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Static Contraction

Researched and Composed by Jacob Wilson

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 trainer@abcbodybuilding.com