I’m reading your book High-Threshold Muscle Building, after reading your discussion of the Perfect Rep on several of these threads.
On pg. 32, you write:
[quote]The controlled muscle preactivation phase
This refers to the first 3/4 of the eccentric phase of the movement. As we saw in the
preceding chapter, this phase should be performed under control while the muscles are maximally tensed. This will increase the safety and efficacy of the prestretch phase. The biggest mistake you could make during that initial phase would be to lower the weight too fast without the muscles being adequately tensed.[/quote]
On the next page, you discuss the next phase, the prestretch:
For the prestretch phase, your book doesn’t comment on whether the working muscle group should be tensed somewhat, as you stressed for the first 3/4 of lowering.
I’m confused, since on the recent threads on this forum, you seemed to say that during the pre-stretch phrase, the working muscle group should be contracting (isometrically?) at the same time one is contracting the antagonist muscles.
Adding your book’s recommendations about the reactivation phase to your recommendations here about the prestretch phase… are you saying that one should contract the agonist muscles intensely during the reactivation phase, and slightly less intensely during the pre-stretch phase ( …in preparation for an accelerative concentric phrase) ?
[quote]ARelhem wrote:
On pg. 32, you write:
The controlled muscle preactivation phase
This refers to the first 3/4 of the eccentric phase of the movement. As we saw in the
preceding chapter, this phase should be performed under control while the muscles are maximally tensed. This will increase the safety and efficacy of the prestretch phase. The biggest mistake you could make during that initial phase would be to lower the weight too fast without the muscles being adequately tensed.
On the next page, you discuss the next phase, the prestretch:
the last 1/4 of the eccentric phase should be performed rapidly to allow for a forceful prestretch of the targeted muscle. It is also very important to initiate the subsequent lifting phase as fast as possible after the prestretch has occurred to reap the most benefits from this technique.
For the prestretch phase, your book doesn’t comment on whether the working muscle group should be tensed somewhat, as you stressed for the first 3/4 of lowering.
I’m confused, since on the recent threads on this forum, you seemed to say that during the pre-stretch phrase, the working muscle group should be contracting (isometrically?) at the same time one is contracting the antagonist muscles.
Adding your book’s recommendations about the reactivation phase to your recommendations here about the prestretch phase… are you saying that one should contract the agonist muscles intensely during the reactivation phase, and slightly less intensely during the pre-stretch phase ( …in preparation for an accelerative concentric phrase) ?
[/quote]
Don’t overthink and overanalyze, your making this way too complicated for yourself.
I’m not CT but beeing powerlifter for 10 years I like to thinkt that I got this thing under control. The concept that you neeg to internalize is TIGHTNESS… during a lift everything must be thight and solid. That is achieved by keeping your muscles tensed during the whole lift. You don’t relax at all even at the last 1/4 of the lowering phase, you just “pull” the bar harder/faster with the antagonist muscle. Many quys here at the forum have been wonderin how you “pull” the bar… like in benchpress… with you lats (don’t you juts lower it with your pecs, tris and delts?!?) It’s not so much of an action than it is a FEELING… of thightness! I’m first to admit that it takes “a knack”. You got to practice it and need kinda “heureka moment” to really get it. It’s a hard thing to teach, you just got to get it with enough training.
Your two answers are different but maybe not contrary. And yes, TMT, I understand that “tightness” is the key all through the eccentric, if only to protect yourself and not just let gravity do the work.
