Loading ...
More training musings for the “Common Man”
Training Variety
Many iron enthusiasts short change themselves by rigidly adhering to a set routine and a limited amount of movements. They patiently and persistently plug away at the same old movements, done in the same old sets and reps…and they wonder why they aren’t enjoying their training anymore and why they seem to get injured frequently. Have you ever found yourself in that situation? Training variety can help to free you…if you’re brave enough to try.
Let’s examine everyone’s favorite…the bench press.
Our intrepid trainee does three sets of ten of the flat bench barbell press three times weekly. If he/she is normal, a plateau will be reached where it seems progress stops. To add insult to injury, our trainee’s shoulders are starting to hurt. Maybe he/she is just plain bored. What to do?
First, you must conquer your fear. Many trainees persist at a movement, even if their progress has stopped or the pain of injury rears its ugly head. The reason why they do this is fear…fear that they will drop some pounds off the lift, fear that they may lose a quarter of an inch of size or maybe even fear that someone will call them a quitter or some similar name. Fear can paralyze and cause you to avoid doing anything that might benefit, simply because it is different. Follow? Although you may not believe it, your body is constantly changing and reacting to the various demands made upon it…so why limit yourself to one or two basic movements?
The first thing our trainee could do is vary either the amount of weight used and/or the set and reps. Next, different movements or tools could be utilized. Here are some examples:
The incline press with either a barbell or dumbbells
The decline press with either a barbell or dumbbells
The floor press with either a barbell or dumbbells
The floor dip (push up) with feet elevated
The parallel bar dip
There’s four variations (or seven, if you include the dumbbells) of a basic bench pressing movement and also the parallel bar dips. Now, even more variety is available by varying hand spacing. By utilizing either wide, medium or close hand spacings, the options available increase to at least 21 variations. Varying the incline/decline will offer even more variety. Further variety could be introduced by using partials. You could easily find 50 variations with just a little creativity.
What are the benefits of thinking and training this way? The first and most obvious benefit would be the elimination of boredom. You also might avoid setting up a “repetitive stress” situation. It’s quite likely that you would achieve a more complete development or that your strength would increase. Or maybe, just maybe, you’d enjoy your training more…and isn’t that sufficient reason alone? Give it a try…there’s quite a menu available. It would be a shame to limit yourself to just one entree.