Man working out in a gym
If you look into the way that great lifters, bodybuilders, and athletes train, you will find that many of them used a great amount of variety within their training. Bill Pearl built an amazing physique by using a huge variety of exercises and variations of weight. Rory Leidelmeyer, John Brown and Sergio Oliva were incredible bodybuilders who would sometimes do up to 100 reps per set, but they would use medium and heavy weights as well. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Phil Heath are classic examples of bodybuilders who include plenty of variety in their training. Bodybuilders tend to like variety, but they are not the only ones. There are powerlifters who also depend up on variety within their training.
Powerlifters
If you have ever heard of the conjugate system that the West Side lifters use for powerlifting, it’s based on variety. The Westside lifters constantly change the exercises they use for their weekly one rep max attempts, and they constantly change the amount of band tension they use for weekly dynamic speed training. The idea for the constant change came from the training system that the former Soviet Union lifters used for their training.
Of all the powerlifters and strong men that I have heard of who make extensive use of variety, perhaps Bud Jeffries tops the list. Bud uses light weights with tons of reps, as well as moderately heavy and very heavy weights. He also does huge varieties of exercises and mixes partial reps consisting a various ranges of motion with reps consisting of a full range of motion. Bud doesn’t just lift barbells and dumbbells, he also uses kettle bells, bodyweight exercises, and practices lifting all kinds of odd objects. It has certainly worked for him as he has squatted 1000 pounds raw without using steroids.
Bud Jeffries Working Out
Be Careful: Variety Can Turn into Frivolous Training
After discussing the merits of variety, I must warn that the unwise use of training variety can turn into frivolous workouts that lead to nowhere. Highly successful powerlifters who use a great deal of variety also have enough consistency to track their training for measurable progress. It’s also important to stay within the boundaries of productive strength training practices. This is why I constantly give the advice to use the marker rep and to monitor a muscle group enough to train it as long as it is at full strength, and to stop training a muscle group when it begins to weaken.
The Wise Use of Variety
I personally prefer variety within a workout. I like light weights for speed training along with the use of moderately heavy and heavy weights. However, even though I like variety within a given workout, I prefer the same variety from one workout to the next because it has worked for me. It is easy to monitor your progress when you consistently do the same workout and slightly increase the weights on a scheduled basis. I am also careful to stay within the boundaries of only doing reps as long as I can maintain a steady, even rep rhythm. When rep speed starts to slow down due to fatigue during a set, I stop doing reps, and I quit doing sets as soon as a muscle group begins to weaken.
If you love variety in your training, you are in good company with a lot of great lifters and athletes. However, make sure that you have a way to track your progress, and that you learn to use variety in a productive manner by combining it with sensible boundaries that will help you to succeed. Best of Training to you.