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Other/Mixed Is it better...

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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pet'

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Hello,

For health purpose, is it better to learn and practice a few moves and then polish them ? Or is it better to have as much variety as we can (learning new things) ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
For health purpose, is it better to learn and practice a few moves and then polish them ? Or is it better to have as much variety as we can (learning new things) ?

Neat question. I think practice and pursuit of mastery are really important, and I would put them first. But learning new things is also important for playfulness, discovery, new motor patterns, new neural pathways.

Middle path...

I'll say the opposite.... Stay off the middle path. Pick some things to master, and have fun learning new things with the rest.
 
There’s a Bruce Lee quote out there - fear not the man who has practiced 10 kicks 1000 times each; fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

-S-
A Fox was boasting to a Cat of its clever devices for escaping their mutual enemies; the dogs. “I have a whole bag of tricks,” he said, “which contains a hundred ways of escaping my enemies, perhaps one day I will share some of them with you”

“Alas, I have only one,” said the Cat; “but I can generally manage with that.” Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the Cat immediately ran up a tree and hid herself in the branches.

“This is my plan,” said the Cat. “What are you going to do?”

The Fox thought first of one way, then of another, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer, and at last the Fox in his confusion was caught up by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. Miss Puss, who had been looking on, said: “Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot reckon.”
 
Hello,

Thank you for all your answers. I ask because I recently read it was good for the brain and the mind muscle connection as well to learn new skills (prevent aging, etc...)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I think staying the boring path generally leads to the most rewards.

Milking gains until stagnation or a milestone, then cycling something else in its place is the best way to have your cake and eat it too. A variety day or similar can go a long way towards staying the course. I like mixing up my GTG exercises here and there.

I wasted a lot of time trying new stuff during my barbell days.
 
Hello,

What do you think about the "philosophy" of Ido Portal (for instance) ? Indeed, he claims that it remains good to practice a little bit of everything, everyday, but doing something different everyday to create brain connections ?

On a more "doable" side, Scott Sonnon's type of training is also based on that. Steve Maxwell also claims for a lot of variety, a lot of different moves, to target longevity.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I like to concentrate on some few essentials, that I think have the biggest effect, either on sport, strength, or life, whatever one needs. Then, I like to add various things on top of that, but done such that they don't detract from the main course, but are fun and help make me and the body as a whole feel better.

So, I think it's a good idea to focus on something, but it's no reason to not enjoy other options and take care of oneself.
 
Hello,

Thank you for all your answers. I ask because I recently read it was good for the brain and the mind muscle connection as well to learn new skills (prevent aging, etc...)

Kind regards,

Pet'

If you're talking about physical culture I resolutely feel you need variety in the same way we need variety in our diet - it plugs holes, it eliminates deficiencies - in many instances ones we weren't even aware of.

Overuse injuries are real, specificity is real. Limiting yourself for the sake of art or science or even competition is one thing, as a general philosophy for encouraging the physical self I just can't see the argument for it.

Every time I embark on a new modality or some other training variable I get to see just how well my current strategies have prepared me for the unknown (this alone is priceless), and then I get the mental and physical challenge of the new strategy. I have yet to find myself notably declining in a previously acquired general attribute by adding variety - oftentimes it actually strengthens them.

This doesn't mean one should not do all they can to master whatever they are doing currently or move one to the next at a frenetic pace. We are built to accommodate and thrive when exposed to change by mastering or at least grasping the new variables - that takes time.
 
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Not that I know anything but if the goal is simply health and there are no performance goals, I would think more variety would be called for.

Dan John has written about how you want your conditioning exercises to be inefficient. When you start getting good at an activity, move to another one. It's also good for the brain to develop new skills and new types of coordination.
 
Hello,

This is also what I. Portal says. The better we get at an exercise, the less benefits we get from it (for the same amount of work). He calls that specialization. Per se, this is not bad. However, it does not teach as much as the beginning.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Health = stay active. That might be the same movements day in day out because it's comfortable, rewarding, etc. It may be tons of variety because it's not boring.

Performance = structured progress. That might be the same movements day in day out because it's necessary for sport. It may be tons of variety because it's necessary for sport.
 
I think variety is more sustainable. However, I think structured variety is the best. A constant rotation of movements that revisit on specific intervals to keep slow progress of many things and avoid injuries due to lack of conditioning of a movement. I think even competitive Crossfit is becoming more structured.
 
As the question was "for health", I think we need some fixed exercises to remain strong and well conditioned. For instance, squats, bench press + some running. Or S&S and some running. I think its not safe to train strength and conditioning varying the exercises.

If we vary the exercises we need for strength and conditioning, we will either be pushing too hard at exercises we are not used to, or not pushing hard enough to maintain our strength and conditioning. Neither is good.
 
Hello,

For health purpose, is it better to learn and practice a few moves and then polish them ? Or is it better to have as much variety as we can (learning new things) ?

Kind regards,

Pet'

Yes.
 
Same thing comes to mind when discussing what 'conditioning' means.
Health, no doubt means different things to different people, and consensus may be difficult.
(Freedom from illness and disease being one definition.)

Requirements for 'health' could be rather minimal.

Nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress, and mental 'stuff' all being contributing variables...
 
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