Range of motion during exercise

It is no longer a secret to anyone that for maximum hypertrophy of muscle fibers, a weighted approach must be long enough before failure occurs.

Science has also established specific numbers that fit in the range from 20 to 30 seconds (for the muscles of the lower half of the body, the upper limit can be increased to 40-50 seconds).

Moreover, the average number of repetitions that can be performed in a specified period of time is also recommended – 10-12. In practice, this has been repeatedly tested, confirmed and, it would seem, does not need any comments.

However, not all so simple. Exercise is different, and with the same pace of movement for 10-12 repetitions, a noticeably different amount of time can take, sometimes much less than is necessary for maximum hypertrophy.

The stumbling block here is the range of motion. There are exercises that initially imply a short amplitude, which cannot be increased due to the anatomical features of the muscles involved in them.

For example, shrugs with a barbell or dumbbells, lifting on toes while standing or sitting. The amplitude in these exercises is about 10 cm. For comparison, with a bench press with a grip above the average, the projectile moves 30-40 cm. Is there a difference?

Yes, and what else! Doing 10 bench press reps can take three times as long as doing the same number of shrugs. And this means that when we train the trapezius muscles, trying to focus on general recommendations, we limit their potential for hypertrophy by not allowing growth factors such as free creatine, hydrogen ions and, of course, anabolic hormones to accumulate in optimal amounts.

In addition, athletes perform a number of exercises intentionally in a truncated amplitude, limiting it to some area that, in their opinion, most effectively involves the trained muscle group.

For example, the barbell press from behind the head is done from the level of the ears and above, in the leg press in the simulator, the platform is lowered to a level at which the angle between the thigh and lower leg is 90 degrees.

Such intentional truncations shorten the time the muscles are under tension compared to the full amplitude.

HOW TO BE?

When planning a training program, this cannot be ignored. circumstances, and if you have not thought about it before, then you need to immediately make changes to your training process.

All you have to do is increase the duration of the sets performed in a short amplitude, regardless of what it is caused by.

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF REPETITIONS

This is perhaps the easiest way to make muscle work longer. If you are practicing a program in which the number of repetitions varies from workout to workout, then in those exercises where the range of motion is short, the working weights should be selected in such a way that they allow you to perform a few more repetitions than planned.

As has been said more than once, it is impossible to give specific recommendations that are universal for everyone. Some leg presses move the platform by 20 cm, and others by 30 cm. Therefore, it is possible that for some it may be much more effective to add even more repetitions. I’ll use myself as an example.

Exactly one year ago, I intuitively raised the number of repetitions in the leg press to 30-40 per set. I will make a reservation that I do not lower the platform low: because of this, my pelvis comes off. The sensations that my thighs experienced after several dozen repetitions could not but please: a strong burning sensation appeared in the front and back of the thigh, and I could not sit down in a controlled manner on a nearby bench, literally collapsing under the weight of my own body, my legs simply gave way.

This indicated a strong acidification of the muscles by hydrogen ions. For the muscles of the upper half of the body, this is not good, since hydrogen ions destroy the protein structures of the cell, but for the legs it is much less critical, since the muscle composition of the thigh includes many oxidative and intermediate fibers that are rich in mitochondria.

Mitochondria quickly neutralize hydrogen ions, thereby eliminating their negative impact. But sensations are sensations, and the result also affected hypertrophy. Everyone who knows me, as one, noted an increase in the circumference of my hips, which never pleased me with their volumes.

I really regret not getting to this sooner. The leg press is a great exercise for building muscle mass, but in the 10-15 rep range with limited amplitude, it is almost useless. The amplitude in squats is almost three times higher than in the press, therefore, this range is only effective for squatting. Regularly watching from the side how iron lovers press the platform, he noted that the majority practice a small amplitude without suspecting it.

For clarity, I used a centimeter tape, measuring the course of the platform: on average – 20-25 cm, and in squatting to the parallel it turned out 40-50 cm. In order to do more repetitions, the weight used will have to be reduced – this is a minus of this method of increasing the time the muscle is under load. Less weight used – fewer muscle fibers will be involved in the movement. However, in practice this disadvantage is insignificant.

CHANGING THE PACE OF MOVEMENT

In order not to significantly reduce the weight of the projectiles, it is possible to increase the duration of the approach by changing the rate of movement of the projectile.

The easiest way is to slow down the time of the negative phase. In order to artificially slow down the positive phase, you will have to decently sacrifice weight, and we just want to avoid this, so the negative phase is what is most optimal. Adding just one second to the time of each projectile drop in a set of 10 repetitions will increase its duration by 10 seconds.

If the exercise involves a peak contraction at the top point of the amplitude, such as shrugs or lifting on toes, then you can hold on for a second or two at the moment of maximum contraction, trying to raise the projectile even higher. But for various types of presses, this is unacceptable, since in the presses the muscles turn off at the top of the amplitude, transferring the load to the joints. The disadvantage of this method is also a slight decrease in the working weight, but it is not as pronounced as with an increase in the number of repetitions in the approach.

REST-PAUSE METHOD

Its main goal is to increase the time the muscle is under load when working with large weights. However, a similar concept can be applied to training with medium weights in exercises with a short amplitude. Everything is quite simple. We perform a set of 10 repetitions to failure, rest for 15-20 seconds, continue to perform the exercise and do a couple more repetitions, then again the same rest and one or two more repetitions. The time spent by the muscles under load increases.

“Rest-pause” can be used in any exercise of a pressing and traction nature. The disadvantages of this method I think no.

Таким образом, мы рассмотрели с вами несколько способов увеличения времени нахождения мышц under load. You just have to carefully look at the exercises from your arsenal and select from them those that clearly end faster than others with the same number of repetitions, and then make the appropriate adjustments using the methods described above. Remember, muscle fiber hypertrophy is not stimulated by a specific number of repetitions in itself, but by the time during which they are performed.