#variable practice

Variable training is a KEY concept to understand for truly functional performance, yet it often goes unmentioned. This is how you stress test that fitness.

Chaos is the biggest factor missing from many people’s training. What do I mean by chaos? Essentially, I mean variety. Or, as Nicholai Bernstein put it: repetition without repetition. Without this, your strength and fitness may very well be just for show. What is Variable Training We are taught the importance of maintaining proper form. And of repeating movements over and over again in order…

Just saw this article on varying practice for progressing in music mastery. The article is by Noa Kageyama who’s blog, Bulletproof Musician, focuses on research-based tips to tackling everything related to music, from stage fright to efficient practice.

The article lists three tips:

1) Distributing practice - taking small chunks and practicing throughout the day 2) Variable practice - practicing a passage in different ways 3) Interleaved practice - take a few bits that need practice, and cycle them

This is all really interesting in the context of this project. A long long time ago, I discussed Distributing Practice under the guise of Pavel’s “greasing the groove.” I also touched on Interleaved Practice, but I called it “Microcycles” (here, here, and here).

Back then I was trying to attribute Distributive Practice to habit formation, and Interleaved Practice to regimentation. What’s interesting is that it really didn’t work for me. But I never thought to instead apply these to Mastery like Kageyama does.