muscle confusion... real or hype

Legit, but misunderstood.

People think you need new, different exercises. You need new, different stimulus, but muscle stimulus isn't that complex.

Adding 5 pounds to the bar gives your muscles a new stimulus and confuses them. Working with 12 reps and slightly lighter weight confuses them when they're used to sets of 8.

Good muscle confusion uses the confusion aspect to enhance progressive overload. Bad confusion just throws in new exercises with no overall plan and no overall progression.