What's the difference between a progression and a variation?

Is there one? Or is this another semantics thing?

On my YouTube page I have a bunch of videos labeled progression or variation (some are old videos with VARIATION in the title, but PROGRESSION in the actual video since I haven’t gotten around to updating all my old videos yet 🤦🏻‍♂️).

Seems like 2 ways to describe the same thing, right?

The thing is, they’re actually very different things.

The fitness industry has conditioned us to perceive certain exercises as “better” than others, for no real reason other than the anecdotal experience one person had that made them feel like that exercise is better/helpful/more useful.

All exercises and implements are tools. They are neutral until we begin to use them and assign value. Once we stop moralizing exercises, we are left with progressions and variations.

🔸PROGRESSIONS are paths to a skill. They’re versions of an exercise that break up component parts and scale intensity to help us get to an end skill or position.

Progression example: cartwheel. In the video you’ll see 3 different versions of the cartwheel that break it up in to digestible, scaled versions working toward a goal movement (the cartwheel). That doesn’t mean the cartwheel is the end - there’s progressions AFTER that, but it’s a benchmark.

🔸VARIATIONS are different versions of an exercise that create better CONDITIONS to elicit the RESULT the individual is looking for.

Variation example: crawls. None are better than the others, but each may serve a better purpose for different people with different needs.

In summary: progressions are adapted versions of a skill benchmark that help move toward that benchmark. Variations are different versions of exercises that help find the right version of them for the individual in the moment. 

Neither are better or worse, they are just tools. Use them wisely!