Muscle Confusion

I did P90x in high school.

This was a popular home fitness program released in 2004, known for its intensity, energetic trainers, and something called “muscle confusion”.

Muscle confusion is a training approach that aims to increase strength and results by shocking your muscles with new movements regularly.

After finishing P90x, I noticed a thickened layer of muscle around my entire body.

I was hooked. Muscle confusion seemed like an invitation to build muscle while never getting bored with exercise.

So when I was done with the P90x program, I followed this “muscle confusion” strategy for years. And I went all out with it.

I kept spending time in the gym… then added in running… then biking… then indoor rock climbing… then HIIT workouts… for a very muscularly confused routine.

But here’s what started to happen in terms of my results:

• Muscle mass growth flatlined. While there was an initial bulk, I did not pack on any additional muscle mass for about 5 years…
• Injuries. I started noticing injuries in both my right knee and my right shoulder…

I started to question whether or not this “muscle confusion” strategy actually worked for building muscle and improving results.

In 2019, a small study evaluated how effective muscle confusion really is.

21 participants were randomized into two groups. Group 1 had a fixed exercise selection for 8 weeks, and Group 2 had their exercises randomized each training session.

Here’s what it found:

“Varying exercise selection had a positive effect on enhancing motivation to train in resistance-trained men, while eliciting similar improvements in muscular adaptations.”

In plain-speak, muscle confusion helps motivation, but it does not necessarily enhance results.

So what’s the alternative to muscle confusion?

Something called “progressive overload”.

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is about focus, pace, and results.

It’s a training principle that steadily adds in volume (reps x weight) to one exercise over a period of time.

A muscle confusion program may incorporate 20+ different movements… but a progressive overload program might just have 3-5 movements.

It’s slow… it’s gradual… it can be boring… But it works.

There are different types of progressive overloading principles… like step-loading, linear progression, wave-cycling, but they all follow the same basic formula:

1. Determine your max in an exercise

2. Do a lower % of your max when exercising

3. Do this for a period of time

4. Retest your max

5. Repeat until strong

Why Does Progressive Overload Work?

Let’s pretend you’re trying to learn a new song on a piano.

At first, your fingers are like that one Uncle on the dance floor… awkward, uncoordinated, and out of rhythm.

So you start learning the song one line at at a time… then you slowly start adding in more lines as your proficiency increases.

After a few weeks of practice, your fingers start to anticipate where they need to go and how long they need to stay there.

And after a month of practice, your fingers are so adept that you might not even need the sheet music anymore.

This happens because of the integration of the muscles and neurons.

With repetition, the neurons become more efficient at firing at the precise times they need to, and your finger muscles are strengthened with each session.

This neuromuscular connection is how progressive overload works.

You do the same thing, again and again, while steadily adding in more and more volume, and your muscles and neurons become better at working together.

Muscle confusion would be like trying to get proficient playing one piano song by playing that one along with 4 other songs.

You might improve a bit.

But scattered focus can bring scattered results.

2 Time-Saving Progressive Overload Examples

Here are two different examples of how to train with the progressive overload method. 

And each example only takes 10-15 minutes. 

Example 1 – Increase Max Push-Ups

• Time needed: 10-15 minutes, 3x/week
• Try these too: pull-ups, planks, hanging leg raises, etc…

Here’s how you can use progressive overload to increase push-ups in just one month.

• Determine your max push-ups

• Your rep target is 50% of your max push-ups

• Exercise 3x/week:

  • Day one, do 3 sets of 50% of your push-ups

  • Day two, do 4 sets of 50% of your push-ups

  • Day three, do 5 sets of 50% of your push-ups

• Retest after 2 weeks, then repeat for another 2 weeks.

So, let’s say your max push-ups is 10.

• Day one, do 3 sets of 5 push-ups.

• Day two, do 4 sets of 5 push-ups.

• Day three, do 5 sets of 5 push-ups.

Do this for 2 weeks, retest your max, then use that new number for the next 2 weeks.

Example 2 – Boost Bench Press Max

• Time needed: 10-15 minutes, 3x/week
• Try these too: deadlifts, squats, overhead press, thrusters, etc…

Here’s how you can use progressive overload to increase your bench press while just doing it one day/week.

This is also called a “pyramid set” scheme.

• Determine your max bench

• Bench once per week, following this scheme:

  • Week 1, do 3 sets of 8-10 reps at 70% of your max

  • Week 2, do 3 sets of 6-8 reps at 75% of your max

  • Week 3, do 3 sets of 4-6 reps at 80% of your max

  • Week 4, do 3 sets of 4-6 reps at 80% of your max

  • Week 5, retest your max

So let’s say your max bench is 180 pounds.

• Week 1, do 3 sets of 8-10 reps at 125 pounds

• Week 2, do 3 sets of 6-8 reps at 135 pounds

• Week 3, do 3 sets of 4-6 reps at 145 pounds

• Week 4, do 3 sets of 4-6 reps at 145 pounds

• Week 5, retest your max

Hundreds of Applications

You can apply progressive overload to any movement.

Pull-ups, planks, squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, running, sprinting, etc…

There are countless applications.

I’ve used this principle personally to improve my push-up max, pull-up max, and swing/get-up with a 106 pound kettlebell.

I also use this principle in the KB Strength System, which has helped guys go from:

• 35 pound to 71 pound KB Swings in ~8-10 weeks

• 35 pound to 71 pound KB Get-Ups in ~12-14 weeks.

It’s the power of focus.

➡️ The Takeaway

While muscle confusion might help with motivation, it doesn’t really provide any significant advantage with results.

Instead try progressive overload, which has you pick just a few exercises, and you repeat them gradually until strong.

This works because of the neuromuscular connection that improves with practice.

And who was the designer of this incredible synergy within the neuromuscular system?

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created”

To Him be the glory forever.

If you liked this, check out the Layman’s Fitness Newsletter, where I release similar content like this every week.