Recently a piece on training variety flittered across my desk, and I caught just the tail end of it. In brief, a person should constantly vary their exercise regimen to avoid plateau, is what this author said.
Then again, at Paleo (Fx), I heard another fellow preaching the same gospel. He rambled on and on, mostly in circles, and worked his conversation piece like a sawmill. “Variety”, he said, “is what tricks your body into growing.”
What do I think? Well, you shouldn’t allow yourself to believe any such nonsense as that, is what I think.
The problem I take with variety is it’s easy and unproductive. When things get tough, it’s tempting to switch it up, I get it, and I’ve been guilty of it, too, Lord knows. But it’s not the right thing to do. Because when things get tough, what that means, really, is finally you’re at the point where all the newbie gains are realized, and you can actually start to get a little bit good at something, and make yourself distinguished, and not suck.
When I was sixteen—I’m 17, now—it was the muscle-up. I wanted it so bad. Well I sucked at it and I sucked at it, all day long and all night, too. I sucked Monday to Friday, and clear through the weekend. And I just went right along my merry way, sucking, sucking, sucking, until, finally, one day, I didn’t suck anymore. There was no “secret” to the suck. I had a few fancy progressions that were helpful, sure, but the key point is I wasn’t afraid to get out and suck like a weasel; to work the suck, and to flaunt the suck.
So I want you to get out there and suck, and suck, and suck until you just can’t possibly suck anymore. Because that’s how you get good at something, by sucking it to death; and every time time you suck, know you are literally sucking the suckiness out of yourself, ounce by ounce, day by day; and by and by, that pool of suckiness will be all sucked out and dry, and so the only thing that will pour out of you then, is greatness; and it will pour out like water, too.
How to Suck Your Way Into Strength
Let me give you something to suck at.
1. Pick 5 Lifts That You Suck At
A push, a pull, a hinge, a squat, and a “core”. You may not “suck” at the lifts, inherently, but you will suck, eventually, once it gets heavy enough.
Example:
Military Press
Pull Up (Weighted)
Deadlift
Front Squat
Hanging Leg Raise
2. Do 10 Reps a Day, and Try to Make Them NOT Suck
Two sets of five, five sets of two, one set of ten, ten sets of one—whatever; just go heavy SOME of the time, and suck.
3. Suck First, and While Fresh
We want our suck to be purposeful, and useful. Don’t let fatigue get in the way of your suck.
Questions? Leave them in the comments, and we’ll chat.
– Pat
PS – I’m looking for few people who want to come and test out a cool new pull up protocol. This is NOT private online coaching.
Simply, this is a very specific “minimalist” pull up protocol that I want to “test” on a few people 🙂
If you are male or female, and want to either 1) get your first pull up, 2) move beyond 5 pull ups, or 3) move towards the one arm chin up, then this is for you.
So here’s the deal. If interested, email me at PatFlynn@ChroniclesOfStrength.com with the subject line of pull ups, and I’ll get you the details (NOTE: If you already requested to take part in the “Vagabond” program, you’re all set–you will get this, too, and you don’t need to email me again). And because it’s not private coaching, I’m able to make it really affordable. It’s a 3-month program, however, and pretty tough, so serious folks only. Deadline to get in on this is Friday.
Does this rule apply to driving while blindfolded? I mean, I’m really terrible at it right now, but I am almost positive I can get the hang of it in the not too distant future. I’ve got a lot of negative people telling me I should stop pursuing my dream of driving without the crutch of eyesight and I keep telling them to shut up. I know they are jealous of my drive and determination… I just know it. I know someday I’ll be old and probably go blind. I just want to be ahead of the curve because I have no plans of letting my eventual lack of eyesight stop me from attending Bingo.
Matt, unfortunately, no. As you’ve made clear, there are two things you can never improve at, despite all efforts:
1. Driving blindfolded
2. Humor
ouch, thank you for your honesty.
Serious question: are these ten reps the “work sets”? I’m sort of assuming some kind of warm up is necessary. Is that a fair assumption?
Yes, Matt, these are the work sets. Do some sort of warm up, as needed.
Do you think that folks sometimes get bored and mistake it for plateau?
To paraphrase two of my favorites on the theme of variety –
Dan John: everything works … for about 6 weeks.
Pavel: same, but different.
Yes, if you use the same resistance, sets, and reps in the same movement, over time you will eventually have sucked all the suck out, and will need to make a change. I think the problem lies in the gross misinterpretation of the two key points.
One, doing something for a week or two, or even just once, no matter how hard you worked or how sore you got, does not count as “sticking with it”, “embracing the suck”, or getting anywhere close to plateauing and needing to “confuse your muscles”. People are so afraid of plateauing that they will run screaming in the opposite direction without the slightest sign, simply because they think it will happen soon. I had a young trainee tell me they were switching programs because they were worried about plateauing, despite the fact that they were measurably stronger every week.
Two, changing things doesn’t mean finding some new movement that was invented last week to entertain the easily distracted. The fundamental movements don’t change, and variation on a theme is all the variety the body and brain need. Add weight, reduce weight but increase speed, change the reps, change the sets, change the rest, switch from goblets to barbell front squats to single kb racked squats to double kb squats. Each one will challenge you differently, and provide plenty of novelty without taking you off track learning party tricks.
My favorite part of your programs is the consistency in strength programming, and variety in metabolic conditioning programming (with an emphasis on safety and systemic hit). The focus required for heavy, low rep strength work doesn’t allow time for mind-wandering and boredom. The concentration required to keep track of movements and sequences for The Great Destroyer or The 12 minute Complex in the face of crushing fatigue is also not compatible with boredom. You offer the best of both worlds, without ever having to wonder what I might be missing.
Scott
Pat,
Great post as always. This really made me think about tackeling your training demons and to a degree training specificity, or lack there of as it seems more and more theses days. . It really doesn’t matter what it is, if you suck at it, the only way to not suck at it is to do it over and over again until you stop sucking. Makes perfect sense and is logical. Despite this perfectly logical approach I am running into more and more people doing something that they don’t suck at in order to prepare to do something they do suck at while trying to disguise it as some sort of grand experiment or challenge.
For example. I ran into someone who was training for an Iron man by only doing crossfit. His comment was that it was going to hurt and totally suck but he was going to do it. I know this will seem crazy but why not just train for the event so that you can do well and possibly enjoy it.
I ran into another person who was preparing for a two day 400 mile cycling event by running three days a week with “specific intervals for endurance and strength”. Again, call me crazy but why not do the same intervals on your bike and live to sit another day.
I think we need to just set a goal and deal with the fact that we are going to suck at it until we don’t. Stop dancing around it.
Sorry for the rant Pat, this topic hit a nerve.
Well said Jason, and thanks for chiming in. There are many delusions surrounding specificity, the principal one being it doesn’t exist, when it is ALL that exists. You get good at what you practice. If this wasn’t so, then we would see many more Crossfitters winners Iron Man competitions–which we don’t.
Hi Pat.
I suck at pistol squats….but less than I did two weeks ago:)…and some day I will be able to stand back up;)
Laurie
WOOT! Can’t wait for the “Vagabond” training protocol!
I believe variety itself is good when used with a specific goal or purpose in mind, but if you’re just doing different things all mashed up with no sense of purpose what’s the use? As far as far as mastering the basics, that’s key. Sure knowing all sorts of exercises helps, mastering the basics will make the difference in results. Just like martial arts, which a majority of people don’t understand is that when you get your first black belt doesn’t mean you’ve mastered the art. It just means you’ve mastered the basic techniques and forms in the art. It takes a lifetime to truly master the art or anything else in life. Physical culture is the same learn and master the basics and you will be more effective in using variety in your exercise program.
Hi Pat, great article. Whilst I strongly agree with your approach (as ever). I would be interested in your view of the opposite approach taken by the legendary Louie Simmonds and his conjugate training ie not using the same exercise for 4-6 weeks.
Richard, that is a good example of “same but different”, or specialized variety–not variety for the sake of variety.
Which obviously begs the question. Would you recommend For the strength element, keep the exercises the same (for a time) or just similar (ie military press vs any upper push). Also Would you alternate a grind movement with a dynamic (speed) one? As per Louie. (Ps “Depends on the goal” is a cheating answer lol)
Richard, well, it does depend on the goal, but also depends on the level, too. For beginner to high-level intermediate, I will keep things mostly the same. Even for many advanced, I will keep things mostly the same. Louie, you must understand, is a specialist. I’m not, so I keep things mostly the same.
i have been pretty much doing this but not 10 reps a day. i was doing in the
3 to 5 rep range a few times per week. do you perform the 10 reps 7 days per week and what kind of weight?
like it, I call it “Embrace the Boring”. No-one got real good at something by doing lots of different stuff. Pavel’s comment about “If you want to press a lot, then you must press a lot” sums it up nicely.
Same but different, changing ONE variable only at a time gives the best results. It also allows a more measureable effect of the programme. Better to vary the type of deadlift you do, than change the weight, reps, sets, rest etc within a block of training.
Good trainers & coaches use the minimal approach to variation to keep it interesting without turning it into a guessing game about what is most beneficial & effective.
Really good article! I agree with most of your points. People usually don’t understand what variety means, and I think Pavel did put a big light on it with his “same but different” approach. Besides, it usually doesn’t get boring when you’re motivated by the results.
Variety with a purpose, on the other hand, has specific goals (and is usually very repetitive throughout the weeks), whick makes it work. I think the deciding factor should be the goals. And sticking to the basics.
Both you and Dan John are making a great job in illustrating the confused, muscle-mag educated, masses.
Could not have loved this article more. I’m super lucky to have amazing coaches who program for me (I train in a garage box on weekdays and in a high school weight room one weekend day) and who have been, unbeknownst to me, teaching me to work through the suck. I had slacked off from training with any regularity for about 6 months or so and am now fighting to get back, and beyond, where I was physically this time last year. It’s hard, and sometimes it sucks not only physically but is emotionally draining at times too. Our new motto in the garage: Embrace the Suck. Thanks for the article.
Thank you, Nis. Strong ON!
I really love the enthusiasm you bring to your posts
Thanks Adam, much appreciated.
Agree wholeheartedly. A confused muscle never learns. People jump from ship to ship when they’re bored and avoid putting in the effort it takes to drive progress and adaptation. Good post!
“A confused muscle never learns”–I LIKE that. Thanks Brian.
Love this approach! In training and in life. I’m currently sucking at my efforts at my first pull up and also one-legged dead lift with kettlebells. Suck on until you suck no more!