A "Base" Workout

Variety is a large and current "buzz word" in exercise, some groups claiming it the major reason for best results in its program. "Muscle confusion," they say, is part of the formula for success - a smaller part than what they would have you think.

Variety plays an important role in the physiology and psychology of training, but also a role in the "confusion." Strength training includes an element of boredom and the body may have the capacity to memorize what's coming. "Here we go again: Leg Extension followed by Leg Press, then Leg Curl, then the Hip Extension machine, then upper body starting with . . . "

Boring to the point that the body needs variety in exercise choice, sequence, etc. However, when variety is taken to the extreme, the resistance used during certain exercises must change. For example, the resistance of a chest fly performed immediately before a chest press is different than that used immediately after a chest press. Advanced sequences and slower speeds of movement both demand an adjustment of the resistance.

As a result, the training records of those who demand variety are a mess. One workout shows the use of 50 pounds; another, 80 pounds - same exercise - yet, the sequence, form, technique, reflect that something was different. After a while neither the trainer nor trainee know whether real progress is being made. The subject may be holding his own or going backwards. There's no way of knowing. Unless . . .

. . . one uses a single routine to revert to as a test to determine the direction of the program. Frequency of the selected routine? Whenever you decide. Whenever you want to see where you stand. Every month or two. Every once in a while. After a diversion from your normal program. You decide. Go back to a basic program, basic sequence, a favorite routine that has a logical sequence. Check your performance against that of the last time you tried that SAME sequence. Then, and only then, you'll know where you stand.