Wednesday, October 14, 2009

On...The Muscle Confusion Principle

You've heard it before and you're going to hear it again:

Add variety to your workout - switch up the rep count! Play with the tempo! Do a full body assault!

Too often I speak to frustrated gym bunnies who are not seeing the results they think they deserve - and when I switch into trainer mode and ask them the last time they challenged their routine to something fresh and new, they inevitably moan, whine and confess:

'I knooooow...'

Clearly, they don't know (ENOUGH)...and if they do, clearly (again), they are not as interested in the results as they so desperately claim.

The Wieder Muscle Confusion Principle states that by constantly altering the acute variables of your workout (ie number of sets vs reps, exercise choice, exercise order and length of rest) you will keep your muscles constantly guessing as to what is coming next. Not only does this prevent stalling plateaus, it helps to prevent you from falling asleep on the gym floor due to complete boredom...how long have you been doing that same bench press?

In a study conducted at the Arizona State University at Tempe, researchers found that subjects following the Muscle Confusion Principle for 12-weeks increased their bench press and leg press strength by 100% more than those who followed as they were, in a boring, linear program that even allowed for a bit of change every 2 weeks.

Who knew?! You did, apparently...now do something about it.





1 comment:

  1. to make perfect muscular body. we need to exercise each part of body. hand, shoulder, leg, chest. Home Gyms exercise equipment provide many exercise for different body part in one single machine.

    ReplyDelete