Change it up!
Previously published at Testosterone Magazine; May, 16 2003 "Variation is the key." How many gurus have uttered those words? How many times have you heard them? Or repeated them? If you're anything like me, so many times that you've lost count. It seems as though everyone is so hell bent on mixing things around, no wonder some people never make progress: they never stay with anything long enough to give it an honest shot! Not here, though. Not you. You've gotta know better than that...don't you? But, don't get me wrong; I'm a huge proponent of allowing for diversity, and it's really no surprise that most "gurus" are. The body is, after all, a dreadfully adaptive organism. Knowing this, we try to switch things up in an attempt to keep the gains coming by staying ahead of the body's so-called learning curve. If you've been at this whole weightlifting thing for a while, you likely learned long ago you make better progress when you add some variety to your overall scheme. Chances are many of you regularly incorporate a little of the spice of life into your program in some form or another. It could be a strict periodization method you plan you follow, allowing for cycles focusing on either strength or hypertrophy. Or maybe you have a core group of exercises you never change, only adding slight variations of them; you'd rather manipulate the number of sets and reps you perform in order to achieve a "different" stimulus. Perhaps you switch programs completely every 6-8 weeks, in order to "keep the body guessing," as is the current trend. Maybe you've become a virtual expert on variations and alternate exercises to "hit the muscle from every possible angle" as the world's greatest pseudo-scientists--gym rats--often advise. Hell, mess around with iron long enough and you'll likely give all of these options a shot. You possibly already have--and why not? They're all effective methods, both tried and true. But there are others. Well, let me ask you this: have you ever tried adding some of the spice during an exercise? Switching gears right in the middle of a movement? I bet it sounds a little strange; that's probably because it is. However, it's also a highly effective way to add a kick to your training, as well as a few pounds of muscle to your frame. Compound-Isolation Movements No, that's not a typo, you read it correctly. What exactly is a compound-isolation movement, you ask? One part oxymoron, two parts kick-ass training method, a CIM is an exercise that begins as a compound, multi-joint movement and then--right smack dab in the middle--switches to an iso to hit a desired body part. Depending on the actual goal of the training, the movement could start out by performing the isolation movement first, and finishing off with the compound. In either case, the transition occurs in the pause between the eccentric and concentric portions of the whole movement. I recently tried to show some of these movements to a guy at my gym. He responded by looking utterly pissed off and asking, "why in the name of bloody hell would anyone DO that? Just do the exercise, kid. Do you have ADD or something?" That is a direct quote. At first I was a little offended; and why the hell does everyone always ask me that? Anyway, I decided to explain it regardless, hoping I could elucidate it properly. It's not really all that complicated once you're thinking about it. It all has to do with mechanics. The first factor that to consider is the number of muscles involved. Unless you have some very bizarre strength imbalance, you will be able to use much more weight for a compound movement than you could for an isolation movement, assuming that both lifts use the same primary move. Exactly how much more weight will depend on exactly what muscles you're working, as well as the individual in question. Another factor that we must take into account is eccentric or negative strength. Poliquin has written that eccentric strength can be up 175% greater than concentric strength; although for most trainees it is actually much lower than that (depending on training age, etc). It has been shown that, generally, eccentric strength is roughly 50-75% greater than concentric strength in most non-elite trainees. Compound-isolations come as a result of the two above factors. We know that you are stronger in a compound movement than an isolation movement. We also know that you are stronger negatively than you are positively. So, in order to put this knowledge to some muscle-building use, we "change it up." That is, you perform a compound movement concentrically, and then switch in the middle and execute the eccentric portion of an isolation exercise which relies on the same primary mover. Because of the mechanical advantages inherent to each part of the lift, you will hopefully be able to use a weight that is significantly challenging in both the positive and negative phases of the exercise. The Sweetest Things You're Not Doing (aside from that blonde at the gym) Up, Up, and, um...a Down -- The Modified Fly-Away The Fly-Away is a Jerry Telle exercise that crosses a dumbbell press and fly. You begin the movement by pressing the weight up, just as you would during a normal dumbbell bench press. Once you reach the top, pause for a second, and lower the weight with the eccentric motion of a dumbbell flye. Remember to focus on flexing the pecs throughout the entire movement, as it is very easy to allow the anterior deltoid to take over. Using a slight (no more than 10 degrees) may help. If you do not cry like a little girl after your second set, you are not using enough weight.    My Big Fat Greek Deadlift -- Another "RDL" When I was playing football, I had a coach who was of Greek decent. As such, insisted that anything worth anything had originated in Greece; all evidence to the contrary was simply the result of an idea having been stolen from the Greeks and passed off as someone else's achievement. That includes just about everything that had to do with strength training. I, of course, maintained than many cultures--such as my own, the Romans--had contributed much to the world. Although he staunchly refused to listen to a damn word I said, my coach did teach me a pretty kick-ass lift, which he called a "Spartan Deadlift." I have no idea where it originally came from, but I demand that if you decide to use it, you must call it a "Roman Deadlift" because that's my name and I rule. Anyway, here is the lift. As you can imagine, it starts off much like a regular deadlift. Load up a bar, drop down and do your deadlift thing. Here's where it gets tricky. Rather than just dropping the bar to the floor, lower it--under strict form--using the eccentric motion of a stiff-legged deadlift. Obviously the deadlift is the compound movement and the SLDL is the isolation lift, as it primarily targets the hamstrings (although it is not an "isolation" movement in the strictest sense of the word). My own personal addition is this: I also want you to use plates no larger than 25 pounds--Olympic plates, not bumbers. The smaller plates will force you to squat lower to the ground, increasing the ROM and as well the involvement of the quads.    Go in with Guns a'blazin' -- Enter the Zottman Curl I have no funny story for this exercise. I stole it from Poliquin--sue me. (I'm kidding, Charles. Don't sue me. No, seriously; please don't.) For those of you who don't know, here is a rundown of the exercise. It begins as a dumbbell curl just as mundane as any other; but suddenly--without warning--it changes! Scary, eh? At the top of the movement, pronate the hand, and lower the weight using the eccentric portion of a reverse curl. If you have a training partner, you have a variation of the movement available to you: the barbell Zottman curl. Simply curl the weight to the apex of the movement and have your partner hold it while you quickly "spin" your hands; now just take old of the bar with your hands pronated, and reverse curl it down. When I've got a spotter, I much prefer this version because of the greater load it allows for.    This is an unusual CIM in the regard that the isolation movement, the bicep curl, is strong than the compound reverse curl. Regardless, the Zottman still allows us to take advantage of appropriate load and mechanical advantage. Fat Dudes Have Big Arms -- The Sotts Press The Sotts Press is an old power lifter standby that is most often used as an assistance exercise to increase triceps strength. The movement is a cross between a skull crusher and a close grip bench press which will add both size and strength to your arms. To properly perform these, first, get really fat and act like you hate bodybuilders. All done? Good. This is the exercise: perform the concentric portion of a close grip bench press, lock out, and then slowly execute the negative phase a skull crusher. The movement is simple and works the triceps with significant weight both eccentrically and concentrically. It's quite possible that power lifters do this exercise just to get their bench up, and the fact that the Sotts Press packs on triceps mass like nobody's business is just a happy coincidence. I don't really care--chicks dig big guns.    See? I'm not the only crazy bastard who proposes CIMs. Obviously, the close grip bench press is the compound movement, as it hits the chest and tris; skull crusher is the isolation and hits only the latter. By using movements like those above, we are able to take make full use of the advantages of both compound and isolation lifts. You also take advantage of the mechanics of the body to use a weight that is truly appropriate. Think about this for a moment: in a standard movement, the load may suitable concentrically, but is really far too light eccentrically. Consequently, each whole rep allows for much greater total fiber recruitment and overall muscle stimulus. Hybrid Lifts Hybrid lifts, like compound-isolation movements, are designed to make use of certain mechanical advantages of the body by changing in the middle. However, while the following lifts have many characteristics similar to the exercises listed above, they are not true CIMs. As mentioned earlier, CIMs rely on the same primary mover for the duration of the entire rep. This is not the case with hybrid lifts, and because they are missing this important component, a different classification is necessary. No one Home -- Tri-Back Later It seems very odd to me that more people do not intentionally pair back and triceps together when making up a split routine. While it may not seem so, many exercises for the back also work the tris; that is, although not the prime mover of humeral extension, the triceps (especially the long head) is a synergist to the lats. To take advantage of this, you can use various movements, such as the following hybrids to fully hit both. Tri-Rise This is one of my favorite hybrid lifts, albeit it a bit simple. Attach a lat bar to a high cable pulley and begin with the concentric movement of a cable triceps pressdown. Seems easy enough, right? Okay, keep reading. At the bottom of the movement, as your triceps lock out, you switch it up and execute the eccentric portion of a straight arm pulldown. This is a strange one and you'll have to toy around with the weight a little bit. Chances are you may be able to handle more concentrically with the tris than you can eccentrically on the pulldown, as this movement places your lats in mechanically weak position; again, it really will depend on individual strength levels. To solve this, simply use a slower concentric on the tricep extension.    While I really enjoy and get good results from the Tri-Rise, there are some trainees who maintain that they do not feel that their triceps are getting enough stimulation. Because of a tendency to do more pushing than pulling (quite often resulting in strength and/or size imbalances), many people will have to use a load that is too light to really work the triceps, even concentrically. This may be a problem for you; if that is the case, or if the Tri-Rise simply doesn't seem like it would be challenging enough, this next exercise should suit your fancy. Sotts Complex This is a variation of Sotts Press movement that involves the back. It seems complicated at first but it's an amazing lift and a great way to beat the crap out of yourself. Here is a breakdown of the movement. 1) Begin in the finished position of a close-grip bench press with the bar on your chest, and perform the concentric portion of the CG bench. 2) While you are in the lockout position of the above, bring your arms slowly back and perform the negative phase of a barbell pullover. 3) From the bottom of the pullover position, allow the arms to fully bend, and then execute a triceps extension. 4) When you lock out, bring your arms slightly forward, until the bar is resting over your head. Then, slowly control the weight, touching your forehead with the eccentric motion of a skull-crusher. 5) Pull the bar back to the starting position of the close-grip bench press.    The Sotts Complex is very effective, and solves the problem present in the Tri-Rise. That is, this too is a movement which places the lats in a mechanically weak position; however, keep in mind that the triceps are performing three separate lift to the backs single eccentric movement. Your triceps--while they may be able to handle more weight (even concentrically) in any of the exercises individually than the lats could perform in the eccentric pullover--will be exposed to a greater total workload. The net result is that you can choose a load that will likely be appropriate for all phases of the exercise. It's not just a dance -- the Funky Chicken This is another bizarre goody from Jerry Telles bag o' tricks. The Funky Chicken, while probably in the running for the most strangely-named exercise, ever, is an effective shoulder hybrid that also involves the biceps. It is a four part movement which is executed in the following manner: 1) Begin by performing a standard dumbbell hammer curl 2) When you reach the apex of the curl, flare your elbows out in the motion of a bent-arm lateral raise. 3) From this position, straighten the arms until they are fully extended 4) Slowly perform the eccentric portion of a normal straight-arm lateral raise     The hammer curl is really just a method of getting the dumbbells to the correct height; chances are you will not able to use enough weight to really challenge the biceps. By executing the bent-arm lateral raise from a higher starting point, we remove the part of the range of motion in which there is the least resistance to the deltoids, shortening total TUT and allowing you to perform the movement with greater weight. Also, you can use a considerably greater load during the bent arm raise concentrically than you could with your arm straight, due to the effect that lever length will have on the ability to handle the load in question. Again we take advantage of greater eccentric strength by performing a bent arm raise concentric with a weight that is challenging, and then performing the negative phase of the straight arm. The main effect is that it will allow us to create unbelievable overload on the medial deltoid during the straight arm eccentric. I promise you, your shoulders will hate you for this. Until they get huge; then they might send you a thank you card, or maybe a lovely fruit basket. Another Perk As we've seen, both hybrid lifts and compound-isolation movements have several aspects which can be of great advantage in terms of muscle growth. After all, by actually making a muscle work in both phases of a lift, we create a significantly greater amount of microtrauma as compared to normal lifts. Properly applied, this can lead to phenomenal gains in muscle size. Here is why: 1) In addition to reaping the benefits of both compound and isolation exercises, using variations like those presented above also allows us to profit from heavy negative training, which has been shown to allow for tremendous increases in strength; often significantly greater than heavy concentric training, in which the load is only moderately challenging eccentrically. 2) The increased microtrauma that accompanies heavy eccentric training leads to a greater release of some of our favorite hormones; namely IGF-1, Growth Hormone, and Testosterone. Essentially, the eccentrically challenging portion of compound-isos and hybrids helps us create a more anabolic environment in the body. Ta-Ta For Now Hopefully I've piqued your interest. If so, you are probably wondering how to incorporate these super-cool exercises into your program. Well, ha, ha! You're going to have to wait until next month to find out! How can you use the lifts to grow like a beast? Is this type of variation for you? What is that burning sensation? And, how do they get that damn crème in there!? These questions and more will be answered in next month's edition of Rugged, so tune in, kiddies; same Bat-time, same Bat-Channel! Okay, okay, just kidding. Next month we will provide you with a great program which will incorporate the movements you read about today. For now, though, head to the gym and toy around with these lifts, and determine your strength levels so that you can select appropriate load and get your form down. Oh, and get that burning thing checked out. No, seriously, dude. That's not healthy.
References 1) Bamman MM,et al. Mechanical load increases muscle IGF-I and androgen receptor mRNA concentrations in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001 Mar;280(3):E383-90. 2) Brandenburg JP,et al. The effects of accentuated eccentric loading on strength, muscle hypertrophy, and neural adaptations in trained individuals. J Strength Cond Res 2002 Feb;16(1):25-32. 3) Colliander EB, et al. Effects of eccentric and concentric muscle actions in resistance training. Acta Physiol Scand 1990 Sep;140(1):31-9. 4) Higbie EJ, et al. Effects of concentric and eccentric training on muscle strength, cross-sectional area, and neural activation. J Appl Physiol 1996 Nov;81(5):2173-81. 5) Checking references is for losers! 6) Hilliard-Robertson PC, et al. Strength gains following different combined concentric and eccentric exercise regimens. Aviat Space Environ Med 2003 Apr;74(4):342-7. 7) Hortobagyi T, et al. Effects of standard and eccentric overload strength training in young women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001 Jul;33(7):1206-12. 8) Johnson BL, et al. A comparison of concentric and eccentric muscle training. Med Sci Sports 1976 Spring;8(1):35-8. 9) Kraemer WJ, et al. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002 Feb;34(2):364-80. 10) Poliquin, Charles. 2001. Modern Trends in Strength Training. 11) Rooney KJ, et al. Fatigue contributes to the strength training stimulus. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1994 Sep;26(9):1160-4. 12) Szwed SP, et al. A comparative electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res 2002 Nov;16(4):539-46. |
