Op naar de sterren, en daar voorbij

[McMetronome]

Graag gedaan

Het motiveert bij mij meestal enorm als ik weet dat er mensen zijn die me volgen en me met raad en daad willen bijstaan. Dat is wel veel gevraagd natuurlijk, dus je moet zeker geen moeite doen als je niet wilt, aangezien ik toch ook niks in ruil kan geven, omdat ik gewoon helemaal niets afweet van fitnessen of bodybuilden

Klik om te verkleinen...

Gheghe, das hier toch veelal hetzelfde hoor. Ik ben ook nog maar een groentje (bezig sinds december 2009). Je hoeft geen abnormale kennis te bezitten om iemand een beetje te motiveren toch?

Kennis komt vanzelf. Veel lezen hier en je kennis toepassen in de praktijk + evalueren!

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Precies. Blijven pushen, altijd voor progressie gaan en als die er niet is, dan moet je shit gaan veranderen!

Training van vandaag:

Wide Grip Pull-Ups
Vandaag heb ik me zo langzaam mogelijk laten zakken na elke rep. Dit na aanleiding van een stuk wat ik had gelezen op tmuscle.com. Shiiit, voelde hem veel harder dan verwacht! Had opzich nog wel een set bijgemogen, zo komen die lats er nooit
2x6reps op 35kg assisted.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Omhooggegaan naar de 16kg. Nog steeds veel reps, volgende keer omhoog (op naar de 3x5)
5x16kg
10x16kg
10x16kg

Dumbbell Rows (Links en rechts)
10x19kg
10x19kg
10x19kg (ofzo? Lol, weet alleen nog dat ik volgende keer naar de 20kg wil )

Dumbbell Benchpress
10x12kg
8x26kg
6x26kg
7x26kg (8e rep fail, had de boel eerder moeten loslaten, ging niet helemaal strak met mn schouder )

Deadlift
Maar weer heel rustig opgepakt. Of naja, dat was de insteek. Meer volume dan ooit gemaakt Ben vanaf de 100kg straps gaan gebruiken. Kon ook nog mixed grip doen, maar wil dan met elke hand een keer supinated en bij de 110kg had ik sowieso straps gehad, dus ben maar voor de easy way gedaan.

8x60kg
5x70kg
5x80kg
5x90kg
5x100kg
5x110kg
5x120kg
5x130kg
5x130kg

Lol.

Ging wel lekker, ben alleen nog steeds gewicht aan het opbouwen met mn rows en shoulder presses. Geeft nog niet echt een voldaan gevoel, maar zal vanzelf lekker zwaar worden. Volgende keer wel benchen met tzelfde gewicht denk ik, 2 kilo dr op plakken is wat te veel van het goede dunkt me...

Nu BFFM lezen, thnx Dwarfie

 

[Dennisik]

Sterke training!, Deadlift en dumbbell press zien er goed uit.

 

[McMetronome]

Thnx

Wide Grip Pull-Ups wil ik de volgende keer wat meer tijd voor nemen. Bij mn rows en shoulder presses voelt het nog steeds alsof ik in de opbouwfase zit, maar dat komt vast vanzelf goed.

Zo. En nu een wheyshake, nieuwe prut bestellen en naar bed

 

[Chreiz]

Best aardige training!

 

[McMetronome]

Jeuj Verwachtte slechter na een brakke nacht van nauwelijks 6 uur slaap en een werk dag van ruim 9 uur

Hoe vind je mn nieuwe handtekening?

 

[Born Twitchy]

Lekkere training

Kun je in het kort zeggen wat er goed is aan die superlangzame chin-ups?
Deed ze namelijk per toeval

 

[Tukker73]

Nice recovery op de DL man! Gaat verder wel lekker toch?

 

[Jorgyboy]

Jongens toch, die deadlift doe ik met 1 hand ...


Is dat goede motivatie?

Sterke training!

Waarom wil je trouwens die 3x5 bij DSP?

 

[McMetronome]

What the ****, zat een wildvreemde kat onder mn bed

Lekkere training

Kun je in het kort zeggen wat er goed is aan die superlangzame chin-ups?
Deed ze namelijk per toeval

Klik om te verkleinen...

Heeft te maken met het recruiten van motor-units. Als je je zo langzaam mogelijk laat zakken (mits je nog niet makkelijk 30+ chins doet natuurlijk ) recruit je veel meer motor-units dan als je je omhoogwerkt. Zo langzaam naar beneden als je kan dwingt je om vrijwel al je motor-units te gebruiken en dus te stimuleren, zie uitleg in spoiler.

Spoiler

Mechanical loading of your muscles is one of the key principles on which your training should be based. For a long time, however, muscle fatigue has been relied upon as a gauge for the effectiveness of one's training. According to tradition, one must work the muscles to momentary muscular failure so as to cause as many muscle fibers as possible to receive a growth stimulus.

Often it is suggested that the fast twitch, or white, muscle fibers are not even called into action until the last few repetitions of a set. As discussed in support of Hypertrophy-Specific Training TM (HST) [1-3], however, a great deal of research suggests that all types of muscle fibers are called into action when the muscles are exposed to heavy enough loads. Because of this, HST emphasizes heavy mechanical loading of the muscles rather than staying with the lighter weights proposed by many other training programs.

According to HST convention, you should spend at least a portion of your training with heavy loads approaching your 5 rep-max (RM) weight [1-3]. For those readers that are new to the iron game, a RM specifies the maximum number of times you can lift a weight before hitting muscular failure. For example, once you know how much weight you can bench press five times, that weight is called your 5RM for the Bench Press.

One way to increase the mechanical loading of your muscles beyond your 5RM is by performing eccentric repetitions, or negatives, with your 3RM or 2RM weights. With negatives, you typically have a partner help you lift the weight and then you lower the weight under control. You may choose to perform five negative repetitions of each exercise or you may choose to perform two concentric, or positive, repetitions followed by three negative repetitions where your partner helps you lift the weights.

Negatives are frequently touted as by far the most effective approach to muscle growth after having worked up to your 5RM with positives. Herein, a simple model is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of negative repetitions.


Nerves & Muscle Fibers


Muscles are comprised of many muscle fibers. When the muscles are needed for exerting forces against objects, such as a barbell, the brain sends signals to the muscles via nerves. These signals cause the muscle fibers to shorten, or contract. The precise science underlying muscle physiology is very complex and goes far beyond our present needs. For this reason, we'll rely on the simpler concept of "motor units."

A motor unit is defined as all the muscle fibers that are innervated by a single nerve cell, called a neuron [4]. Figure 1 illustrates an ultra-simplistic representation of such a motor unit. When the motor unit is turned "OFF" (i.e., no signal is transmitted by the neuron), the motor unit is not contracted and remains relaxed.

When the motor unit is turned "ON," it contracts fully, creating a mechanical force F. For a more detailed discussion of muscle function, the reader is referred to "How Muscles Work," located at the HowStuffWorks website [5].


Figure 1: Motor unit deactivated and activated
An important feature of motor units is that each motor unit is either turned on and is fully contracted or turned off and fully relaxed. There is no way for the motor unit to be partially turned on or partially contracted. Activation and contraction of the motor unit is an all or none affair [4].

Another important feature is that not all of the motor units making up a given muscle are activated at the same time when the muscle contracts. Rather, a sufficient number of motor units are turned on so that the muscle exerts a required level of force. For instance, fewer motor units are required to lift a spoon to your mouth than to curl your 2RM weight.

Moreover, when you lift a heavy weight some of the motor units will begin to fail and turn off. To maintain the force output of the muscle, other motor units are turned on to take the place of the failed motor units. Thus, during muscular contraction, there is a continual turnover of motor units being activated, failing, and being replaced by other motor units and so on.


Recruiting Motor Units


The act of turning on motor units to exert a muscular force is referred to as "recruitment" of the motor units. When you contract a muscle to lift a weight, you recruit a large number of motor units which exerts a combined, total force that is greater than the downward force of the weight. The weight moves upward simply because the muscular force is greater than the downward force of the weight.

Fewer motor units are recruited to hold the weight in a stationary position, called an isometric contraction. For an isometric contraction, you recruit just enough motor units to produce a total muscular force which is essentially equal to the downward force of the weight. Because the upward muscular force and the downward force of the weight are equal, the weight remains in the stationary position.

You lower the weight by turning off some motor units. This decreases the force exerted by your muscle on the weight. Once the downward force of the weight is a bit greater than the muscular force, the weight moves downward under control. Thus, fewer motor units are recruited to lower the weight under control than to hold the weight stationary.

A motor unit performs work when it contracts against an external load, such as a barbell. The load also exposes the motor unit to tension, which damages the motor unit. The motor unit receives a consequent growth stimulus that causes hypertrophy of the motor unit when it gets repaired. The more tension placed on the motor unit, the greater is the growth stimulus experienced by the motor unit (within reason, of course). This is one reason why lifting heavy weights is more productive for muscle growth than staying with lighter weights.

The key to understanding negatives lies in the recruitment of motor units, discussed above. When motor units are turned off to lower a weight, a decreasing number of motor units are left holding the weight. These remaining motor units are thus exposed to a greater level of tension, which provides an opportunity for a greater growth stimulus. Let's consider a simple example to see how this works.


Figure 2: Turning on motor units lifts the weight
Suppose you're going to use a muscle comprised of ten motor units to lift a weight of 100 lbs. When you lift the weight, all of the motor units participate, as shown in Figure 2. Because all ten motor units participate, the weight exposes each motor unit to 10 lbs of tension. Once you've lifted the weight, you lower it by turning off some motor units. Let's suppose that you turn off three motor units, as shown in Figure 3.


Figure 3: Turning off motor units lowers the weight
This leaves seven motor units to lower the weight under control. Because there are now fewer motor units supporting the weight, each motor unit is exposed to more tension. In this example, each motor unit experiences about 14.3 lbs of tension while lowering the weight. This is an increase in tension of about 43% over that experienced during the concentric portion of the lift!

Since each motor unit is exposed to greater tension during the eccentric portion of the lift, the eccentric portion is a bit more inclined to produce a growth stimulus.

Clearly, performing negatives can lead to muscular growth more quickly than concentric or isometric repetitions. Of course, the model described above is purely fiction; you're not guaranteed to increase your muscle growth by 43% just by doing negatives.

The primary advantage to doing negatives, however, is that not only do your muscles experience greater tension during the eccentric portion of a lift, but also you can generally lower more weight under control than you can lift. Thus, doing negatives is one way you can expose your muscles to greater levels of tension than experienced during concentric lifts.

References


Haycock, Bryan, "Hypertrophy-Specific Training: Official HST Method," Here.
HST FAQ, Here.
HST Forum, Here.
Hatfield, Frederick C., Fitness: The Complete Guide, International Sports Sciences Association, 7th Ed., p. 5.18.
Freudenrich, Craig C., "How Muscles Work," Howstuffworks, Here.
This article is an edited excerpt from Charles T. Ridgely's bodybuilding eBook, Setting up a Hypertrophy-Specific Training TM Cycle, which explains in simple terms how to set up and use the Hypertrophy-Specific TrainingTM system, developed by Bryan Haycock!

Over het implementeren van negative reps in je workouts:

Spoiler

Working Negatives Into Your Routine


You may want to consider slowing down the eccentric portion of your repetitions during your workouts and really concentrate on lowering the weights slowly and completely under control. Something I personally enjoy doing sometimes (especially on an incline or flat dumbbell bench press as my second exercise) is lowering the weight very slowly and deliberately for a count of maybe 4-5 seconds and then when I reach the bottom, I explode up forcefully.

You won't be able to perform as many repetitions as you usually do with the same weight so you'll need to use a lighter weight. But if done properly, you'll get a great stretch and pump and chances are you'll feel it the next day.

Another way to work negatives into your program if you have a training partner is to do eccentric-only contractions for one exercise. This will allow you to really increase the weight you normally use, because you can create greater force production eccentrically. One of the best examples is with the leg extension machine. Load up the plates or set the pin in the weight stack with much more than you normally use.

Have your training partner(s) lift the leg pad up all the way for you and then you fight against the resistance on the way down and slowly lower it, then your partner(s) will lift it up again and then you will perform the negative again. Repeat for 6-10 reps total for no more than 3 sets for one exercise per session. The National Strength and Conditioning Association suggest using a weight of 125% of your 1RM for the exercise.

So if your maximum weight for one concentric repetition on the leg extension is 100 lbs., then you would set it to 125 lbs. and perform as many eccentric-only repetitions as you can.

You may also want to consider performing "forced negatives" sometimes. You will perform a standard set of repetitions and then when you are fatigued and cannot perform one more concentric repetition a partner will lift it for you and then you will work the negative by yourself. Repeat for 2 to 4 reps or until fatigued.

I would only recommend that you perform this kind of training at the end of your last set for each muscle group to completely fatigue the targeted muscle. Keep in mind that this kind of training can be implemented without a workout partner for exercises that you can use dumbbells with one arm at a time for. You would simply spot (perform the concentric portion of the movement) with your free hand.

It works well for arm exercises such as the preacher dumbbell curl and any of the variety of dumbbell triceps extensions. In my opinion, one muscle group in particular that I feel responds well to added emphasis on negatives and slow and controlled repetitions are the abdominals - All you need to do is slowly return to the beginning position while keeping constant tension in the abdominals before contracting concentrically again.


Summing It All Up


Don't go overboard with negative or eccentric training, because it will cause more skeletal muscle damage than normal and will require more recuperation and recovery time. Performing negatives too much may then cause you to become overtrained. Also keep in mind that if negatives are not performed properly and safely you risk unfavorable damage to your connective tissues as well as your muscles by stretching them too much.

This can be avoided by not performing negatives every training session, or at the very least by changing the kind of negative training you used last. By safely incorporating eccentric training into your current resistance training program you will create greater overload and spark new growth and greater gains.


References


Baechle, T.R., Earle, R. (2000). Essentials of strength training and conditioning - 2nd edition. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Human Kinetics.

Thanks,


gouletchris@hotmail.com

Nog een tegek en praktisch artikel met noot van de auteur:

Spoiler

Eccentric and isometric/static training are powerful tool but they are also extremely demanding on the CNS (isometrics) or tendons (eccentrics); so I would be careful when using them.

I did recommend them quite often in the past, but only for short blocks of 3-4 weeks. More than that they can become detrimental. Same thing with plyometrics; effective in the short run, destructive if used too much.

I would honestly not include a significant amount of eccentrics and isometrics yet. Not until you know what you are doing. While great tools, they can also lead to stagnation, injuries and CNS fatigue quite easily.

The I, Bodybuilder program will not include a significant amount of eccentrics and isometrics.

.

Een paar voordelen op een rijtje (TMuscle.com):

Why is Eccentric Training Effective?

Eccentric training allows one to stimulate greater strength and size gains than pure concentric training. Why is that? There are five major reasons:

1) There's a greater neural adaptation to eccentric training than to concentric training (Hortobagyi et al. 1996).

2) There's a more important force output produced during a maximal eccentric action (greater overload) because you can use a higher external load (Colliander and Tesch 1990).

3) There's a higher level of stress per motor unit during eccentric work. Less motor units are recruited during the eccentric portion of a movement, thus each of the recruited motor units receives much more stimulation (Grabiner and Owings 2002 , Linnamo et al. 2002). Furthermore, since the nervous system seems to recruit less motor units during a maximal eccentric action, the potential for improvement could be greater than with maximal concentric action.

4) There's some evidence that maximal eccentric actions will preferably recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are more responsive to muscle growth and strengthening (Nardone et al. 1989, Howell et al. 1995, Hortobagyi et al. 1996). In fact, eccentric training may stimulate an evolution towards a faster contractile profile (Martin et al. 1995).

5) Most of the muscle microtrauma to the cells occurring during training is a result of the eccentric action performed (Brown et al. 1997, Gibala et al. 2000). It's been established that this microtrauma acts as the signal to start the muscle adaptation process (Clarke and Feedback, 1996).


Further Benefits of Eccentric Training

For most of us, strength and size gains are the name of the game. However, the positive effects of negative training don’t stop there. We could also note the following "fringe" benefits:

1) Greater cross-education will occur (Hortobagyi and Lambert 1997). Cross-education refers to transfer of strength gains from one limb/side to the other. In practical terms it means that if you were to work only your right arm using eccentric actions, some of the strength gains would transfer to the left arm. This can be very beneficial to prevent excessive strength loss if one limb is immobilized.

2) Eccentric training is also a superior method to treat tendinitis when compared with concentric exercise (Mafi et al. 2001). It could be argued that this form of training is beneficial to injured athletes and that it's relatively safer than concentric training even if the loads used are greater.

3) A last point of interest is that strength gains from eccentric training are maintained longer during a period of detraining than concentric-only training (Collinder and Tesch 1992, Housh et al. 1996). This may be very important for athletes who can't train as much during the season as they can in the off-season.


In Layman’s Terms, Please!

The last few sections were very dense in scientific information, but what does it all mean in the real world? It means:

1) If you deemphasise the yielding portion of your strength exercises (lowering the bar very fast, not contracting your muscles during the eccentric portion, etc.) you might as well not be training at all, at least if maximum strength and size are important to you. Be careful though, it doesn’t mean you should accentuate/emphasize the eccentric stress in all of your exercises, just that some exercises should target a very large eccentric overload.

2) Accentuating the eccentric stress during a session will lead to more strength gains. The reasons are related to structural as well as neural adaptations.

3) The eccentric portion of a movement is the main stimulus for muscle growth as it's the cause of most of the microtrauma inflicted on the muscles. This acts as the signal to kick the muscle-building process into overdrive.

4) One more benefit I found from experience is that overloading the eccentric portion of an exercise allows one to get used to holding big weights and controlling them. This can have a very important confidence-building effect when attempting to lift maximum weights.

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Nice recovery op de DL man! Gaat verder wel lekker toch?

Klik om te verkleinen...

Thnx. Ja, alleen wil asap meer harder langer enzo

Jongens toch, die deadlift doe ik met 1 hand ...


Is dat goede motivatie?

Klik om te verkleinen...

E-hero

Sterke training!

Waarom wil je trouwens die 3x5 bij DSP?

Klik om te verkleinen...

Thnx. Wil niet per sé naar 3x5, maar wil het gewicht net zolang omhoog gooien tot ik nog ongeveer 3x5 reps kan maken, dan weer reps omhoog. Rinse and repeat.

 

[McMetronome]

Vanavond zuupuuuuh! Maar eerst knetterhard trainen, en wel mn avondeten/shake/kwark doen. Neem gewoon een proefzakje whey mee voor vanacht

 

[Ano_80_1]

Vanavond zuupuuuuh! Maar eerst knetterhard trainen, en wel mn avondeten/shake/kwark doen. Neem gewoon een proefzakje whey mee voor vanacht

Klik om te verkleinen...

Goed idee... al zal goed eten ook helpen hoor
Wat ga je trouwens doen qua trainingsschema? Zelfde als ik? (maar dan wel squatten...)

 

[McMetronome]

Gheghe, zat te denken aan een UB/LB/benen schema. En dan m'n benen in het weekend zodat dat niet botst met m'n werk.

Zo de t*ring. Had me al om laten om niet te gaan trainen en een uurtje eerder te gaan zuipen. Maar **** m'n vriendenkring, heb 'm'n trein gemist' ; toch getrained. Wel echt 10min na m'n avondeten, maar beter dan niet. Morgen is m'n gym dicht! Wel echt kneiterhard moeten rennen voor de volgende trein. Goeie cardiosessie Met een los overhemd en een enorme pomp gerend voor m'n leven, werd even nagekeken

Hier m'n training. Beetje k*tlayout, zit op m'n iPhone. Moeluk

Dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10x15kg
Wide Grip pullups: 3x10x35kg assisted
Dips: 3x10 (vorm vrij zaad, ik wiebel ook enorm)
Dumbbell rows (links en rechts) 3x10x22kg
Dumbbell benchpress: Xx13kg, 10x26kg. Daarna een set met 26kg waar bij de 8ste rep m'n linker dumbbell uit m'n hand gleed (richting binnenkant borst). Kreeg em op m'n linker pec, niet zown fijn gevoel Daarna maar 10x20kg gedaan om het af te leren.
Deadlift: 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 2x5x140kg. Viel tegen, laatste set was moeilijk, had op een derde set gehoopt. Misschien iets te veel kracht verloren bij de 3x100?

Toch snel ff een wheyshake gehosselt. Alleen kwark en zakkie whey meenemen is niet meer gelukt. Naja, ga vanacht de koelkast maar plunderen (waar ik dan ook mag slapen ). Morgen om fking 8uur werken

---------- Toegevoegd om 21:28 ---------- De post hierboven werd geplaatst om 21:26 ----------

Zweet trouwens echt enorm van die sprint!! Maar vers zweet stinkt niet

 

[Dennisik]

Sterke training gozer!, dumbbell benchpress en deadlift is sterk.

 

[Jorgyboy]

Gheghe, zat te denken aan een UB/LB/benen schema. En dan m'n benen in het weekend zodat dat niet botst met m'n werk.

Zo de t*ring. Had me al om laten om niet te gaan trainen en een uurtje eerder te gaan zuipen. Maar **** m'n vriendenkring, heb 'm'n trein gemist' ; toch getrained. Wel echt 10min na m'n avondeten, maar beter dan niet. Morgen is m'n gym dicht! Wel echt kneiterhard moeten rennen voor de volgende trein. Goeie cardiosessie Met een los overhemd en een enorme pomp gerend voor m'n leven, werd even nagekeken

Hier m'n training. Beetje k*tlayout, zit op m'n iPhone. Moeluk

"dumbbell">Dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10x15kg
Wide Grip pullups: 3x10x35kg assisted
Dips: 3x10 (vorm vrij zaad, ik wiebel ook enorm)
"dumbbell">Dumbbell rows (links en rechts) 3x10x22kg
"dumbbell">Dumbbell benchpress: Xx13kg, 10x26kg. Daarna een set met 26kg waar bij de 8ste rep m'n linker "dumbbell">dumbbell uit m'n hand gleed (richting binnenkant borst). Kreeg em op m'n linker pec, niet zown fijn gevoel Daarna maar 10x20kg gedaan om het af te leren.
Deadlift: 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 2x5x140kg. Viel tegen, laatste set was moeilijk, had op een derde set gehoopt. Misschien iets te veel kracht verloren bij de 3x100?

Toch snel ff een wheyshake gehosselt. Alleen kwark en zakkie whey meenemen is niet meer gelukt. Naja, ga vanacht de koelkast maar plunderen (waar ik dan ook mag slapen ). Morgen om fking 8uur werken

Klik om te verkleinen...

*Autch*

Zweet trouwens echt enorm van die sprint!! Maar vers zweet stinkt niet

Klik om te verkleinen...

LOL

 

[Chreiz]

What the ****, zat een wildvreemde kat onder mn bed



Heeft te maken met het recruiten van motor-units. Als je je zo langzaam mogelijk laat zakken (mits je nog niet makkelijk 30+ chins doet natuurlijk ) recruit je veel meer motor-units dan als je je omhoogwerkt. Zo langzaam naar beneden als je kan dwingt je om vrijwel al je motor-units te gebruiken en dus te stimuleren, zie uitleg in spoiler.

Spoiler

Mechanical loading of your muscles is one of the key principles on which your training should be based. For a long time, however, muscle fatigue has been relied upon as a gauge for the effectiveness of one's training. According to tradition, one must work the muscles to momentary muscular failure so as to cause as many muscle fibers as possible to receive a growth stimulus.

Often it is suggested that the fast twitch, or white, muscle fibers are not even called into action until the last few repetitions of a set. As discussed in support of Hypertrophy-Specific Training TM (HST) [1-3], however, a great deal of research suggests that all types of muscle fibers are called into action when the muscles are exposed to heavy enough loads. Because of this, HST emphasizes heavy mechanical loading of the muscles rather than staying with the lighter weights proposed by many other training programs.

According to HST convention, you should spend at least a portion of your training with heavy loads approaching your 5 rep-max (RM) weight [1-3]. For those readers that are new to the iron game, a RM specifies the maximum number of times you can lift a weight before hitting muscular failure. For example, once you know how much weight you can bench press five times, that weight is called your 5RM for the Bench Press.

One way to increase the mechanical loading of your muscles beyond your 5RM is by performing eccentric repetitions, or negatives, with your 3RM or 2RM weights. With negatives, you typically have a partner help you lift the weight and then you lower the weight under control. You may choose to perform five negative repetitions of each exercise or you may choose to perform two concentric, or positive, repetitions followed by three negative repetitions where your partner helps you lift the weights.

Negatives are frequently touted as by far the most effective approach to muscle growth after having worked up to your 5RM with positives. Herein, a simple model is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of negative repetitions.


Nerves & Muscle Fibers


Muscles are comprised of many muscle fibers. When the muscles are needed for exerting forces against objects, such as a barbell, the brain sends signals to the muscles via nerves. These signals cause the muscle fibers to shorten, or contract. The precise science underlying muscle physiology is very complex and goes far beyond our present needs. For this reason, we'll rely on the simpler concept of "motor units."

A motor unit is defined as all the muscle fibers that are innervated by a single nerve cell, called a neuron [4]. Figure 1 illustrates an ultra-simplistic representation of such a motor unit. When the motor unit is turned "OFF" (i.e., no signal is transmitted by the neuron), the motor unit is not contracted and remains relaxed.

When the motor unit is turned "ON," it contracts fully, creating a mechanical force F. For a more detailed discussion of muscle function, the reader is referred to "How Muscles Work," located at the HowStuffWorks website [5].


Figure 1: Motor unit deactivated and activated
An important feature of motor units is that each motor unit is either turned on and is fully contracted or turned off and fully relaxed. There is no way for the motor unit to be partially turned on or partially contracted. Activation and contraction of the motor unit is an all or none affair [4].

Another important feature is that not all of the motor units making up a given muscle are activated at the same time when the muscle contracts. Rather, a sufficient number of motor units are turned on so that the muscle exerts a required level of force. For instance, fewer motor units are required to lift a spoon to your mouth than to curl your 2RM weight.

Moreover, when you lift a heavy weight some of the motor units will begin to fail and turn off. To maintain the force output of the muscle, other motor units are turned on to take the place of the failed motor units. Thus, during muscular contraction, there is a continual turnover of motor units being activated, failing, and being replaced by other motor units and so on.


Recruiting Motor Units


The act of turning on motor units to exert a muscular force is referred to as "recruitment" of the motor units. When you contract a muscle to lift a weight, you recruit a large number of motor units which exerts a combined, total force that is greater than the downward force of the weight. The weight moves upward simply because the muscular force is greater than the downward force of the weight.

Fewer motor units are recruited to hold the weight in a stationary position, called an isometric contraction. For an isometric contraction, you recruit just enough motor units to produce a total muscular force which is essentially equal to the downward force of the weight. Because the upward muscular force and the downward force of the weight are equal, the weight remains in the stationary position.

You lower the weight by turning off some motor units. This decreases the force exerted by your muscle on the weight. Once the downward force of the weight is a bit greater than the muscular force, the weight moves downward under control. Thus, fewer motor units are recruited to lower the weight under control than to hold the weight stationary.

A motor unit performs work when it contracts against an external load, such as a barbell. The load also exposes the motor unit to tension, which damages the motor unit. The motor unit receives a consequent growth stimulus that causes hypertrophy of the motor unit when it gets repaired. The more tension placed on the motor unit, the greater is the growth stimulus experienced by the motor unit (within reason, of course). This is one reason why lifting heavy weights is more productive for muscle growth than staying with lighter weights.

The key to understanding negatives lies in the recruitment of motor units, discussed above. When motor units are turned off to lower a weight, a decreasing number of motor units are left holding the weight. These remaining motor units are thus exposed to a greater level of tension, which provides an opportunity for a greater growth stimulus. Let's consider a simple example to see how this works.


Figure 2: Turning on motor units lifts the weight
Suppose you're going to use a muscle comprised of ten motor units to lift a weight of 100 lbs. When you lift the weight, all of the motor units participate, as shown in Figure 2. Because all ten motor units participate, the weight exposes each motor unit to 10 lbs of tension. Once you've lifted the weight, you lower it by turning off some motor units. Let's suppose that you turn off three motor units, as shown in Figure 3.


Figure 3: Turning off motor units lowers the weight
This leaves seven motor units to lower the weight under control. Because there are now fewer motor units supporting the weight, each motor unit is exposed to more tension. In this example, each motor unit experiences about 14.3 lbs of tension while lowering the weight. This is an increase in tension of about 43% over that experienced during the concentric portion of the lift!

Since each motor unit is exposed to greater tension during the eccentric portion of the lift, the eccentric portion is a bit more inclined to produce a growth stimulus.

Clearly, performing negatives can lead to muscular growth more quickly than concentric or isometric repetitions. Of course, the model described above is purely fiction; you're not guaranteed to increase your muscle growth by 43% just by doing negatives.

The primary advantage to doing negatives, however, is that not only do your muscles experience greater tension during the eccentric portion of a lift, but also you can generally lower more weight under control than you can lift. Thus, doing negatives is one way you can expose your muscles to greater levels of tension than experienced during concentric lifts.

References


Haycock, Bryan, "Hypertrophy-Specific Training: Official HST Method," Here.
HST FAQ, Here.
HST Forum, Here.
Hatfield, Frederick C., Fitness: The Complete Guide, International Sports Sciences Association, 7th Ed., p. 5.18.
Freudenrich, Craig C., "How Muscles Work," Howstuffworks, Here.
This article is an edited excerpt from Charles T. Ridgely's bodybuilding eBook, Setting up a Hypertrophy-Specific Training TM Cycle, which explains in simple terms how to set up and use the Hypertrophy-Specific TrainingTM system, developed by Bryan Haycock!

Over het implementeren van negative reps in je workouts:

Spoiler

Working Negatives Into Your Routine


You may want to consider slowing down the eccentric portion of your repetitions during your workouts and really concentrate on lowering the weights slowly and completely under control. Something I personally enjoy doing sometimes (especially on an incline or flat dumbbell bench press as my second exercise) is lowering the weight very slowly and deliberately for a count of maybe 4-5 seconds and then when I reach the bottom, I explode up forcefully.

You won't be able to perform as many repetitions as you usually do with the same weight so you'll need to use a lighter weight. But if done properly, you'll get a great stretch and pump and chances are you'll feel it the next day.

Another way to work negatives into your program if you have a training partner is to do eccentric-only contractions for one exercise. This will allow you to really increase the weight you normally use, because you can create greater force production eccentrically. One of the best examples is with the leg extension machine. Load up the plates or set the pin in the weight stack with much more than you normally use.

Have your training partner(s) lift the leg pad up all the way for you and then you fight against the resistance on the way down and slowly lower it, then your partner(s) will lift it up again and then you will perform the negative again. Repeat for 6-10 reps total for no more than 3 sets for one exercise per session. The National Strength and Conditioning Association suggest using a weight of 125% of your 1RM for the exercise.

So if your maximum weight for one concentric repetition on the leg extension is 100 lbs., then you would set it to 125 lbs. and perform as many eccentric-only repetitions as you can.

You may also want to consider performing "forced negatives" sometimes. You will perform a standard set of repetitions and then when you are fatigued and cannot perform one more concentric repetition a partner will lift it for you and then you will work the negative by yourself. Repeat for 2 to 4 reps or until fatigued.

I would only recommend that you perform this kind of training at the end of your last set for each muscle group to completely fatigue the targeted muscle. Keep in mind that this kind of training can be implemented without a workout partner for exercises that you can use dumbbells with one arm at a time for. You would simply spot (perform the concentric portion of the movement) with your free hand.

It works well for arm exercises such as the preacher dumbbell curl and any of the variety of dumbbell triceps extensions. In my opinion, one muscle group in particular that I feel responds well to added emphasis on negatives and slow and controlled repetitions are the abdominals - All you need to do is slowly return to the beginning position while keeping constant tension in the abdominals before contracting concentrically again.


Summing It All Up


Don't go overboard with negative or eccentric training, because it will cause more skeletal muscle damage than normal and will require more recuperation and recovery time. Performing negatives too much may then cause you to become overtrained. Also keep in mind that if negatives are not performed properly and safely you risk unfavorable damage to your connective tissues as well as your muscles by stretching them too much.

This can be avoided by not performing negatives every training session, or at the very least by changing the kind of negative training you used last. By safely incorporating eccentric training into your current resistance training program you will create greater overload and spark new growth and greater gains.


References


Baechle, T.R., Earle, R. (2000). Essentials of strength training and conditioning - 2nd edition. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Human Kinetics.

Thanks,


gouletchris@hotmail.com

Nog een tegek en praktisch artikel met noot van de auteur:

Spoiler

Eccentric and isometric/static training are powerful tool but they are also extremely demanding on the CNS (isometrics) or tendons (eccentrics); so I would be careful when using them.

I did recommend them quite often in the past, but only for short blocks of 3-4 weeks. More than that they can become detrimental. Same thing with plyometrics; effective in the short run, destructive if used too much.

I would honestly not include a significant amount of eccentrics and isometrics yet. Not until you know what you are doing. While great tools, they can also lead to stagnation, injuries and CNS fatigue quite easily.

The I, Bodybuilder program will not include a significant amount of eccentrics and isometrics.

.

Een paar voordelen op een rijtje (TMuscle.com):





Thnx. Ja, alleen wil asap meer harder langer enzo



E-hero



Thnx. Wil niet per sé naar 3x5, maar wil het gewicht net zolang omhoog gooien tot ik nog ongeveer 3x5 reps kan maken, dan weer reps omhoog. Rinse and repeat.

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Goed dat je research doet

Gheghe, zat te denken aan een UB/LB/benen schema. En dan m'n benen in het weekend zodat dat niet botst met m'n werk.

Zo de t*ring. Had me al om laten om niet te gaan trainen en een uurtje eerder te gaan zuipen. Maar **** m'n vriendenkring, heb 'm'n trein gemist' ; toch getrained. Wel echt 10min na m'n avondeten, maar beter dan niet. Morgen is m'n gym dicht! Wel echt kneiterhard moeten rennen voor de volgende trein. Goeie cardiosessie Met een los overhemd en een enorme pomp gerend voor m'n leven, werd even nagekeken

Hier m'n training. Beetje k*tlayout, zit op m'n iPhone. Moeluk

Dumbbell shoulder press: 3x10x15kg
Wide Grip pullups: 3x10x35kg assisted
Dips: 3x10 (vorm vrij zaad, ik wiebel ook enorm)
Dumbbell rows (links en rechts) 3x10x22kg
Dumbbell benchpress: Xx13kg, 10x26kg. Daarna een set met 26kg waar bij de 8ste rep m'n linker dumbbell uit m'n hand gleed (richting binnenkant borst). Kreeg em op m'n linker pec, niet zown fijn gevoel Daarna maar 10x20kg gedaan om het af te leren.
Deadlift: 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 2x5x140kg. Viel tegen, laatste set was moeilijk, had op een derde set gehoopt. Misschien iets te veel kracht verloren bij de 3x100?

Toch snel ff een wheyshake gehosselt. Alleen kwark en zakkie whey meenemen is niet meer gelukt. Naja, ga vanacht de koelkast maar plunderen (waar ik dan ook mag slapen ). Morgen om fking 8uur werken

---------- Toegevoegd om 21:28 ---------- De post hierboven werd geplaatst om 21:26 ----------

Zweet trouwens echt enorm van die sprint!! Maar vers zweet stinkt niet

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Ik verwacht binnenkort een 150 deadlift van je! Ik vraag me af wat je 1rm zou zijn. Zou toch minimaal 160-170kg moeten zijn.

 

[McMetronome]

Paar weken trug was m'n 1rn htzelfdr als nu mm werksets heujbier!

 

[Japio]

Goeie training hoor MC, sterke deadlift vooral
Koninginnenacht beetje overleefd? nog lekker de koelkast van je meisje leeg geplunderd?

Hehe, volgende ochtend willen de ouders ontbijten terwijl jullie nog op bed liggen te rotten, treffen ze een lege koelkast aan

 

[McMetronome]

Thanks How's life op de kazerne daaro?
Ja, erg overleefd. Was wel bek af, in de stromende regen lopen feesten met de nodige alcoholische versnaperingen, je weet En t was geen meisje Beetje anti-climax, maar we konden pitten bij een vriend van me in de buurt daar. Heb inderdaad lekker geplunderd, 2 liter kartonnetje melk dan wel

Dat op bed rotten viel tegen, moest om 8uur s'ochtends werken

Vandaag nog steeds een beetje brak, training maar even verschoven naar morgen. Vandaag weer netjes gaan eten, creatine weer nemen enzo. Goeie nacht slapen en morgen knallen!

 

[McMetronome]

Mweh, goed slapen niet echt gelukt. Door die #$%openingstijden van mn gym ook niet getrained. Was morgen van plan maar was vergeten dat ik een gig had en dus helemaal geen tijd heb... Crap. Morgen maar eens kijken of ik wat zware dingen kan vinden.

Vandaag 4x20minuten lasercardio gedaan, tijden niet zo gezweet

 

[de Tank]

Mweh, goed slapen niet echt gelukt. Door die #$%openingstijden van mn gym ook niet getrained. Was morgen van plan maar was vergeten dat ik een gig had en dus helemaal geen tijd heb... Crap. Morgen maar eens kijken of ik wat zware dingen kan vinden.

Vandaag 4x20minuten lasercardio gedaan, tijden niet zo gezweet

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Om toch nog te "trainen"?

Je hebt een gig, speel je in een band? Zo ja, is er een beetje fatsoenlijke apparatuur? In dat geval kun je je lol wel op met wat versterkers