And a variation you didn't know you knew

The basic exercises of powerlifting are simply exercises that are built from a set of rules and conditions to be considered the desired exercise.

For example, one of the competition conditions for the bench press is that the bar rests on the chest for a second before rising, and that the buttocks maintain contact with the bench the entire time. This does not mean that bench pressing without stopping and with the buttocks in the air is bad or wrong, it is just not what is desired in competition, and therefore is considered an illegal variation in the world of powerlifting.

But let's step outside the world of powerlifting for a moment. A bench press with a complete stop on the chest is a variation of a bench press. Basically, every way to perform the competition exercises are variations on an exercise that is not actually an original exercise and is not a variation.

Therefore, in the world of variations, there is a spectrum of variations, on the one hand, variations that are very similar to the target exercise, and on the other hand, variations that are less similar to the target exercise.

Take the squat for example, box squats, pin squats, tempo squats, and even high bar squats are quite similar to the target exercise, which is a free squat under powerlifting competition conditions for that matter. On the other hand, safety bars and various bars, leg machines of all kinds, would be considered more different variations of the target exercise.

Any auxiliary exercise can be a variation that is more or less similar to the target exercise. If the only similarity of the exercise is that it works a muscle that is essential to the target exercise, such as a triceps isolation exercise for the bench press, it is usually called an accessory.
The similarity between the variation and the target exercise changes depending on the reason I chose it, so there is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing variations based on their similarity to the target exercise.

But there is a variation that everyone knows but doesn't know they know, and if we understand its similarities and differences more deeply, we can utilize it for better planning.

I'm talking about the target exercise in different rep ranges. Yes, you heard that right, doing a 10-rep squat is a completely different variation to me than doing a single-rep squat. Even though I'm doing the exact same movement in both.

Why? I think almost everyone has a technical difference between a single rep set vs. a multi-rep set. Some will stand a little wider on a single rep squat vs. a multi-rep. Some will hold a little wider or narrower on a single rep bench vs. a multi-rep.

Additionally, when it comes to 10 repetitions, the first repetition may look completely different from the second, third, and so on.

Try to picture yourself doing ten reps of squats to failure. The first rep may be with a more upright body position, and a little unstable. The second rep will suddenly be a little more stable, and so on until, say, the fifth rep. From rep five onwards, we are suddenly less upright, the quads are exhausted, and although we managed to recruit them well when we first started the set, now they are begging for a little break. Now the pelvis starts to rise first, the back starts to feel the stress. You survive three more reps with less quad work, but now the gluteus also take a break. The back starts to round, the chest collapses, and the kn