Recent studies seem to place stretch-loading and stretch exercises at the top of the mass-building food chain…
Like triceps: Over 12 weeks, overhead extensions beat pushdowns handily for triceps mass (Maeo, et al. Euro J Sports Sci. 2022). Arnold used both…
But there are a multiple reasons why contracted-position exercises, like triceps pushdowns and leg extensions, appear to be of equal importance or even more so in some cases. Arnold using every exercise in the book is not on the list…
1) Variation in fiber recruitment—different lines of force can activate different fibers.
2) Area-specific development—for some muscles, it appears that stretch creates more mass near the origin and insertion, while contraction more fiber thickness in the middle, or belly.
3) Hypoxia—contracted-position exercises are best for continuous tension, which creates blood-flow restriction (BFR), an apparent harbinger of muscle-fiber girth.
To add to that list, #4 is…
4) Individual muscle response—some muscles get the most growth from stretch loading, while others tend to respond better to contracted-position stress.
In the next training newsletter, we’ll talk specific muscles, and which ones appear to respond best to stretch or contraction.
Note: For a list of stretch, contracted, and ideal exercises for each muscle, see the chart on pages 42 and 43 of Old Man, Young Muscle.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of 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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