Researched
and Composed by
Jacob Wilson, BSc. (Hons), MSc. CSCS
Introduction
What
are the first two things that you notice
about the pros? If asked, I would
say that it is their incredible size
combined with a separation that is
borderline mystical. If you have
not already, study a few of Lee
Priests black and white photos.
His body looks as if it were carved out
of pure marble and fashioned by Michael
Angelo himself! Each muscle is
carefully separated and not one is
lacking in detail. He is a living
piece of art and a to say that he is a masterpiece
would be an understatement.
Obviously,
there are several factors involved in
creating such magnificence. I
believe that one of those, is
without a doubt static contraction.
Whole books have been written on this
very shocking method! This is extremely
justifiable, for I do not believe you
can achieve a championship physique
without it! Now,
rather than stop the article here and
tell you to dish out 20 to 30 dollars
for the book. I have decided to
save you those dollars and explain this
method through the following article!
Heck maybe you can buy yourself 5 pounds
worth of whey protein instead!
What
is Static Contraction?
Static
contraction entails pushing a muscle
against resistance into a peak
contraction and then maintaining that
peak contraction for an extended period
of time preferably lasting 5-30 seconds.
For example, lets say that I am
using the pec deck. When I reach
the point in which my arms are touching
and I can not contract my chest any
further I have reached a peak
contraction for this particular
exercise.
What
Exactly Will Static Contraction do For
Me?
A. First
you must understand that in order to
stimulate hypertrophy ( muscle growth )
you must expose a muscle to intensified
muscular contraction. In other
words if
you do not force your muscles to contact
harder or longer than they are used to,
they will not grow! Extended Peak Contraction is an excellent way to
produce this effect! Simply because our
muscles are not accustomed to
maintaining a state of peaked contraction for more
than a moment. If you keep the
muscle peaked for longer than it is used
to it will be forced into new growth.
It has no choice but to adapt when
exposed to a new form of stimulation!
When
you normally perform a repetition,
tension at some point in the exercise is
released or lessened. Perhaps the
best growth factor involved in extended
peak contraction is that your muscle is
stressed the entire time with an
incredible amount of tension until it
cannot tolerate it any longer!
Again the mass gains produced by this
stress are as extreme as the shocking
method itself!
B.
Static
Contraction is quite simply put, one of
the best ways known to man, to separate,
not only each muscle from the other but
to actually create separation within a
muscle group as well! Have you
ever seen one of those biceps that never
seemed to stop peaking? Almost as
if it were the peak of a mountain
gleaming out of the very clouds in the
sky! I am also sure that you have
seen biceps with mass that lack peak.
Simply put, I
cannot think of a method better than
Static Contraction to give you this much
desired peak! If you think about
it, the reason why, is easily deduced.
When do your biceps rise to
their highest point? The answer of
course is when you flex them as hard as
you can until you cannot contract the
muscle any harder. For example a
double biceps pose. If you force
the muscle to stay in peaked state, under the stress of
resistance for a longer time than it is
used to, then your peak will climb higher
and higher! Its that basic!
If you want a biceps peak, you must work
on its peak with extreme intensity!
How
to apply the Extended Peak Contraction
Method to Your Routine!
There
are 2 different ways in which I will
discuss this advanced training
technique.
Originally static contraction was meant
to be used on its own. Yet it
can also be combined in several different
ways with your normal sets.
Intensifying them in a similar way to
forced reps or supersets. It is
the latter that I most frequently use.
However both are effective and therefore
both will be explained in the following
paragraphs.
Method
Number One, Pure Extended Peak
Contraction!
Originally
this method of training was meant to be
used exclusively for a 6-10 week
program. However I would
like to state that I feel this to be
counter productive to your overall
program. Instead I would prefer
that you use
it sparingly and in order to break
through a muscular gain plateau.
If you use it in this manner then you
will
reap great rewards!
What
this method entails is for the
participant, excluding warm-ups to
purely rely, for an entire workout
on
extended peak contraction to create hypertrophy
in the targeted muscle group.
To
best explain this best, I would like to
completely outline three separate
routines for you. Shall we begin?
Chest,
Shoulders, Triceps
|
Chest:
A.
Barbell
Flat Bench Press
3 sets to failure ( 30 seconds,
25 seconds, 15 seconds
) This emphasizes the peak
of the entire chest
muscle! I
want you to push the weight up
to about 2-3 inches before
complete lockout! This is
important because if you
completely lock out it will take
allot of the pressure off of
your pecks and place it onto your
triceps. When you reach a position about
2 to 3 inches before lockout
hold it until
failure!
B. Barbell
Incline Bench Press
3 sets to failure ( 30 seconds,
25 seconds, 15 seconds )
As before push the weight up to
about 2 to three inches before
lock out!
C. Machine
Fly's 3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
Unlike the incline and flat
bench presses I want you to
completely contract your muscles
on this exercise! Because
this exercise emphasizes the
point in which your chest is
fullest and at its peak! Due to
the emphasis of this position you
should notice allot more fullness
in your chest, even when it is
relaxed! Allot of people
seek out a full and hard chest
and this method of training is a big boy in
creating this effect!
This is the peak position I want
the exercise to be performed in!
Shoulders:
A.
Barbell Upright Rows: 3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
B. Seated
Lateral Raises: 3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
Triceps:
A. Triceps
Cable Pressdowns:
3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
B.
One
Arm Cable Reverse Pressdowns
1 set on each arm for a total of
30 seconds to failure
How to carry out
workout:
As
always warm yourself up
extremely well! You then
need to choose a weight that
will cause your muscles
to fail in the targeted range of
seconds. When I say
fail I mean that you cannot hold
that contraction for a second
longer! To completely
overload your muscles you will
need to emphasize the negative
portion of the rep.Which means that when I cannot hold a peak
contraction on the bench press
any longer I will fight the
weight for at least 6 seconds on the negative phase of
the repetition! If you do
not emphasize the negative then
your gains will not
be optimal!
Lifting Speed:
Again you are just holding a
peak contraction till failure
followed by a long and brutal
negative repetition!
Rest in Between Sets: Rest
about a minute to a minute and a
half between sets. Rest
Two to three minutes
between muscle groups.
Notes:
I know that allot of you are
looking for a nicely shaped and
peaked pair of pecs!
Extended peak
contraction may be the answer to
your problems! |
Quads
and Hamstrings
|
Quads:
A.
Squats
3 sets to failure ( 30 seconds,
25 seconds, 15 seconds
) I want you to go
about half to three fourths way
to being parallell. So
around 45
degrees. Hold this
position till failure! This
is dangerous and you need to
make sure that you are in a
great squat rack so that you can
set the weight down after you
hit failure.
B. Leg
Extensions 3 sets to failure ( 30
seconds, 30 seconds, 30 seconds )
I always get a complete peak
contraction on my quads in this
exercise! While you are in
a state of peak contraction,
be sure to squeeze the life out
of your quads! Almost as
if you were attempting to push
your knee past the point of
lock out! Talk about pain!
Hamstrings
A.
Lying
Leg
Curls 3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
Again curl the weight up untill
you get a complete peak
contraction and hold it to
failure!
B.
Standing
Leg Curls 1 set
on each leg ( 30 seconds to
compete failure )
Again squeeze the life out of
your hamstrings! Attempt
to crush them with brute force!
How to carry out
workout:
As
always warm yourself up
extremely well! You then
need to choose a weight that
will cause your muscles
to fail in the targeted range of
seconds. Now when I say
fail I mean that you cannot hold
that contraction for a second
longer! To completely
overload your muscles you will
need to emphasize the negative
portion of the rep.
So when I cannot hold a peak
contraction on the bench press
any longer I will fight the
weight for at least 6
seconds on the negative phase of
the repetition! If you do
not emphasize the negative then
your gains will not
be optimal!
Lifting Speed:
Again you are just holding a
peak contraction till failure
followed by a long and brutal
negative repetition!
Rest in Between Sets: Rest
about a minute to a minute and a
half between sets. Rest
Two to three minutes
between muscle groups.
Notes:
Pain! The squats peak
contraction is unbelievably
painful! Your legs will
shake as they have never shook
before! And lets not talk
about the next day! You
will be crawling out of your
bed! For a nicely separated
pair of
quads and a peaked and full pair
of hamstrings this method again
might be your best bet! |
Back,
Biceps, Forearms
|
Back:
A.
Pullups
with hands facing away from you
3 sets to failure
Now notice I did not give you a
set time! I want you to
pull yourself up to the top of
the bar and just hold yourself
there till complete failure in
the contracted position! I
believe that through this whole
program you will have to muster
more heart and more fire on this
exercise than any other!
Your mind will want to quit but
you must press
on till failure!
B. Close
Grip Chins 3 sets to failure
As before hold the contracted
position till you painstakingly
reach failure!
Biceps:
A. Two
Hand Cable Curls
3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
Get a complete peak contraction
in your biceps and hold till
failure.
B. Hammer
Curls: 3 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds,
15 seconds )
This will destroy your forearms
and Bracaillis for that 3d look!
Forearm
Flexors:
A.
Barbell
Wrist Curls
2 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds, )
Forearm
Extensors:
B.
Reverse
Dumbbell Wrist Curls
2 sets to
failure ( 30 seconds, 25 seconds, )
How to carry out
workout:
Ok as
always warm yourself up
extremely well! You then
need to choose a weight that
will cause your muscles
to fail in the targeted range of
seconds. Now when I say
fail I mean that you cannot hold
that contraction for a second
longer! To completely
overload your muscles you will
need to emphasize the negative
portion of the rep.
So when I cannot hold a peak
contraction on the bench press
any longer I will fight the
weight for at least 6
seconds on the negative phase of
the repetition! If you do
not emphasize the negative then
your gains will not
be optimal!
Lifting Speed:
Again you are just holding a
peak contraction till failure
followed by a long and brutal
negative repetition!
Rest in Between Sets: Rest
about a minute to a minute and a
half between sets. Rest
Two to three minutes
between muscle groups.
Notes:
As
I said earlier, you'd better pop
a caffeine pill because this
workout will take every last
drop
of your intensity! |
Notes
For the Hardcore!:
A.
Originally this workout was meant
for only singular exercises such as
dumbbell flys and leg extensions.
I added my own twist and figured out how
to use it with compound exercises in
order to target more muscle
fibers and create a more complete
workout!
B.
Also originally static contraction
was only meant for one exercise per body part
and for the exercise to only
last 15 seconds. Of course this
was not acceptable to me. And I
know that since you are a hardcore
bodybuilder that it would not be
acceptable to you either!
Therefore I gave you my enhanced version
of a pure
static contraction routine!
How
I Normally Use This Awesome Shocking
Technique!
My
goal is always to educate my readers
first and for most. That is why I
outlined how static contraction was
conceptually meant to be used. And
also I feel that it
gives you a more complete background on
the subject and adds more variety to
your workouts! However in my
opinion it is much more effective if
utilized in a similar fashion to forced
reps or super sets. In other words
I prefer to intensify a normal working
set with this method rather then use it
exclusively.
Explanation:
The reason I discussed forced reps
and supersets was to make a point.
When do we use these types of shocking
methods? If you said at the end of
your set you would be correct. I
prefer to use extended peak contraction
in a similar fashion. Let me
give you a few illustration of what I am
talking about:
Legs: Yes
I am biased but I cannot think of a
better example then using this method on
the quadriceps.
Lets say I am doing leg
extensions. At the end of my set,
when I know that I cannot get another
repetition, I will squeeze as hard as I can
at the top of the leg extension machine
until my body cannot take the
pressure of peak contraction anymore and fails. Then of course I will
slowly let the weight come down.
Inner Chest: This is a
problem area for allot of
athletes. If you use a pair of
dumbbells you can utilize extended peak
contraction to improve your inner chest
dramatically! When you come to the
end of your set, rather than set the
weight down after reaching the top of
the movement squeeze the dumbbells
together for as long as you can! I
am always surprised at just how long I
can actually hold the dumbbells in a
state of peak contraction even after I
have gone to positive repetition
failure. I truly believe that this
is the number one way to improve your
inner chest muscles!
Biceps: I
actually use this shocking method every
workout for my biceps! When I have
reached failure I will
cheat out an extra repetition and
squeeze and contract my muscles for up
to 30 seconds so that my biceps
will
peak extremely higher!
I can give endless
examples but I believe that you now have
the concept of extended peak contraction
down!
And it can be utilized in almost every
exercise that we use in our
workouts. I.E. Squats, bench
etc. etc.
Important!
You can also use
this method in a less extreme way.
For example you may want your biceps to
peak higher. To accomplish this
you will want to peak your biceps for at
least a hard second at the top of each
repetition. The same method can be
applied to the leg extension machine
squeezing your quads for 1-2 seconds at
the top of each repetition. This
is actually how I most frequently
utilize this shocking
method!
Overview
1.
When using isolation exercises get a
complete contraction in the
muscle! Cable curls are a perfect
example of this. Make sure that
you squeeze as hard as you can at the
top until you fail.
2. When
using compound exercises like the squat
you need to apply constant tension on
the muscle group!
For example if you were to just just
stand squeezing your legs on the squat
then you would never reach failure!
You must go down about 45 degrees and
hold this position till failure.
3. When
failure is achieved don't just let the
weight fall back down! Slowly
lower it, taking a full 6 seconds
to accomplish the process.
4. Originally
this method of training was meant to be
used exclusively. Excluding
standard repetition sets.
5. I
believe that the original method is
effective. However I also believe
that it is twice as effective when
combined with standard sets.
Preferably at or near the end of the
set.
Conclusion
The
Point of this article is that if you
want a muscle to look full and peaked
then you are going to
have to emphasize this particular area
in the exercise! The point in
which your muscles reach their
highest peak!
I
cannot stress the importance of this
shocking method enough! I truly believe
that if you do not, in some way stretch
or form implement this method that you
will not reach your genetic
potential. Your biceps will never
peak as high as they could have and your
side delts will not cap off as
nicely!
If
you have any questions feel free to post
them in the forums or write me
personally. I look forward to
hearing
about your new found muscular gains!
Sincerely
Jacob
Wilson
jwilson@abcbodybuilding.com
© ABC Bodybuilding Company. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
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