I think it was Arnold who used to say "confuse the muscle".
The General Adaptation Syndrome
This is the foundation of a well written Strength Training Program (Maximum Strength, Power, Speed, Hypertrophy) etc.
There are three phases to it. Look it up for more detail.
Hans Selye, MD, PhD referenced The General Adaptation Syndrome (circa 1923) with diseases.
An overly simplistic definition is your body either adapted or you died.
Periodization Training
The foundation of Periodization is based on The General Adaptation Syndrome.
That meaning the body will eventually adapt to an Exercise. When adaptation occurs, progress stops.
Research has demonstrated that "Varying Exercises" elicits a greater training effect in the long run.
Muscle Confusion
This is the dumbed down term for The General Adaptation Syndrome the Joe Weider came up.
As someone once said, "If you want to be good borrow other ideas. If you be great, steal them." Weider fell in to that last category.
Varying Exercises
Information on his has been posted multiple times. However, for some reason very few individual have picked up on this training concept.
With that in mind, here it is once more...
Beginner question... If it's beneficial to vary volume and intensity day to day/week to week, then why not completely vary exercises? (Like Crossfit WODs, for instance) i.e. M - Moving Target Kettlebell Complex (Clean - Press - Squat) W - Naked Warrior (one arm pushup - pistol) F - Quick and...
www.strongfirst.com
Post 8
This study investigated the effects of varying strength exercises and loading scheme on muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and maximum strength after 4 strength training loading schemes: constant intensity and constant exercise (CICE), constant intensity and varied exercise (CIVE), varied...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Abstract
This study investigated the
effects of varying strength exercises and/or loading scheme on muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and maximum strength after four strength training loading schemes: constant intensity and constant exercise (CICE),
constant intensity and varied exercise (CIVE), varied intensity and constant exercise (VICE), varied intensity and varied exercise (VIVE). Forty-nine individuals were allocated into five groups: CICE, CIVE, VICE, VIVE, and control group (C). Experimental groups underwent a twice a week training for 12 weeks. Squat 1RM was assessed at baseline and after the training period. Whole quadriceps muscle and its heads CSA were also obtained pre- and post-training. The whole quadriceps CSA increased significantly (p<0.05) in all of the experimental groups from pre- to post-test in both the right and left legs: CICE: 11.6% and 12.0%; CIVE: 11.6% and 12.2%; VICE: 9.5% e 9.3% and VIVE: 9.9% and 11.6%, respectively. The CIVE and VIVE groups presented hypertrophy in all of the quadriceps muscle heads (p<0.05), while the CICE and VICE groups did not present hypertrophy in the vastus medialis and rectus femoris (RF), and in the RF muscles, respectively (p>0.05). The CIVE group had greater strength increments than the other training groups (Effect size confidence limit of the difference -ESCLdiff CICE: 1.41 - 1.56; VICE: 2.13 - 2.28; VIVE: 0.59 - 0.75). Our findings suggest: a)
CIVE is more efficient to produce strength gains for physically active individuals; b) as long as the training intensity reaches an alleged threshold, muscle hypertrophy is similar regardless of the training intensity and exercise variation.
With that in mind, Bodybuilders Varying Exercise as a means of Increasing Muscle Mass.
Let break this down some more...
Training Age
How often an individual need to Vary (Change) Exercise is based on their Training Age.
1) Novice Lifers
These individuals adapt slowly. They can train the same exerciser for up to 12 weeks before they need to change them.
2) Advance Lifter
These individual adapt quickly. They can train the same exerciser for up to 4 weeks before they need to change them.
3) Intermediate LIfter
These individual are in between Novice and Advanced. They can train the same exerciser for up to 8 weeks before they need to change them.
Take Away
As a general rule, anytime you stop making progress with an Exercise or end up going backwards, Change it!
A Great Example Of Varying Exercise
I do the back squat, front squat, box squat, zercher squat. I'll use a straight bar, a bow bar, a safety squat bar. I'll add different amounts of bands or chains. Etc.
It's all simple. But there's a lot of in built variety.
Anecdotal Data
One of the fundamental principles of the Westside Powerlifting Protocol is based on Varying Exercises.
Research Data
Transfer Between Lifts: Increased Strength in Untrained Exercises
Post 1
Cool Training Stuff: Safety Straps
Research has demonstrate that an exercise similar in nature to another one produces gain in the movement not being performed..
Although the principle of specificity holds true,
a phenomenon called “transfer” also occurs when a lifter increases their strength in an exercise that they did not train. For example, if a lifter performed lunges in lieu of back squat, but their back squat strength increased anyway, there would be transfer between the lunge and back squat.
Summary
Some Strength and Hypertrophy can be developed utilizing the same Exercises forever.
However, Varying Exercises are more effective eliciting long term results.