« July 2005 | Main | September 2005 »
August 29, 2005
'Active negatives' for more power, stronger muscles, and greater safety
Question: I don't understand what you mean when you say 'pull yourself down into the squat'. How am I supposed to do it and what is the point?
There are two ways you can descend into the low position of the squat or any other exercise.
Passively, by yielding to gravity. Which is what most people who have no poundages to brag about do.
Or actively, by pulling yourself down against the resistance of your own muscles. Which is what strong people – whose barbells bend under the burden of many wheels – do, consciously or not.
An active negative does three thing:
First, it loads elastic energy into your muscles and tendons, for a more powerful return.
Second, it amplifies your strength through the Law of Successive Induction. This law states that a muscle will be stronger immediately after its antagonist’s contraction.
And third, it dramatically increases your control of the iron and therefore cuts your odds of injuries. Imagine two opposing pulleys controlling a crane, rather than one.
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today
Posted by james at 7:13 AM | Comments (2)
August 22, 2005
Secrets of correct head alignment for greater power, stronger muscles, and less risk of injury
Question: How should I align my head when lifting?
It depends on the exercise. The following rundown of the so-called 'pose reflexes' by Smirnov & Dubrovsky (2002) will help you figure it out.
Tipping your head down or forward increases the tonus of the arm flexors and leg extensors. Translation: it is good for curls and leg extensions. But don’t try it with squats! Yes, it is easier to come out of the hole with your face down and your butt up. But it is also dangerous for your back and the second half of the lift is likely to get ugly.
Tilting your melon up or back has the opposite effect. The extensors upstairs and the flexors downstairs get a strength boost. Applications. Look up at the bar when military pressing or at the floor when doing handstand pushups (but only if you have the discipline not to arch your back). Press your head down into the bench when benching, especially at the sticking point.
Russian scientists explain the curious reason for the above reflexes’ existence: improving the animal’s chances of reaching food below or above.
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today
Posted by james at 7:10 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
What is the best way to test your bench press max?
Question: My training partner tells me that I am wasting my time testing my bench max. He showed me a chart that is supposed to calculate it based on an all out multiple rep set. I do not believe him. Who is right?
Your training partner is right about one thing. Unless you compete in powerlifting meets, there is no convincing reason for you to do max attempts. As for the chart, it is a waste of trees. The ratio between an iron athlete’s 1RM and, say, 10RM depends on the predominant fiber type, the nervous system organization, recent training, and a host of other factors. In other words, everyone is different.
Both you and your buddy might be able to bench 225x10RM, yet you could put up 300x1RM while he might stall at 275x1RM.
Do not give up hope; you might be able to figure out your own PR formula by studying your training log, something powerlifters swear by. A lifter might notice that whenever he can deadlift a certain poundage for three gut busting reps he is good for a max single with fifty pounds more a week later. Needless to say, it will take you months of training and observation to nail down your reps to max ratio. And it is likely to change over time.
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today
Posted by james at 6:27 AM | Comments (0)
August 8, 2005
The correct way to focus in your strength training
There are two types of focus in strength training: external and internal. The external focus implies thinking of little but lifting the weight somehow, anyhow. When a teenage boy is trying to impress girls with his bench press and elevates the barbell with atrocious form – he will miss his shoulders when they are gone – he is externally focusing. No comment is necessary; you will reap only an illusion of strength and a lifetime of pain.
In a conversation with the Super Slow TM guru Ken Hutchins, his associate Keith Johnson, M.D., coined the word ‘internalization’ for concentrating on the process of lifting the weight instead of the results: “They urge you to beat the equipment, as… a competitor you must defeat. They teach you to externalize a feigned aggression. You do the opposite. You seem to advocate reaching inside your body. When exercising he [Hutchins’ subject] seems to turn off his surrounding environment and concentrate into an internalized trance. That’s the fitting word: ‘internalize’.”
Do not interpret the above as an endorsement of the Super Slow TM but do yourself a favor and learn from the above. And then go a step beyond. ‘Feeling the muscle’ traditionally implies trying to ‘isolate’ the primary working muscle while trying to maximally relax the rest of the body. A bad idea. Strength training authority Dr. Ken Leistner once quipped that a body molded with a number of isolation exercises – like leg extensions or triceps kickbacks – looked like ‘a collection of body parts’. It just lacks grace, power, and flow. A gymnast or a martial artist whose panther like moves you admire, NEVER isolates. He integrates.
Watch the amazing stunts of the acrobats of the Cirque Du Soleil. You will not see sagging bodies with ‘isolated’ muscles but long and taught entities. Expert performers use full body tension as a lens to focus their energy into the primary muscles responsible for the job. So feel all your muscles, not just one.
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today
Posted by james at 5:07 AM | Comments (1)
August 1, 2005
How to build greater tendon and ligament strength
Question: I hear about 'tendon training' from my strongman competitor friends. What is it? Should I do it?
Although a regular Joe' or Jane's maximal voluntary contraction equals only around 30% of the maximal tensile strength of their tendons (Hirch, 1974), more recent studies reported by Verkhoshansky & Siff (1996) proved what old timers knew all along: increases in quality and quantity of connective tissues may improve the transmission of force from the muscles to the bones!
Professor Verkhoshansky explains that a weak or not sufficiently extensive tendon sheath allows the muscle to dissipate some of its force in the wrong direction.
I am convinced that tendon training is a must for experienced iron athletes of all persuasions. Elite muscles generate such high levels of tension that they become stiffer than their tendons for the moment (Zatsiorsky, 1995).
Since a muscle with its tendons can be compared to springs in series, it is obvious why tendon strength is so important. The muscles, rigor mortis hard, leave the tendons as the weak link in the chain. That not only predisposes the tendons to injury, but increases the likelihood of your muscle shaking and failing for neural reasons.
"The best way to get strength is to support a lot of weight in certain positions," Canadian strength pioneer George Jowett was teaching young John Grimek. "More than you can lift normally... this will strengthen your ligaments, your tendons and you'll get more strength out of that than you would if you were just doing flexing exercises."
Although heavy supports in the tradition of Jowett, Anderson, and Grimek are a must for a serious iron athlete, they are only half the connective tissue training equation. Full amplitude high rep work is recommended by Eastern European specialists to stimulate tendon and ligament development.
Calisthenics such as the full squats from my book Super Joints fit the bill. Kurz (1994) prescribes 3x30 or 1x100-200 after your heavy iron, which should be followed by some stretches. Full stops at the top and the bottom of each rep are a good idea as they shift the load from the muscles to the connective tissues. Clarification: we are not talking about blood and guts high rep sets here; slowly build up your reps until you can handle the required volume with ease.
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today
Posted by james at 6:26 AM | Comments (4)