Variety Days: Boost Technique, In-Between Strength, Resilience

I typically engage in strength training sessions three times per week, adhering to a streamlined routine that incorporates two to three fundamental exercises using kettlebells, barbells, or dumbbells with moderate to heavy loads. I stick with the identical program and specific movements for several

I typically engage in strength training sessions three times per week, adhering to a streamlined routine that incorporates two to three fundamental exercises using kettlebells, barbells, or dumbbells with moderate to heavy loads. I stick with the identical program and specific movements for several months, and occasionally even a few years, until I achieve the intended objectives, at which point I transition to a fresh regimen.

Over the past few years, I have followed several extended training programs, each emphasizing distinct key lifts. These include:

• Power to the People!: Focusing on barbell deadlifts and bench presses
• Simple & Sinister: Centered around kettlebell goblet squats, swings, and get-ups
• Rite of Passage: Highlighting kettlebell cleans, presses, and snatches
• Enter the Dumbbell: Utilizing dumbbell overhead swings, cleans, and presses
• Imperial Program Minimum: Incorporating kettlebell swings transitioning to split (half) snatches and bent presses

Individuals who track my training updates on the StrongFirst Forum or observe my overall training habits frequently inquire, "Is this the entirety of your routine? How do you sustain proficiency in your other lifts? What role does exercise diversity play?"

I am preparing a comprehensive piece on preserving StrongFirst skills outside your primary training focus, but for the moment, let us delve into a specific aspect: the concept of "variety days." I have long championed variety days ever since encountering them in Pavel's seminal work, Enter the Kettlebell!.

Incorporating variety days into your weekly schedule offers numerous advantages, yet I will outline three primary ones: enhancing technical mastery, cultivating "in-between" strength, and elevating your overall resilience.

Reason #1: Keeping Your Blade Sharp

Drawing from Bob Hoffman's wisdom, variety days involve practicing a broader array of exercises—specifically those skipped during your intense weightlifting sessions. These serve as dedicated review sessions to preserve technique in lifts and skills not featured in your core program or routinely taught.

Beyond mere technical upkeep, there's an intriguing benefit rooted in postconditioning hormesis—a process where applying mild stress after a significant stressor prompts a protective, adaptive reaction that lessens the impact of the prior strain. Consequently, using lighter loads on days after heavy sessions can facilitate superior recovery compared to complete rest. Maintain low intensity and ensure these practices do not disrupt your primary training days.

In my routine, I select predominantly "restorative" movements with light to moderate weights (equivalent to my snatch size, which is 24kg for me): these encompass prying goblet squats, get-ups, and windmills. Additionally, I include lifts requiring extra refinement to perfect my form, such as the kettlebell jerk.

Reason #2: Developing “In-between” Strength

Marty Gallagher, a celebrated national and world champion powerlifter and esteemed coach, often regarded as one of the iron game's finest authors, once stated:

Kettlebells fill in the gaps and spaces that separate conventional exercises, one from another, and build elusive in-between strength… [K]ettlebells provide applicable muscle power, outside-the-box, filling in the gaps that exist within conventional weight training.

While you can employ any equipment for variety day sessions—much like old-time strongmen who handled diverse heavy implements, and I follow suit—kettlebells hold a unique position in the toolkit. They excel at forging in-between strength more effectively than any other implement I have encountered.

Arthur Saxon earned worldwide acclaim for his staggering barbell bent press record of 370lb (168kg), yet he chose to showcase a kettlebell overhead on the cover of his Textbook of Weightlifting. The legendary "Mighty Goerner" mastered countless lifts across various bells, but his biographer noted that "it would be fair to say that kettlebell training played a very large part in Goerner’s workouts." In contemporary times, kettlebell work propelled my friend and training partner Jiří Tkadlčík to his second world championship title.

Kettlebells foster this challenging "in-between" strength due to their dynamically shifting center of gravity, preventing your joints from settling into a rigid, machine-like path. Consider performing a get-up or press "weight ladder" progressing from 16kg to 24kg and then 32kg: each repetition mirrors the others yet carries subtle variations. This approach strengthens adjacent angles, bridging those gaps, enabling you to manifest power in real-world, irregular, imperfect scenarios without risk of injury.

Although I hold barbells and dumbbells in high regard, the kettlebell reigns supreme as the Queen of the Iron Throne.

Reason #3: Getting Resilient

To elevate "in-between" strength further, we can intentionally venture beyond conventional lifts and flawless technique with careful, deliberate practice. This is where StrongFirst RESILIENT enters the picture.

In their essential text Supertraining, Yuri Verkhoshansky and Mel Siff advocate for "injury prevention by imperfection training" and stress that comprehensive sports training must equip athletes to handle unforeseen and suboptimal circumstances.

Scientific studies indicate that strength training restricted to specific ranges of motion (including isometrics) yields the greatest improvements at the targeted angle, with partial carryover to nearby angles (approximately 15°–30°). To cultivate resilient strength throughout the full spectrum of motion, training across multiple angles is essential.

How to Get Resilient—StrongFirst RESILIENT

The methodology is straightforward: systematically probe positions and angles typically evaded—methodically and incrementally—building adaptability through lightly loaded disruptions, variability, and restrictions. This prepares you to manage inevitable deviations.

At the heart of StrongFirst RESILIENT lies this principle: rehearsing "managed imperfections" and overlooked angles from standard training. The goal is to endure unpredictable ranges, leverages, and loads encountered in lifting, combat disciplines, collision sports, or everyday activities. Motor control research terms this pursuit of "optimal variability"—remaining adaptable amid perturbations. The outcome? You maintain composure when a kettlebell shifts unexpectedly or during an off-balance moment in MMA, swiftly regaining position to complete the lift or technique professionally, injury-free.

The StrongFirst RESILIENT program methodically navigates these boundaries—progressing safely—to command expanded ranges, leverages, and positions. It features the Resilient Get-up and Resilient Armbar series for challenging shoulder orientations, including unique exercises like the SOS get-up or shoulder rotator drills. Additional components cover knees-over-toes deep knee bends and hack squat progressions, Jefferson curls paired with hockey deadlifts to test conventional hinge patterns, passive and active hanging progressions leading to "skin the cat," gymnastic bridge exercises to counteract sedentary postures, and targeted neck training series.

This exploration remains controlled in dosage and intentional in purpose.

No Weak Links!

StrongFirst RESILIENT exercises transcend mere supplementary drills; they bridge the divide between strength gained from conventional training and the diverse demands of sports and daily existence. A maximal press or deadlift unfolds predictably: ideal stance, exact bar path, steady tempo. Real life and athletics seldom align so neatly. StrongFirst RESILIENT conditions your joints, connective tissues, and nervous system to sustain force output amid suboptimal positioning—whether rotated, extended, asymmetrically burdened, or recovering from an abrupt misalignment.

Injuries rarely stem from weakness in optimal positions (which StrongFirst training eliminates). Instead, they arise from untested strength mere degrees away. Strength proves angle-specific, with constrained transfer, so we wield the kettlebell to dominate adjacent angles. You instill in your body and nervous system the message: "This position belongs to you as well."

StrongFirst RESILIENT future-proofs your training regimen. As age advances, errors carry steeper consequences. Trips, sudden loads, balance disruptions—these fall short of one-rep max efforts yet pose injury risks. Routine engagement with RESILIENT protocols builds a buffer. That is the essence: prolong your strength.

Practical Example of My Current Practice

“Morning recharge”/“Health-restoring” calisthenics: Daily

• At present, the Amosov bodyweight circuit—comprising 10 movements such as forward bends, side bends, torso rotations, shoulder flexion and extension back taps, bodyweight pushups, squats, and more—with repetitions equaling my age. Performed fasted, outdoors, regardless of hot or cold conditions. Numerous comparable routines exist; the "Mobility Complex" from your Certified Instructor’s Manual serves as an excellent foundation.
• Duration: Approximately 20 minutes.

Main strength training: 3x/week (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

• Currently, kettlebell swings to split (half) snatch and bent press, part of the Imperial Program Minimum I am crafting for StrongFirst, conducted three times weekly with medium to heavy loads.
• Duration: Roughly 45–75 minutes.

Variety days practice: 2x/week (e.g., Tuesday and Thursday)

• Other kettlebell skills: Prying goblet squats, get-ups, windmills, and select double kettlebell movements. All using a "snatch size" kettlebell (24kg for me). Excluding get-ups, typically 1–3 sets of 3–5 reps.
• Other bells: A gentle review of hardstyle dumbbell techniques from the forthcoming Enter the Dumbbell program.
• StrongFirst RESILIENT: I commence with Resilient Armbar, transitioning to Resilient Get-Up. Next, I alternate drills from the Resilient Hanging Series with gymnastic bridge work. Then, I shift to alternating Jefferson curl/hockey deadlift and hack squat variations. I conclude with the Neck Series for spinal and neck decompression. Most drills use a light kettlebell, such as 16kg.
• Duration: Around 30 minutes.

Variety indeed spices life, but at StrongFirst, we cultivate physical and mental resilience through diverse methods including strength training, StrongEndurance anti-glycolytic methods, Second Wind breath-hold techniques, and more. Integrating variety days is strongly advised, yet avoid drowning in diversity at the expense of foundational strength. Be strong first.

As Steve Maraboli aptly put it, “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.” You know the path forward.