercisers may need to switch things up sooner (around 3–4 weeks) to keep advancing.

But generally, if your progress is stalling, you feel bored during your workouts, or something you do frequently is starting to hurt, it might be time to change things up. You don’t necessarily need a major shake-up: Swap in a few new exercises, do moves in a different position or direction, switch up the intensity, or try an entirely new type of workout to avoid plateauing.