Variety in its self is not a bad thing but anything in excess can cause issues and I find this particularly true with individuals trying to transform into a healthier lifestyle. Throughout this article I will explain how too much variety can affect your exercise routine and overall health efforts and tips on how to "simplify".
Issues with Excess Variety on Exercise Efforts
When starting an exercise program, it can be hard to know where to begin. A lot of times in our efforts to try to find a good plan, we just pretty much "goldilocks" it and try a ton of different exercises to see which ones "fit". The problem with this is a lot of different exercises are not going to feel natural to us at first- we have to practice them to get the different movement patterns down and really benefit from the exercise. Another issue with this is usually the exercises we hate are the ones we should be doing
Another common mistake with excessive exercise variety is taking the concept of "muscle confusion" too far. The concept of muscle confusion is to switch up the exercises you are doing so that your muscles do not get too used to a movement and thus plateau. Muscles need to continue to receive a new stimulus to continue to have the need to adapt/ grow. The problem is people tend to switch up exercises too often and therefore never allow their muscles the time to adapt and conquer these movements. For example, if you perform a deadlift every other day for a week or two and then don't perform them again for several months- you probably are not going to advance much with that movement.
Another misconception with muscle confusion is that switching up exercises is the only way to attain this which is not true. There are several ways to perform muscle confusion without switching up your whole routine. Examples would be to increase the weight, change your grip, change the reps schemes, change the tempo or pace, use different lifting techniques such as supersets/dropsets, etc.
The Solution!
So what should you do??….Simplify!. You do not need some crazy routine that changes every week to attain your goals. For one that is exhausting, and also you are not getting the best bang for your buck! In my experience, it is best to stick with a routine for at least 4-6 weeks to really make progress with the movements. After those 4-6 weeks, if you want to switch it up do so by switching up some exercises, weight, or the rep schemes.
In conclusion, be like Paris and Nicole- Live the "Simple Life"!
xoxo--Peanutbutter&Push-Ups
