Variety is the “spice of life” as it goes, but it also the “spice” of training. It is true when it comes to training and working out that the more you know, the better. You can simply go online and find 100s of workouts to fit your need.
With the convenience of this comes a slight hindrance (well the possibility of a hindrance).
Variety can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed, which can lead to a sense of confusion, which opens up an array of problems.
One problem is redundant training.
Redundant training occurs when a person overloads or continues to use workouts or movements that are virtually useless for their body. For example, if a person finds out 15 effective bicep movements, the time and energy put into that many movements is useless and also wastes valuable workout time.
To be more realistic, when people train legs, they are usually thinking of growth. Many people, however, avoid the squat rack or a squat motion, so they look for more isolated movements with the hope of growth to their legs. Maybe they do 4 or 5 different hamstring movements, 5 to 6 quad movements, and a few glute exercises, all while avoiding squatting. One of the many perks and benefits of a squat is the complete beatdown it puts on the inferior (lower) part of the body.
When you are developing a workout routine, you want to find what works for you, and not overload and overthink on movements, because chances are, they may cancel each other out. There is no need for 15 bicep movements or 15 leg movements that do not involve squatting. As stated, not only are you wasting time on a particular body part, but you are also removing valuable training time for other muscle groups.
A good format to go by for isolated and split training programs is no fewer than 9 sets or no more than 16 sets per muscle group. If you break that up, you are looking at 3 to 4 sets per movement (which breaks down even more to 3 to 4 exercises per group).
Some would say that redundant training is unavoidable, especially if you are trying to find the most effective workouts and movements. The key is to recognize when it is taking place and not stay in it. Variety is important, but being particular and not “overdoing” on your movements will be the best option to making sure redundancy is not a norm in your training, because instead of “killin' it” in the gym, you will just be “killin'” time.
