Scientists have determined that different exercises and training angles can activate different muscle fibers. For example, leg extensions bring in fibers that squats don’t. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a quote from Designing Resistance Training Programs by Steven J. Fleck, Ph.D., and William J. Kraemer, Ph.D., two of the most respected researchers in the muscle and strength-training biz:

“If the body position is changed, the order of recruitment can also change (Grimby and Hannerz 1977). The order of recruitment can also change for multifunctional muscles from one movement or exercise to another. Recruitment order in the quadriceps for the performance of a knee extension is different from that for a squat. The variation in recruitment order provides some evidence to support the belief held by many strength coaches that to completely develop a particular muscle it must be exercised with several different movements or exercises.”

Does that mean you need to do all the exercises you can think of for every bodypart at every workout to max out muscle size? Of course not—unless you enjoy all-day workouts, not to mention smashing your head against the overtraining wall; however, that fact does indicate that frequent changes in your training is a darn good strategy for gaining.

In fact, a lot of the biggest bodybuilders take advantage of that by using what we call the workout shuffle (no, it’s not a country and western dance). Take Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, for example. He has two distinct workouts for each bodypart. He alternates those two routines in order to keep the size stimulation fresh and attack as many muscle fibers as possible.

Obviously, Coleman’s strategy works for him, but for those who don’t have superhuman genetics that include heightened neuromuscular efficiency and coordination, doing key exercises only once every week to 10 days can be a problem. For example, if you do squats at one quad workout, leg presses at your next and then go back to squats a week and half after your previous squat workout, the movement is going to feel awkward, almost foreign. Why? You have to relearn the movement pattern somewhat—get your nervous system reacquainted with creating the best muscle synergy during that exercise. The same goes for bench presses.

We’ve found that a better strategy is to keep the key exercise for each bodypart, the so-called Ultimate Exercises identified in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, and then swap out exercises that come after it (specific examples are coming up). That swap usually occurs with isolation exercises because there’s a lot less relearning involved on single-joint movements, like triceps pushdowns. Speaking of tri’s, let’s look at how we apply our exercise-shuffle strategy to arm training.

For triceps we begin with decline extensions supersetted with close-grip bench presses, with X Reps. We usually do one to two rounds every triceps workout. That’s the leadoff mainstay. From there we go to pushdowns supersetted with bench dips—and it’s the pushdowns that get the shuffle treatment. At one workout we do them with a rope, at another we do them with a straight bar. The feel on each is very different. And when we use a straight bar we may even turn it into more of a power pushdown by flaring our elbows and leaning over the bar. We end our triceps workout with overhead extensions.

For biceps we begin with preacher curls, usually two sets—one or both with X Reps. That’s our primary biceps exercise at the moment, so it remains constant. From there we go to concentration curls, usually doing a drop set with X Reps. At our next biceps workout, we’ll switch concentration curls for one-arm spider curls on the vertical side of the preacher bench, still as a drop set and with X reps. We’ll end our biceps workout with incline curls for stretch.

That should give you some ideas on how to change up your program every time you hit the gym without sacrificing key exercises. If you read IRON MAN, you may notice that the above routines train the muscles with the three-angled Positions-of-Flexion approach—midrange, contracted, stretch. Those are three distinct angles that will help maximize fiber recruitment with minimal sets. Training the full arc of flexion of each muscle is important for complete development (as indicated by the quote above from our scientist friends). The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book explains more about POF and provides routines for every bodypart that incorporate that multi-angular mass-building strategy.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to switch exercises to get the variation/size side effect; even a technique change—using the stage tactic, which we explained in past e-zines, or a different hand or foot spacing can make a significant mass-building difference. There are also a number of hybrid X-Rep techniques, like X/Pause, which we’ll continue discussing in future e-zines (stick around!).

Remember, something has to change if you want to your physique to change—morph into a more massive entity. You obviously can’t add poundage to the bar at every workout, so use the exercise-shuffle technique, or at least technique tweaks to mass up your physique! It’s one more way to flip on the anabolic switch.

The X-Files are not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program.

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