Click on the image below to download my FREE report (worth $47) to:In your reading of articles on exercising or body building, you may have come across a principle known as Muscle Confusion. What is muscle confusion? Does muscle confusion work?
Simply put, muscle confusion works on the principle that you confuse your muscles by doing different exercises, sets and rep schemes throughout your muscle confusion workout program.
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The reason why many people believe strongly in such a principle is that it will keep your body guessing all the time.
Doing this will confuse the muscles so that they never plateau.
So is it good or bad?
There is no right or wrong or clear black and white. If you’ve been a follower of my friend’s Tommy before, you’ll find his P90X review, you’ll know that he finds that this principle works. Read about what happened to Tommy here.
That is Tommy’s opinion. I on the other hand find that there may be some reasons that will show you why muscle confusion is not such a good idea.
Let’s get back to basics. You know when you want to be good at something like a certain skill, you have to keep at it and never quit practicing? Well the same rule applies here.
To be good at something or to progress in any type of exercise, you need to focus on it long enough and practice your skill. Only then will you get better. This includes things like building strength and lifting.
Is getting stronger a skill?
To a certain extent, yes it is. And like any other skill, going from beginner to intermediate is relatively easy. Take for example tennis. In just a few years you can go from a total beginner to an intermediate player with a good backhand.
On the other hand, graduating from an intermediate to a professional player can take decades. Similarly you cannot expect to master the military press or the bench press in a few short years. It will take much longer for you to reach your fullest potential.
Switching around will not help you master your skill
Now think about this. It would not make much sense if you suddenly decide to play basketball to improve your tennis skills. True, on the way to become a professional player you may experience periods of time when your progress seems to be plateauing. However many professional tennis players are where they are today by practicing even when there appears to be no visible progress.
You don’t want to be Jack
You know — Jack of All Trades, Master of None. Jack can do everything but he isn’t exceptionally good at any one thing.
In order for you to be great at anything, you need to keep on practicing even after all your initial enthusiasm has worn off. You may find it fun to go from one thing to another, but if you really want to master something you need to stick with it with lots of repetition. Yes — even when it gets downright boring.
To be the best you need to push through this period of boredom and just do it! Remember, you don’t want to end up like Jack.
And how does all this apply to exercising and lifting weights?
Try getting at least one basic exercise per body part. This will now be your constant and will be in your workout for good. You should always do this first so that you can measure your progress.
If you need variety (as we all do) change the other exercises in your routine. However the one that you picked earlier for each muscle group has got to be constant.
Any examples of this?
You can try mastering things like the basic barbell curl, one arm dumbbell rows, seated dumbbell military press or the incline dumbbell press. You can mix it up a bit if you want to give your joints a rest.
Don’t worry about trying to hit your muscles at every angle — you don’t have to do that just to make sure your muscles get worked. So this can be done even if you work out at home with limited equipment.
After a period of several years you will be able to see major muscle definition as well as your ability to take on heavier weights.
Nothing wrong with a little break from all this lifting….
There is absolutely no problem if you feel like taking a break from all this lifting. You can break for one or two months — as long as you come back with renewed focus and drive.
This is not the final word….
Of course this is not the absolute! There’s nothing wrong if you do want to switch things up now and then. What’s important to remember is that it is okay if you want to stick with something for long periods of time.
Just don’t be Jack!
