Q: Your “Biggest Mistake” newsletter was insightful. Since I’ve made changes to do more loaded-stretch exercises, I’m feeling bigger. With all the studies showing that stretch loading produces best muscle gains, I’m wondering why I need contracted-position exercises [like pushdowns for triceps] at all?
A: I do think think contracted-position exercises are valuable from a variation-in-fiber-recruitment standpoint, despite being inferior to exercises with stretch emphasis for hypertrophy…
I still do them because they’ve been shown to have area-specific mass effects—you get unique fiber-bundle activation via variation in recruitment.
Also, flexing the target muscle against resistance can improve neuromuscular efficiency so you can engage more fibers on all exercises; however…
I downplay those and emphasize the more important stretch loading with the ideal exercises and stretch-position moves at most workouts.
Sometimes I’ll substitute the stretch move with a contracted-position exercise. Or do one set of each. So for triceps…
Begin with the ideal, either dumbbell decline extensions or cable triceps extensions…
Follow with overhead extensions (stretch) or pushdowns (contracted).
For a list of ideal, stretch- and contracted-position exercises for each target muscle, see page 42-43 in Old Man, Young Muscle, as well as a couple of different workouts.
I also suggest that you do half your sets in standard 1/3 tempo; the other half in Speed-Set style, 1.5 seconds per rep…
Speed Sets reduce muscle damage by eliminating the slow garbage negatives that occur on standard 1/3 tempo sets.
I think that’s a big reason the Old Man, Young Muscle workout was so effective for me at age 62…
I believe too much damage is one of the biggest reasons for slow to no growth. Think about this…
Shouldn’t training correctly three to four days a week for an entire year yield more than just a couple of pounds of muscle? I do.
That’s 156 to 208 workouts a year for maybe five pounds of muscle—if you’re lucky? Something is not right, and I think it’s too much unnecessary damage.
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best stretch and contracted add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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