Supertraining

Ed,

There is some great benefits that can be gained from
doing iso-metrics properly.  Though Jamie showed how
Dr. Siff looked at iso-metrics in regards to time
under tension (TUT), it has to be understood that this
is only in regards to hypertrophy and I would not hold
this to always be best for enhancing athletic
abilities.  For example, when someone is running you
are going to want the abdominals (especially the TA)
to iso-metrically contract and minimize the up and
down movement of the hips.  People run for durations
far exceeding 3 seconds so obviously those muscles
need to be able to engage and hold for much longer
durations.  Interestingly, in "Supertraining" Dr. Siff
talks about how important proper positioning can be
when it comes to the ability to create force.  The
ability to hold the body in a proper position
(especially the areas that are not actively moving) is
entirely iso-metric and in order to fix some of these
positioning issues that people have iso-metrics are
extremely helpful and absolutely necessary.  

Some people, such as John Little in his book "Static
Contraction Training," suggest holding supramaximal
loads (110-120%) in the fully contracted position. 
Though this may help to teach the nervous system to
adjust to handling this kind of weight it will not
translate extremely well into full ROM movements and
improve athletic abilities as much.  This kind of
training is benficial and can create hypertrophy and
strength increases, so it can and should be used as a
part of training but it is not the only thing that
people should do like Little suggests.

One of the best ways to do iso-metrics is to put the
joints at their maximal ROM.  For example, doing a
Lunge with the front and back leg as far apart as you
can while keeping the front knee over the front ankle
and then elevating both the front and back leg and
allowing yourself to sink as low as is possible (loads
can obviously be added when doing this).  Once they
are in this position you can also make sure they have
proper body lean and pelvic tilt as well; if they
can't do it right doing this then I can almost
guarantee that they aren't doing it properly when they
are moving at high velocity or with heavy loads. In
addition, this kind of training will better transfer
to the full ROM and will also help to enhance ones
active flexibility, which I might add is a better
predictor of athletic prowess then is maximal
strength.

What is best when it comes to TUT is not yet entirely
clear, and the science is not conclusive on this in
any way.  However, when doing these kinds of
iso-metrics (regardless of duration) the body will
cycle through the slow and fast twitch fibers just
like when they are doing high-velocity movements, not
in a mixed fashion like is found when using certain
forms of electrical stimulation and like is found when
moving moderate weights at moderate speeds
(bodybuilder style).  These kinds of iso-metrics will
also help to perfect body positioning when contracting
maximally (when one starts to hit failure; this will
obviously occur faster the heavier the loads used);
and that is extremely important when it comes to how
fast someone can move and against how much resistance.
 So it most definitely can enhance strength and speed
significantly.  Hypertrophy can also be effected
because this kind of training allows for higher
volumes of work to be done then does typical iso-tonic
training. However, by no means am I suggesting that
doing these kinds of iso-metrics will lead to bigger
hypertrophy gains then extremely high volume
bodybuilder routines(they train that way for a
reason).  But incorporating those kinds of iso-metrics
into a bodybuilding routine could most definitely help
to improve the levels of hypertrophy.
But I believe that using them as a part of the
training regimen is most definitely beneficial at
enhancing strength and hypertrophy, not mention
flexibility, speed, and athletic prowess.
 
Chad Scheitel, MA, CSCS
Minneapolis, MN  



--- carruthersjam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Ed White
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Is there any benefit to doing static contraction
> training in terms
> of strength and or muscle hypertrophy?
> >
> 
> ***
> The below may be of relevant:
> 
> Dr Siff wrote:
> On a more serious note, I was filing away some of my
> senior physical
> therapy students' projects a few weeks ago and came
> across a study  that they did for me on muscle
> hypertrophy in response to electrical
> stimulation (ES) of different durations.  We found
> that 4 months of fairly intense ES of duration 3
> seconds per repetition (20 stimulations spread over
> about 5 minutes per muscle group, with at least 15
> seconds rest between stimulations) produced a
> statistically significant average increase in
> quadriceps circumference of 7% among fairly
> experienced weights users (minimum of one year's
> regular gym usage).  In other words, very brief,
> intense muscle contractions with a time under
> tension (TUT) of less than 3 seconds per rep managed
> to produce significant hypertrophy.
> 
> Our finding is by no means an isolated one, since
> similar research in various physical therapy and
> physiotherapy journals has noted that  muscle
> hypertrophy may be produced by very brief TUTs. I
> wonder if those who religiously proclaim the use of
> much longer TUTs are aware of this research?
> 
> ========================
> Jamie Carruthers
> Wakefield, UK
> 
>