The best training article I’ve read… III
The type of muscle contraction and the nature of each repetition should depend on the nature of the movement (exercise) — this principle is closely tied to the first principle of the article. In terms of contraction type and speed, there are three ways to perform an exercise (movement).
1. Perform the whole movement (repetition) under constant tension
Throughout the exercise, we keep the working muscle under maximal tension for the entire set.
The aim of this type of muscle work is to restrict blood flow into the muscle (the muscle cells) as much as possible during the set. This creates a state of hypoxia, meaning that oxygen can’t get into the muscle. Using constant-tension sets also means that the breakdown products formed during muscle work (lactate, hydrogen ions, etc.) can’t leave the muscle cells during the set. Both factors (the lack of oxygen and the accumulation of breakdown products) induce the release of local growth factors (IGF – 1, MGF and growth hormone), which stimulate muscle growth.
Incidentally, isometric contractions also fall into the category of constant-tension movements.
2. Movements with an accelerating concentric phase and a controlled eccentric phase
In other words, these are exercises in which we try to perform the lifting phase with correct technique but as fast as possible, and to lower the weight under control. We do the exercise through the full range of motion and lower the weight under control. After the lowering phase there is a brief pause (about a second), and then we lift the weight with acceleration. This short pause sits exactly between the stretched state of the muscles/tendons and the concentric phase.
The purpose of the pause is precisely to keep us from using the extra energy that comes from the muscle stretch in the concentric contraction that follows.
The force applied when lifting a weight actually comes from three components: the concentric contraction of the muscle, the elastic energy produced by the muscle stretch, and the muscle’s own elastic properties (a muscle is like a rubber band).
If we want to maximize the work the muscle itself actually has to do through contraction, our aim when performing exercises should be to minimize, as far as possible, the contribution of the muscle’s stretch properties to the muscle work. This is easily achieved with that same one-second pause before the concentric phase. That way we can’t use the energy coming from the muscle’s elastic components, so the muscle fibers have to work harder “on their own” to get the weight up.
When lifting a weight, you should aim to contract the muscle at maximal speed. This doesn’t always mean that the bar moves very fast during the repetition. Rather, it means that the concentric (overcoming) phase specifically is performed at maximal voluntary speed. This kind of execution ensures maximal recruitment of the fast muscle fibers that are needed to move heavy loads.
The weight should be lowered under control, because the eccentric phase actually produces more micro-tears inside the muscle fibers (than the concentric phase does), which is a powerful stimulus for muscle growth.
3. Movements that use the muscle’s stretch properties and extra elastic energy
In these exercises, we deliberately aim to add the extra energy from the muscle’s elastic components to the movement, on top of the contractile component. The weight should be lifted at maximal speed throughout the entire repetition. Over time, this explosive way of performing repetitions improves the nervous system’s ability to recruit more fast muscle fibers and put them to work even more efficiently.
Repetitions that use stretch components performed quickly don’t do much to stimulate the muscle fibers themselves, because this kind of execution doesn’t fatigue the fibers enough (the contraction time and the tension in the muscle stay too low). However, repetitions of some exercises performed this way activate fast glycolytic muscle fibers with a high excitation threshold very well. Once we teach the fast fibers to engage, they also engage more easily in other exercises and contraction types.
When should you use the different ways of performing a repetition?
Every time you do an isolation exercise, use constant tension. Every time!!! The purpose of an isolation exercise is precisely to keep maximal tension on the working muscle. Since we’re already using an isolation exercise, the goal is the maximal local effect, and that is achievable to the fullest only through constant tension. Without the constant-tension principle, isolation exercises are pointless. This is also one of the reasons isolation exercises often have a bad reputation. People don’t know how to apply isolation exercises correctly, and the result is a lot of effort for next to no results. When isolation exercises are used in the right volume, at the right time and with constant tension, they are very effective.
Don’t try to use constant tension in compound exercises. Not that it’s impossible or unthinkable, but it’s a waste of time. The purpose of a compound exercise is to load many muscles at once. In a compound movement that involves many muscles at the same time, isolating individual muscles isn’t possible. If we try to do it anyway, we make the compound exercise and its developmental potential considerably less effective than it could be.
For classic compound exercises, it’s advisable to use the second way of performing a repetition described above: a controlled eccentric phase, a pause before the stretch kicks in, and a fast concentric phase. Performing repetitions this way maximizes the hypertrophic effect of compound exercises by loading the working muscles to the maximum.
Finally, explosive execution from the start of the repetition to the end should be applied deliberately in the classic lifts, in plyometric exercises, and in various jumping and throwing exercises.
Although repetitions performed this way don’t directly stimulate the development of muscle mass, explosively performed repetitions enhance the capacity of the nervous system (the speed at which the nerve impulse that innervates the muscle fiber travels along the nervous system improves), which in turn keeps driving the recruitment of new motor units.
Original article author HERE
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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