Vægttræningsartikler på nettet !!!

Thomas J · January 16, 2002

Der er tit nogen som efterspørger gode artikler. Jeg har lavet en lille liste med de 10 bedste artikler som jeg har læst på nettet. Jeg har vurderet udfra deres faglige indhold, og på hvor meget de har påvirket min egen træning.

Is Fatigue a Necessary Requirement for Adaptation to a Strength Training Program ?

Percent Training: What is it really ?

The Regulation of Training

Training To Failure: The Good, The Bad And The Reasons

Why, And How, Does A Muscle Grow And Get Stronger? Part I

Why, And How, Does A Muscle Grow And Get Stronger? Part II

THE TRAINING ZONE

MORE ON THE CONJUGATE METHOD: The Principle of Variety

Extra Workouts

"So You Wanna be a Strongman?"

Thomas

Hitman · January 16, 2002

Rigtigt godt initiativ Thomas J.

Jeg vil straks gå igang med at læse dem! Hvad f..... lever Hatfield stadig!

Men hvor er alle dine HIT artikler, for ikke at tale om din gode venninde Jane Fonda??? :biggrin2:

De klarede måske ikke at komme ind på din top 10 liste??

Thomas J · January 16, 2002

Jo, Hatfield er her endnu. Der går mange sjove historier om ham. Blandt andet at han er alkoholiker :)

Jane Fonda kan kun bruges til en slags workout, og det er ikke vægttræning ;)

Thomas

Helix · January 16, 2002

Jeg vil bare lige sige det samme som hitman, rigtigt god initiativ Thomas, mange tak. :thumbs-up:

Beleriand_K · January 18, 2002

Jeg er enig i, at det er et godt initiativ, og det vil blive endnu bedre, hvis flere vil bidrage med deres egne links. Og man behøver ikke nødvendigvis at kunne lægge ti links ind. Selv en enkelt ny artikel er altid spændende.

Her er mit bidrag med syv artikler, som jeg synes er interessante:

http://www.criticalbench.com/benchpressblastoff.htm

http://www.spinalhealth.net/ex-rot.html

http://www.thepumpingstation.com/hardgainer.html

http://www.paulchekseminars.com/articles.cfm?select=16

http://weightrainer.virtualave.net/training/variety.html

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/tomdesign.html

http://www.motion-online.dk/sandsaek2.htm

Helix · January 18, 2002

Her er en side som jeg synes indeholder nogle meget gode artikler, bla. en af Mel Siff. Så kan man jo selv vælge.

Bla. synes jeg at nedenstående artikel er meget god, for dem der træner BB.

30 Facts about Bodybuilding

Hovedsiden med artikler findes her:

http://getbuffed.com/Articles/articles.html

Beleriand_K · January 20, 2002

Her er lige endnu en artikel, som jeg faldt over på en søndag eftermiddag, som man jo lige så godt kan bruge på at læse om styrkeløft. Det er et interview med en interessant mand med meget selvstændige synspunkter, som han ikke lægger skjul på.

Ed Coan betragter Fred Hatfield som den bedste instruktør gennem tiderne, han bruger stort set aldrig bælte og er modstander af alle former for kunstige hjælpemidler til konkurrenceløft. Hans personlige rekord i trekamp er 2.463 lbs (lidt over 1.100 kg) og han foretrækker periodization som træningsform. Han…nej, læs selv interviewet :)

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archi...interview12.htm

Blackmoore · January 27, 2002

her er en artikel jeg holder meget af.

Jeg har postet den i hele sin længde, for at gøre det nemmere

Måske vil nogen af jer rigtige powerlifting drenge vudere om det er godt nok. Jeg har i hverttilfælde lært en del af den..

Venlig hilsen Blackmoore

15 Secrets to a Bigger Bench Press

Naturally, legally, and immediately!

by Ian King

Unfortunately, too many weight trainers fixate on weight. Never mind that their form is shoddy, their skill at training is marginal, or that their girlfriend has just run off with a circus geek. All that matters is how much iron they're able to clang.

If you're familiar with my writings, you might know my belief that loading (i.e. how much weight you can move) isn't the be-all and end-all that some make it out to be. In fact, relatively speaking, I think that it's overrated. When you look at the sub-qualities of strength that I identify (such as control and stability, general strength and hypertrophy, maximal strength, and power and endurance), you see that loading is the dominant quality in one category, shares the limelight equally with at least one other variable in two of the categories, and is of less importance in the remaining three.

But there's a time and place for loading and, when it's the desired goal, why not get it right? I cringe when I see the mistakes that many gym users make when it's apparent that their goal is to lift as much as possible. Whether or not they're going for max for the right reasons is difficult to say. From the physiques that most possess, however, I suggest that they're maxing out for the wrong reasons!

However, for the sake of this article, and so I can sleep at night, I'll assume that you want to lift as much as possible in the bench press exercise for the right reasons. Here are a few tips. They're natural in that they don't involve any drugs. They're legal in that they can be used in powerlifting or bench press competitions. And, best of all, they'll work immediately!

Most strength trainers will never know these "secrets" and, unless they gain access to information such as that contained in this article, they'll continue to miss out on the significant gains that come from such seemingly subtle modifications. So, if loading is your goal in the bench press at a given point in time, don't miss the boat.

Try out some of the following. They include tips on how to pick the bench to use, spotting, body position, and how to behave during the lift. I've listed them in order that they'd occur in a training session.

1) The floppy bar syndrome: If you use a "whippy bar" such as a competition Olympic bar, you'll lose a lot of energy controlling the whip (the multidirectional movement) of the bar. Of course, the heavier you go, the more this poses a problem. But don't get wobbled out of a heavy lift. Use the bar that has the least whip. Save the whippy bar for Olympic lifting. You'll be stunned at how much difference this aspect makes, either adding or subtracting as much as 5-10% to or from your 1RM.

2) The "thick as a brick" equation: There may be as much as a one-centimeter (1/2-inch) difference between the circumferences of different bars at the point where you grip it. While there's an optimum bar circumference relative to your hand size, I'd recommend using a bar with the circumference of nine to nine-plus centimeters, as opposed to the one that's over ten centimeters.

I know, it doesn't sound like much, but that one centimeter equates to about a 10% difference in the actual measurement and will cause about a 5% difference in your lift! True, the fatter bar may lead to further hypertrophy when used over a relatively long period, but we're talking about lifting big weights here!

3) The bent bar factor: Normally, using a bent bar wouldn't make much difference. But once you go anywhere above 70% of your 1RM, you'll really notice the impact of a bent bar. Not only will it reduce the load lifted, it may also cause you to strain or tear soft tissue. Avoid it like the plague!

Put the bar on the ground and roll it. You'll be able to tell if the bar rolls smoothly, or whether it lopes along like an old man with a wooden leg. (Pretend that you're about to play Fats in a game of billiards and you're checking out your pool cue.) I've seen bars that look like they could make 90-degree turns, and multimillion-dollar athletes use them without a clue! The "trueness" of a bar can make 2-10% of a difference on your lift, depending on the extent of the bend.

4) The circle of life: Most Olympic-type bars have a circle grooved into them to give you feedback about your hand positioning. For you, your medium or average grip may be with the outside of your palm touching this line. Don't assume that all Olympic bars in your gym are equal, though. Doing so could result in you using a considerably weaker grip and leave you scratching your head! My "made in Taiwan" Olympic bar has lines 102 cm apart, as opposed to my Eleiko bar lines, which are 90 cm apart. This is a massive factor, and it could make as much as a 5-15% difference in the amount of weight lifted!

5) A slippery deal: A bar's knurling is the roughened grip characteristic of most bars. If you do heavy deadlifts, you're well aware of knurling, as most of the skin of your shin can be found in the indentations of the bar. The amount of knurling that a bar contains often becomes a tradeoff between getting some hand grip and not losing all of the skin on your shins! No such issues in the bench, though.

If you use a bar that's shiny or slippery, you lose too much energy fighting the lateral hand slip, even when using chalk. If you want to keep your hands soft for your girlfriend, like the slimy character in "Of Mice and Men," you don't have to use the roughest bar. But you want one that provides an adequate grip. I find that a slippery bar can cause you to lose up to 5% of your 1RM.

6) Pick the right height, Dwight: Optimum dimensions for bench height will be influenced by your stature. Ideally, you need to be able to have an acute knee angle (less than 90 degrees) with your feet flat on the ground. If the bench is too high, you won't be able to achieve this acute knee angle and still be able to have your feet flat on the ground, which is necessary so that you can exert force through the feet.

If the bench is too low, your knee angle will be too acute, and you'll be mechanically disadvantaged when it comes to driving through the ground with your feet. Most competition bench presses are about 45 cm off of the ground. This is for a person of average height. If the bench is way off, compared to your height, it could make at least a 10% difference to your 1RM.

7) Pick the right width, Sid: Optimum dimensions for bench width again will be influenced by your bodyweight, shape, and back width. Ideally, the bench will allow you to place most of your force through your scapula, which should be in a retracted and motionless position. If the bench is too narrow, you won't be able to find a flat, firm place to create that action-reaction through your shoulder blades.

If the bench is too wide, the only harm is that it will restrict your range during the lowering. (While doing cambered benches, I usually find symmetrical bruising behind my shoulders every time, and it took me a while to figure out why!) Therefore, using a bench that's too narrow is the main concern. Most competition benches will measure about 30 cm wide, which is ideal for the average lifter. An extremely narrow bench (relative to you) could cost you at least 10%-15% off of your 1RM.

8) Pick the right foam, Jerome: If you use a bench that reminds you of your grandmother's 50-year-old sofa, it's too soft. You'll lose energy while stabilizing the movement of the shoulders. I prefer a harder bench to a softer bench. Think of the mechanics of action-reaction: the harder the surface, the greater the "rebound;" the softer the surface, the greater the dissipation. A really soft bench (as used in most commercial applications) may cost you 5-10% off of your 1RM.

9) I'd like to use a lifeline, Regis: Using a spotter can sometimes be invaluable, but this goes both ways. For some trainees, the realization that they have a spotter handy to bail them out will negate the urgency to complete the lift. If that's the case, I'd discourage the use of the spotter, but I'm going to assume that you're smarter and more committed than that.

So, rather than taking the spotter away, I recommend that you use one for the positive psychological perspective, and here's why. I don't want you to use any of your mental energy wondering what the implications will be (embarrassment, injury, etc.) if you can't complete the set or rep. Rather, I want total mental focus on getting the lift, and positive mental rehearsal. Removing the fear of failure can make the difference of at least one or two reps! And in a 1RM, that's everything!

10) I'd like to use another lifeline, Regis: If you take the bar out of the racks, you're removing it in a "weak" or mechanically disadvantaged position (from above your head). It'll feel heavy, and the risk of injury is higher. You don't want to commence the lift with a feeling of, "Shit, this is heavy!" Additionally, you'll be using more metabolic and nervous energy to take the bar from the rack position to the over-the-chest start position.

Use a spotter to do this with you! But train them to ease it onto you instead of letting it drop like a rock off of a highway overpass! As mentioned above, this technique can make the difference between getting the single, double, or triple and not achieving them.

11) The "home of the golden arches" principle: If you want to lift at your max, you're only kidding yourself if you don't use some kind of body arch! An arch of the trunk reduces the distance that the bar travels, increases the potential contribution of the lats and lower pecs, and creates an arc in the lift, as opposed to being straight up. All of this translates into more weight being lifted.

I classify three arches. First, a subtle movement is performed after you lie down on the bench in which you slide your bum/hips up closer to your shoulders. The second type is a more aggressive position in which you place your shoulders down first upon lying on the bench, then put your bum/hips down as close as you can to your shoulders.

The third, final, and most aggressive (and, therefore, most effective) arch technique is the one used by powerlifters in competition. Start right on the bench by positioning your feet far back, driving your hips in the air and back down the bench, then driving your shoulders into the bench in a position that's close to the feet. It's a little more complicated than this description, but you get the general idea!

A few words of advice, though. Warm and stretch the lower back before using any of these arches. Come out of them slowly. Do a reverse stretch (cradle) on the bench before getting up. Don't overuse this technique, though. Save it up for the max strength phase. Arching is probably the most powerful of all of these techniques and tips and can give you up to 20% extra on your 1RM!

12) The "Isaac Newton, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction" principle: I identify four main points where vital action-reaction dynamics are occurring, and if you aren't using them, you won't lift to your potential. The most important would be the shoulder blades. Most of the loading goes through this point. You must learn to use your shoulder blades as nonmoving, stable points of action-reaction. Drive through them!

The next important point is feet and legs! When I see lifters moving their feet or, worse, still flailing them about during a max lift, I cringe. The action-reaction potential of the feet contacting the ground is significant. To do this properly, make sure that the knees are slightly bent, feet flat, and drive through them into the ground without moving the feet during the lift. The head and hips aren't as significant, but they still contribute to the "tightness" of the body during the lift. They shouldn't move during the lift. An awareness of how to use these action-reaction points could be worth another 10% on your lift!

13) The "keep those blades sheathed" principle: I want the shoulder blades not only retracted during the lift, but still, too. They provide the greatest area of action-reaction. Most trainees allow them to protract (drift outward) with the completion of the concentric phase. Don't! Hold them tight and still. It's almost impossible to reposition them for the next rep, and as soon as you've "lost" them, they can no longer act as the major action-reaction site. This simple habit could contribute as much as 5% more on your bench.

14) The "when in trouble, go to the head" principle: Going to the head and emptying your bowels will increase your bench by up to 200%, particularly if you've eaten a really heavy Mexican lunch. I'm kidding! No doubt, you've heard or read about the "sticking point" during the concentric phase of the lift. This is the point of greatest mechanical weakness, the point at which you're most likely to fail.

When you get into this zone and feel the lift slowing, consciously, progressively, and minimally drive the bar more toward the head (i.e. upward at a 45-degree angle), as opposed to straight up. This keeps the bar moving and may actually allow you sneak through this weak joint angle. However, timing the use of this technique is critical: too early and you'll lose it, too late and you'll be too fatigued. And worse, if you overdo it, you'll drop it onto your head!

15) The "oxygen is good stuff" principle: How you breathe during a max bench can make a massive difference. The importance of holding the breath and its impact on intra-abdominal pressure is widely known. Hold your breath until you're just through the sticking point. This assists in the expression of force and maintains a firmer structure from which to drive (more important in pushing than pulling movements).

But what's less known is the use of breathing during other parts of the lift. When you take possession of the bar (from the rack), you should have full lungs, temporarily holding your breath. This prevents that initial feeling of being crushed by the load, a technique used extensively in powerlifting for both squats and benches.

From here, any inhalations or exhalations (except for those that take place during the actual lifting phase) have to be shallow and quick to avoid losing this firm base. When you begin to lower the bar, be careful not to breathe in too early, as this will make the time frame between the end of the inhalation and the sticking point too long, possibly causing a degree of hypoxia or shortage of oxygen in the muscle cell.

You can train yourself to hold your breath for longer periods of time. This is what most powerlifters inadvertently do. But, for the average lifter, finishing the inhalation too early can cause you to miss the lift.

Granted, many of these tips are aimed at powerlifters and bench freaks who just want to lift a lot of weight. But many of these principles have direct applications to bodybuilders, too. After all, proper technique, with the added benefit of proper equipment, will lead to additional hypertrophy all the more quickly. Now go slap some poundage on that bar.

MaxPower · January 2, 2006

Det var da vist en bump-værdig tråd :bigsmile:

Nogle af linksne er døde, men det er lykkedes mig at finde artiklerne undtagen den første.

http://weightrainer.virtualave.net/training/growth1.html
The WeighTrainer
Muscle Growth Part I:
Why, And How, Does A Muscle Grow And Get Stronger?
In concept, weight training is a very simple practice. You lift weights, you wait a while, you do it again. You improve over time and eventually you are stronger and bigger than you were before. When you strip it down it's really quite simple isn't it? The problem is things don't always go as smoothly as the above description would imply.
The Size And Strength Relationship
In bodybuilding circles there is the common belief that strength increases and muscle mass increases are not necessarily related. That is to say, that you can increase the size of a muscle without it getting stronger. In fact, this belief presents itself commonly in the old "Bodybuilders aren't as strong as Powerlifters" argument. If strength was related to muscle mass, wouldn't Powerlifters be bigger than Bodybuilders? This has been hashed around a million times, but in case you haven't heard the rebuttal, here goes: Strong people usually have better mechanical advantages than weaker people. This includes more favorable joint lengths and tendon factors (including attachment placings and tendon strength itself). They may have more type II fibers than others and/or a more efficient nervous system (which can be trained for). There may be many other reasons also, but none of them imply that muscle size and strength are not related.
So now that that's out of the way, let's look at how a muscle responds to effective weight training. Think like a muscle for a minute. When you train it with weights what is its reaction? Answer: To get stronger. The body isn't evolved to get bigger so you look better in a T-shirt, it evolved to adapt to demands placed on it.
NOTE: Because of extreme relevancy, the next few sections will come straight from the Muscular Growth: How Does A Muscle Grow? article on the 'Physiology Related Articles' page.
While that intuitive argument may cut it for some, it just isn't enough here. Let's first take an overall look at what happens to muscle when you train it. Taking a segment from the Neuromuscular System series on the 'Physiology Related Articles' page:
Muscle biopsies of serious weight trainers have shown that it was the size of the individual fibers within their muscles that was responsible for the abnormal muscle size and not the actual number of muscle fibers present.
...although extreme conditions may result in modest hyperplasia. This tells us that the formation of new muscle cells (hyperplasia) is, at most, likely to be only a minor factor in increasing muscle size. The mechanism responsible for supercompensation is hypertrophy - the increase in size of existing muscle fibers.
Taking another segment from the Neuromuscular System series:
It is also worthy of note that contractile machinery comprises about 80% of muscle fiber volume. The rest of the volume is accounted for by tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is involved with the neural drive.
This tells us that there are a couple of ways to increase muscle size.
Increase the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is involved with the neural drive - called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
Increase the volume of contractile machinery - called sarcomere hypertrophy.
Let's take a look at both routes.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
Increasing the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is involved with the neural drive: Intimately involved in the production of ATP are intracellular bodies called "mitochondria". Muscle fibers will adapt to high volume (and higher rep) training sessions by increasing the number of mitochondria in the cells. They will also increase the concentrations of the enzymes involved in the oxidative phosphorylation and anaerobic glycolysis mechanisms of energy production and increase the volume of sarcoplasmic fluid inside the cell (including glycogen) and also the fluid between the actual cells. This type of hypertrophy produces very little in the way of added strength but has profound effects on increasing strength-endurance (the ability to do reps with a certain weight) because it dramatically increases the muscles' ability to produce ATP. Adaptations of this sort are characteristic of Bodybuilders' muscles.
It should also be obvious that as the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle represents only around 20% of the total muscle cell volume in untrained individuals, this isn't where the real size potential lies.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy of muscle cells does directly produce moderate increases in size . But also, as you'll know from the Neuromuscular System series, ATP is the source of energy for all muscular contraction - type II fibers included. Wouldn't having more of this in the muscle, and having the ability to produce greater intramuscular quantities at any one time, be an asset? The answer is, cleary, "yes". That's where a major portion of the importance of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy comes into Bodybuilding. (We'll deal with training to produce this type of adaptation in an article on the 'Training Related Articles' page.)
As for increasing the tissue that is involved with the neural drive, this would theoretically occur in response to the need for contracting cells with hypertrophied contractile machinery. Directly, it would produce very little in the way of added size.
In addition, there are other intracellular bodies who's growth and/or proliferation would fall under the category of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. These would be organelles such as the "ribosomes", which are involved in protein synthesis. As in the case of neural drive machinery, in most cases they would increase in size or number only to support sarcomere hypertrophy. They would have little direct impact on overall muscle size.
Sarcomere Hypertrophy
Increasing the volume of contractile machinery: The vast majority of the volume of each muscle cell (~80%) is made up of contractile machinery. Therefore, there lies the greatest potential for increasing muscle cell size. Trained muscle responds by increasing the number of actin/myosin filaments (sarcomeres) that it contains - this is what is responsible for increased strength and size. But before a muscle will grow like this it has to be "broken down". Let's take a look at both the "breaking down" and "building up" processes:
The Process Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Cell Damage
Actin/myosin filaments sustain "damage" during high-tension contractions. In addition, breaches in plasma membrane integrity allow calcium to leak into the muscle cells after training (there is much more calcium in the blood than in the muscle cells). This intracellular increase in calcium levels activates enzymes called "calpains" which "break off" pieces of the damaged contractile filaments (called "easily releasable myofilaments"). Following this, a protein called "ubiquitin" (which is present in all muscle cells) binds to the removed pieces of filaments thus "identifying" them for destructive purposes. At this time, neutrophils (a type of granular white blood cell that is highly destructive) are chemically attracted to the area and rapidly increase in number. They release toxins, including oxygen radicals, which increase membrane permeability and phagocytize (ingest and "destroy") the tissue debris that the calcium-mediated pathways released. Neutrophils don't remain around more than a day or two, but are complimented by the appearance of monocytes also attracted to the damaged area. Monocytes (a type of phagocytic cell) enter the damaged muscle and form into macrophages (another phagocytic cell) that also release toxins and phagocytize damaged tissue. Once the phagocytic stage commences, the damaged fibers are rapidly broken down by lysosomal proteases, free O2 radicals, and other substances produced by macrophages. As you can tell, the muscle is now in a weaker state than before it was trained. Incidently, macrophages have an essential role in initiating tissue repair. Unless damaged muscle is invaded by macrophages, activation of satellite cells and muscle repair does not occur.
Also, increased intracellular Ca++ concentrations are known to activate an enzyme called phospholipase A2. This enzyme releases arachidonic acid from the plasma membrane which is then formed into prostaglandins (primarily PGE2) and other eicosanoids that contribute to the degradative processes.
So, now that we've seen how the muscle gets damaged, how does it grow?
The Process Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Growth
It was mentioned in the The Neuromuscular System Part I: What A Weight Trainer Needs To Know About Muscle article that muscle cells have many nuclei and other intracellular organelles. This is because nuclei are intimately involved in the protein synthesis process (don't forget, actin and myosin are proteins), and a single nuclei can only support so much protein. If muscle cells didn't have multiple nuclei they would be very small muscle cells indeed. So if a muscle is to grow beyond its current size (i.e. synthesize contractile proteins - actin and myosin) it has to increase the number of nuclei that it has (called the "myonuclei number"). How does it do this? Well, around the muscle cells are "myogenic stem cells" called "satellite cells" (or "myoblasts"). Under the right conditions these cells become more "like" muscle cells and actually donate their nuclei to the muscle fibers (very nice of them). For this to happen, to any degree, several things need to take place. One, the number of satellite cells has to increase (called "proliferation"). Two, they have to become more "like" muscle cells (called "differentiation"). And three, they have to fuse with the needy muscle cells.
When the sarcolemma (the muscle cell wall) is "damaged" by tension (as in weight training or even stretching) growth factors are produced and released in the cell. There are several different types of growth factors. The most significant are:
Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)
Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)
Transforming Growth Factor -Beta Superfamily (TGF-beta)
These growth factors can then leave the cell and go out into the surrounding area because sarcolemma permeabilty has been increased due to the "damage" done during contraction. Once outside the muscle cell these growth factors cause the satellite cells to proliferate (mainly FGF does this) and differentiate (mainly IGF-1 does this). TGF-beta actually inhibits growth - but everything can't be perfect. After this process the satellite cells then fuse with the muscle cells and donate their nuclei. The muscle cell can now grow.
So now factors that promote protein synthesis such as IGF-1, growth hormone (GH), testosterone and some prostaglandins can go to work. How does that all happen? Read on...
Protein synthesis occurs because a genetically-coded subtsance called "messenger RNA" (mRNA) is sent out from the nucleus and goes to organelles called "ribosomes". The mRNA contains the "instructions" for the ribosomes to synthesize proteins, and so the process of constructing contractile (actin and myosin) and structural proteins (for the other components of the cell) from the amino acids taken into the cell from the bloodstream is set off. Several substances can influence this process. A short overview of the major ones are found below:
IGF-1: IGF-1 comes in two varieties - actually, they are both the same molecule but come from different places. paracrine IGF-1 (also called "systemic" IGF-1) is made primarily in the liver and autocrine IGF-1 (also called "local" IGF-1) is made locally in other cells (it's called "local" IGF-1 because it isn't released in large quantities into the bloodstream - it stays in the area in which it was made). Cells don't let systemic IGF-1 in unless they want to (there are "picky" receptors on the cell wall) but the IGF-1 that was manufactured and released in the muscle cell as a response to the high tension contractions can do it's thing because it's already inside. So, once in the cell, IGF-1 interacts with calcium-activated enzymes and sets off a process that results in protein synthesis (and the calcium ions that were released during muscle contraction and also the ones that leak into the muscle after the sarcolemma is damaged by training ensure that the necessary enzymes are activated). A large part of this increase in protein synthesis rate is due to the fact that the IGF-1/calcium/enzyme complexes make protein synthesis at the ribosomes more efficient.
By the way, insulin works at the ribosome in a similar manner, hence the name insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). So get some quick digesting carbs in after your workout to raise insulin levels.
GH is thought to work, primarily, by causing the cells (muscle cells included) to release IGF-1.
Certain prostaglandins are released during contraction (and stretch); two of the most significant to growth being PGE2 and PGF2-alpha. PGE2 increases protein degradation, whereas PGF2-alpha increases protein synthesis. But PGE2 isn't all bad because it also powerfully induces satellite cell proliferation and infusion. The mechanism of PGF2-alpha's action is much less clear but is suspected to be connected to increasing protein synthesis 'efficiency' at the ribosomes also.
And the Granddaddy of them all: testosterone. "Free" testosterone (the kind that isn't bound to some other substance) travels freely across the muscle cell membrane and, once inside, activates what's called the "androgen receptor". "Bound" testosterone must first activate receptors on the cell surface before it can enter (the number of receptors on the surface is what controls this pathway). Once the androgen receptor is activated by testosterone it travels to the nucleus and sets off the protein synthesis process. In this way, testosterone directly causes protein synthesis and is, by far, the most powerful anabolic agent found naturally in the human body. Testosterone also increases the satellite cells' sensitivity to IGF-1 and FGF, thereby promoting satellite cell proliferation and differentiation. It also increases the body's systemic output of GH and IGF-1.
And, guess what, after a workout the muscle cells are more "receptive" to testosterone, systemic IGF-1 and GH - it's almost as if the muscle "knows" that it needs to grow.
In addition, there have also been some studies showing that the build-up of phosphates and hydrogen ions, that occurs as a muscle fatigues (see the Failure Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training article), may also contribute (directly or indirectly) to the growth process. The reasons, as of yet, are unknown.
The whole process of cellular damage and subsequent overcompensation (the cells grow back a little bigger than they were before) can take anywhere in the neighbourhood of 24 hours to several days - depending on the severity and type of training.
So, now that all those technicalities are out of the way, we can see that increasing the volume of muscular contractile elements is the key to increasing muscle size. Incidently, this is exactly what makes you stronger. There you have it: STRONGER MUSCLES ARE BIGGER MUSCLES. Since the type II fibers contain the most actin/myosin filaments, and generate the highest tensions, they have the greatest potential for strengthening/growth. The prerequisite, of course, is that you have to lift weights heavy enough to recruit the type II fibers - and for them to twitch fast enough to develop significant tension. You also have to subject them to that tension long enough for significant damage to occur to the muscle fibers.
In Part II of this series I'll get into the reasons why you want to increase intracellular mitochondria number and discuss why Weightlifters are much stronger than Bodybuilders but still much smaller.
http://weightrainer.virtualave.net/training/growth2.html
The WeighTrainer
Muscle Growth Part II:
Why, And How, Does A Muscle Grow And Get Stronger?
Rational and Irrational Hypertrophy
In part one of this series I said that sarcoplasmic hypertrophy produces moderate increases in size but that there were other important reasons why you'd desire such adaptations. This is part of the reason I said that:
Metabolic processes within the cell require ATP to "fuel" them (remember, ATP is the body's primary source for all of its energy). If enough ATP isn't present then a host of cellular processes slow down (including protein synthesis) resulting in the operations of the cell being compromised. That means, among other things, slower removal of waste products, slower recovery from training and slower or less protein synthesis. Research done in the former Soviet Union by Zalessky and Burkhanov has shown that if the contractile components of the cell continue to grow (sarcomere hypertrophy) without a concurrent increase in the energy supplying systems of the cell (i.e. the mitochondria, etc. - sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) then such a situation will develop. Essentially the motor has become too big for the fuel injection system. In addition, fellow Soviet researchers, Nikituk and Samoilov have demonstrated that such a condition can be brought about through poorly planned training.
Once such a situation is achieved progess, as far as metabolic processes in the muscle is concerned, will come to a halt. Training may stimulate growth and strengthening but the cell simply lacks the means to support any additional hypertrophy. It can't produce the ATP necessary to fuel the synthesis and maintenance of new protein (muscle protein is constantly being broken down and rebuilt - a process of "maintenance"). In layman's terms, you hit one helluva plateau.
Such a condition is called irrational hypertrophy because the situation just doesn't make any sense from an adaptative standpoint. The defining characteristic of this kind of growth is cells that contain much larger mitochondria than before, but much fewer of them. The net result is an ATP shortage in the cell.
On the other hand, if training results in proportionate vascular improvements within the cell (mitochondrial density increases - the total number of mitochondria also increases as the existing mitochondria get bigger), such a plateau will not be encountered and training-invoked hypertrophy can continue as normal. This is called rational hypertrophy, for obvious reasons.
As this article isn't intended to get into the nitty-gritty of training procedures I'm just going to leave this subject by saying that for continued progress sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is, indeed, needed (especially when increased muscle mass and/or endurance is desired) and must be trained for. How to achieve rational hypertrophy, while avoiding the irrational kind, will be dealt with in other articles on this site.
"But Why Aren't Olympic Lifters Bigger Than Bodybuilders?"
It wouldn't be right not to address the fact, though, that training with weights ~90% of your 1RM and above seems to favor the development of strength and power more so than muscular size. But, in light of the information presented in Part I of this series, how is that possible? Well, it appears that an intense set of several reps may consistently recruit and train more fibers than an intense set of only 1 rep (this may also vary from muscle to muscle). It is also theorized that when using loads of ~90% of 1RM and above muscular failure may occur because of signaling problems at the neuromuscular junction, and that this occurs before a significant growth stimulus has been delivered to the cells.
Think of it like this: The total time that the muscle fibers are required to produce force is shorter in low-rep sets than in higher-rep sets and this may result in exhaustion of fewer muscle fibers and a lesser growth stimulus. Simply put, a hard set of 8 reps may deliver more growth stimulus to the muscle cells than a hard set of 3 reps because in a 3-rep set (or any low number of reps) failure may occur before a significant growth stimulus has been achieved.
In addition, when higher reps are performed substrates such as phosphate and hydrogen ions build up in the muscles - some researchers theorize that the presence of these substrates may further stimulate the muscular growth process. It is also widely believed that lifting heavy weights (~90% of 1RM and above) stimulates the nervous system to "improve" its firing pattern, frequency and efficiency to produce peak strength, making you stronger without actually increasing muscle size.
These reasons are why bodybuilders, as a group, have bigger muscles than Olympic lifters - they train with lighter weights, and perform higher reps. It also explains why Olympic lifters, as a group, are much stonger than bodybuilders, but not nearly as heavily muscled.
It also needs to be pointed out that any type of repetitive weight training (regardless of rep range) will result in the type IIB fibers having endurance-type adaptations. This occurs most quickly and profoundly at lighter loads (8-15 rep maximums) because, with these loads, the type IIBs do not twitch with maximum frequency and, therefore, start adapting to twitch at lower frequencies but for longer periods. When this happens the IIB fibers will be able to produce tension for long enough periods to incur substantial muscular damage and build up high concentrations of fatigue products. This gives the Bodybuilder more more material to work with in terms of muscle growth (in addition to the type IIA fibers themselves).
If you look closer at fiber recruitment patterns during sets in the higher rep ranges you'll see exactly how this happens: initially the IIAs are recruited and, perhaps, the IIBs also. As the IIAs fatigue more and more IIBs are recruited, gradually, to meet the force requirments. These IIBs are called upon to produce force for longer periods than they are biologically suited for. Training of this sort is actually endurance training for the IIB fibers, so they begin to adapt so that they have better endurance characteristics (i.e. higher mitochondrial densities and greater abilities to sustain enzyme concentrations).
Don't do as others have, and use these observations to argue that bigger muscles are not stronger muscles. As was eluded to above, muscles adapt very specifically to specific tasks. If you train using three rep sets then they get good at doing three rep sets. If you train using 8 rep sets then they get good at doing 8 rep sets. It just happens to be that years of empirical evidence has indicated that 8 rep sets stimulate more muscle growth than 3 rep sets (assuming of course, you are training with sufficient intensity). Make no mistake about it though, your legs will be bigger when you're squatting 405 for 8 than they were when you were squatting 275 for 8. For the case of 3 rep sets, you may not be much bigger when you're cleaning 315 for 3 than you were when you were cleaning 185 for 3, but you will have a much more efficient nervous system for the task.
Train for strength!
I don't mean to sound like a broken Mike Mentzer seminar record here, but if you want to get stronger OR bigger you MUST train for strength. If strength is your main concern you should train predominantly with lower reps - with ~85% of your 1RM and more. If it's muscular size you're after you should train with higher reps - with ~70% to ~85% of your 1RM. But getting stronger in the rep range that you're using should be your first and foremost goal.
If the above physiological arguments didn't convince you that you can't significantly increase the size of a muscle without it getting stronger ask yourself this question: Do you really believe that when you add 50 pounds to your barbell curls your biceps won't be bigger?

Link: http://140.123.226.100/epsport/board/show....epno=506&page=4

THE TRAINING ZONE
Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D., MSS Y'know that cute little graph that aerobic dance folks always look at when they want to know how high to take their heart rate? They call it the "training heart rate zone" chart. They calculate their heart rate by going 220 minus your age times .6 to .8 or so. It's useful. It's no panacea though. Lots of folk nowadays use a "perceived exertion" scale in determining when their training heart rate is high enough. But that chart has always made me wonder whether one of similar ilk could be developed for lifting.I've been playing with this project now for over 10 years. Here's what I've found.
Well, they don't call me "Dr. Squat" for nuthin'! I've been a student of that particular lift for more than a few years. I needed to know precisely how much weight to train with because I didn't want to leave ANYTHING to chance. But there were no guidelines back in those days that I cared tpo hang my hat on. The old timers all trained by "feel" or by what their experience told them was best. Mostly they were right, but I didn't want to take that chance. Sometimes they WEREN'T! Let me show you how my squat looks at different levels of training load:
AN EXAMPLE OF THE INVERTED "U" HYPOTHESIS

	1600	I
		I
	1400	I						1400
		I				1333
	1200	I							1231
P		I
O	1000	I
W		I		952
E	800	I
R		I								750
	600	I
		I
	400	I 400
		I___________________________________________________________________________
Weight		100	200	300	400	500	 600	700	800	900	1000

% Max		11	22	33	44	55	67	78	89	100	111

Time/sec	.5		.63		.75		1.0	1.3	2.4
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Power equals force times distance per unit of time (P = f X d / t). This is high school science stuff. So, since my squat goes through a 2 foot stroke, all I had to do was measure the amount of time it took me to squat at any given percentage of my max (which, at the time, was around 900 pounds) at maximum speed. This, I did. The graph above shows quite clearly that I'm generating the greatest amount of power when the weight is between approximately 55 and 85 percent of my max.
This, fellow iron freaks, approximates the recommended training zone! Where the inverted "U" asymptotes is the training zone for all exercises. All the time. For everyone.
Big statement? Yes, but not without support. Let's explore the 55-85 recommendation before discarding it as another of Dr. Squat's "Arthuresque" diatribes. First, I tested the theory in the deadlift, bench press, curl and military press with several elite athletes I was training at the time. The theory was supported in each and every case. Over the past ten years I've been observing weight trainees from every walk of life -- detrained couch potatoes, elite athletes and everyone in between -- and it's been supported without fail. The numbers 55 and 85 may fluctuate up or down a bit from lift to lift or person to person, but not much. The inverted "U" appears to be virtually ubiquitous.
I believe that the reason for staying within this training zone lies in discerning the amount of time you spend under maximum tension. If the weight is too light, you simply cannot recruit enough motor units to approach your muscles' maximum tension producing capabilities. And, if the weight is too heavy, you can't spend enough time under maximum tension due to fatigue.
CHOOSING YOUR OPTIMAL TRAINING LOAD
This inverted "U" hypothesis raises another question of major importance. Where in the 55-85 percent range should you spend most of your training time? After all, there's a big difference between the training effects one can expect from training at 55 percent of max as opposed to 85 percent of max. The answer lies in carefully identifying your training goals, and then constructing a plan or "blueprint" of how to go about realizing them. This is called your training cycle, and it will always require that you first build your foundation (strengthen all of your muscles generally), and then progress on to more sport-specific or lifestyle-specific objectives . The most noteworthy training goals that a majority of you will ever encounter are listed in the accompanying sidebar.
Here are some general guidelines that may apply to you. Remember though, that the precise construction of your training cycle -- where on the 55 - 85 zone you'll find it most fruitful to train -- will vary considerably from person to person. We're all unique.

When you're training for limit strength and explosive strength, most of your time will be spent most effectively closer to the 85 percent end of the zone (examples: powerlifters, Olympic lifters and all other athletes in the "foundation" training period of their cycle);
When you're training for starting strength or reactive strength, your objective will be best served by staying closer to the 55 percent end of the zone (examples: ballistic athletes like baseball players, high jumpers, long jumpers, golfers or other athletes from a host of sports requiring occasional ballistic force output);
When you're training for anaerobic strength endurance, explosive strength, or for a sport which requires a combination of limit strength, explosive strength and starting / reactive strength movements while in a highly fatigued state, you'll find that most of your training should be conducted in the 65-75 percent range of the zone (examples: most glycolytic (lactacid) sports such as football, tennis, longer sprints and boxing / martial arts);
When your training objectives are either to get all of your muscles' subcellular elements and structures to adapt to stress, you will have greatest success by training at a variety of intensity levels ranging across the entire training zone -- fast movements, slow movements, heavy weights light weights, high reps and low reps, and everything in between (example: holistic bodybuilding or general fitness training).
<h3 align="justify">SIDEBAR: THE MOST COMMON WEIGHT TRAINING OBJECTIVES</h3> Bodybuilding, Fat Reduction Or "Trim 'n' Tone" Training:
These three goals are by far the most common reasons people go to the gym. They are realized through the application of a strength training programs (the components of which are outlined below). In other words, while of paramount importance to all of you, these body composition changes simply "happen" through strength training, and are part-and-parcel to the entire concept of periodized -- planned -- weight training.
Limit Strength:
How much musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort. Limit strength is your bodybuilding "foundation." All of your muscles should have a good level of limit strength. It's like building your house on a rock instead of in the sand. While it's important for bodybuilders and other athletes, only powerlifters need to maximize their limit strength for competition. There are three kinds of limit strength:
1. eccentric strength: how much weight you can lower without losing control.
2. static strength: how much weight you can hold stationary without losing control
3. concentric strength: how much weight you can lift one time with an all-out muscle contraction.
Absolute Strength:
Absolute strength is the same as limit strength with one important distinction. Limit strength is achieved while "under the influence" of some form of work-producing aid (supplements, hypnosis, therapeutic techniques, etc.), while absolute strength is achieved through training alone -- "Au natural." That makes "limit" strength more important for your purposes. All athletes should take every available advantage science has to offer, short of using drugs or other illegal techniques or strategies which are against the rules. "Absolute" strength is still an important concept for fitness enthusiasts, kids, and weekend warriors however. Usually, they aren't as "scientific" or as "dedicated to excellence" as are competitive athletes, and may wish to train "au natural" for their fitness or sports goals.
Speed-Strength:
You may have heard this kind of strength referred to as "power." Speed-strength, however, is a more descriptive term. There are two types of strength under the general heading of Speed-Strength: 1) starting strength and 2) explosive strength (explained below). "Speed-strength" is how well you apply force with speed. It's importance in most sports cannot be overemphasized, as this kind of movement is what it takes to stimulate your fast-twitch muscle fibers to respond. Some sports scientists add a third type of strength to the general description of speed-strength, called "reactive strength" (described below).
Starting Strength:
Your ability to "turn on" as many muscle fibers (muscle cells) as possible instantaneously. Firing a 100 mph fastball requires tremendous starting strength. So does each footfall in a 100 meter sprint, or throwing a quick knockout punch in boxing.
Explosive Strength:
Once your muscle fibers are turned on, your ability to LEAVE them turned on for a measurable period is referred to as "explosiveness." A football lineman pushing his opponent, or a shot putter "putting" the shot as far as possible are examples of explosive strength in action. Olympic-style weightlifting (snatch and clean & jerk) is perhaps the best example of maximum explosive strength in action. The ultimate form in which explosive strength is displayed is called "acceleration."
Anaerobic Strength:
The word "anaerobic" means "without oxygen." So, if your activity is performed without your muscles having to be supplied with oxygen in order to allow them to perform that activity, it's "anaerobic." Of course, you need oxygen to stay alive, and you'll have to "repay" your muscles the oxygen "debt" you owe after performing anaerobically. You do this by breathing hard once you stop. Scientists classify movements in sports as being "driven" by the "ATP/CP" energy pathway, the "glycolytic" pathway or the "oxidative" pathway. The first two do not involve oxygen and are therefore considered "anaerobic." ATP/CP refer to the biochemicals inside your muscles that produce energy for your muscles to work (adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate). Glycolytic refers to the sugar stored inside your muscles called glycogen. When you run out of ATP and CP, you have to begin using that glycogen to re-synthesize the ATP and CP so work can continue. Neither of these two muscle energy processes need oxygen for them to work. So, we can have either anaerobic strength with energy derived from the ATP/CP pathway of muscle energetics or anaerobic strength with energy coming from the glycolytic pathway.
<h3 align="justify">Traditional Strength Classifications:</h3> Over the years many different classification schemes have been devised in order that we may better understand strength and the best methods of acquiring it. Here are a few of the more enduring terms used to differentiate strength classifications. You will see that they are either incomplete or too general.
"General Strength" is a term that many coaches use to describe limit strength in all of your muscle groups and body movements. In this category, you train all the muscle groups without concentrating on the muscles that assist your particular sport skills. Training for general strength will give you a foundation (a "base") for your sport. Once you have developed general (overall) body strength, you should then work on the limit strength of the particular muscle groups that will be most involved when you perform the event in which you compete. Traditionally, this has been called specific strength.
Each sport skill requires a specialized type of strength, or "special strength." Shot putters, for example, need explosive strength and starting strength, while wrestlers need anaerobic strength endurance to be able to apply limit strength or speed-strength in their movements throughout the match. Many sports -- tennis and golf being two examples -- require the application of starting strength ("ballistic force") with perfect control.
"Optimal Strength" is a reference to the fact that one's "limit" or "absolute" strength level is not necessarily as important as it is for powerlifters. Indeed, to train exclusively for limit or absolute strength will invariably detract from performance ability in most sports because one's Fmax -- the level of force output in any given sport skill -- will be retarded. Remember, in all the world of sport, SPEED is king. Speed is not necessarily improved by concentrating exclusively on maximizing one's limit strength. The optimal strength level of limit or absolute strength, then, for each sport will vary, and is defined as that level where one's Fmax (force output in any given movement), Tmax (the time it takes to get to Fmax) and explosive strength are also maximized.
Some coaches schooled in the old Soviet approach to training separately refer to "reactive strength" or one's ability to switch from eccentric to concentric during the "stretch shortening cycle."
It's often considered a third component of speed-strength. It is alternately called the "amortization" phase or the "transition" phase. It is the application of great muscle force being applied to "put the breaks on" the eccentric phase -- static contraction -- in preparation for the initiation of maximum fiber recruitment (starting strength).

Link: http://www.drsquat.com/index.cfm?action=vi...le&articleID=53

MaxPower · January 2, 2006

The WeighTrainer
Training To Failure: The Good, The Bad And The Reasons
Years ago Arthur Jones said that training to the point of muscular failure was the necessary stimulus for optimum muscular supercompensation. Mike Mentzer was (still is) absolutely adament about it, repeatedly stating that if the muscle isn't pushed to the point of momentary concentric failure then no supercompensation will be stimulated. Bill Pearl holds the conviction that one should NOT train to the point of failure. Top Powerlifters seldom train to failure. Olympic Lifters rarely ever take sets to the point of failure. Note: By failure here I mean momentary concentric failure, i.e. the inability to complete another full repetition of the concentric phase of the lift (you could, however, continue to do static holds and negatives). Some people advocate doing negative only sets to the point of momentary eccentric failure (the inability to complete another full repetition of the eccentric phase of the lift - you are unable to stop the bar from crashing down on you).
So, is there a way of determining which of these methods have merit (without actually trying them all - possibly wasting a lot of time and even risking injury)? Yes, of course there is. If you haven't read the Neuromuscular System series and the article entitled Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training on the 'Physiology Related Articles' page, then I suggest that now would be a good time to have a look at them. A great deal of the knowledge that you need to analyze all of the above weight training approaches is there. Let's have a look at those approaches with the experience of others and muscle physiology in mind.
Training to Failure: Necessary or Not?
As I stated above, some high intensity training advocates have stated, point blank, that if you don't train to momentary concentric muscular failure then you will not grow. That's a pretty bold statement. The logic goes like this:
Your body responds to demands that you place on it. If you don't take your sets to failure, then the message your body gets is that it is already strong enough to perform the tasks being required of it (lifting that particular weight for the number of sets and reps that you performed). Similarly, in order for your body to respond by getting stronger and bigger, you must attempt the momentarily impossible, and take your reps to failure. This will send a clear signal to your body that it is presently insufficiently equipped to do the tasks that it is being presented with and your muscles will, therefore, adapt and grow/get stronger.
The logic seems bullet-proof. But you really don't have to look very far to dispell it. Top Powerlifters, Olympic-stlye Weightlifters and many Bodybuilders rarely, if ever, train to momentary concentric muscular failure, yet I probably don't have to tell you that they haven't had a problem with realizing muscular growth and/or strength increases. I recall reading an article by Ed Coan from about ten years ago in which he stated that he never went to failure on any of his sets. Bill Pearl says the same thing. "But they were on steroids", some of you will say. Well, of course they were. But most pre-steroid era bodybuilders didn't train to failure and they never had a problem with muscular growth either. "But they weren't that big" some more of you will say. That's precisely because they weren't on steroids. As most people can appreciate, the drug-bloated addicts that are now presented as bodybuilders have raised people's definition of 'heavily-muscled' to the point where any man less than 250 lbs. with 4% bodyfat is small and fat. If you really think that men such as George Eiferman, John Grimek and Steve Reeves weren't that big, maybe you should see them standing next to 'normal' men, or in more normal circumstances than oiled up on a posing dias. Take a look. If that doesn't convince you, compare your own overhead lifts to what the Olympic Lifters were doing years before the advent of steroids. 180 pound Weightlifters were routinely pressing well over 300 pounds overhead in the early 1950s! The level of strength that these men posessed was developed without steroids and without training to failure. The success of these people in building muscle, power and strength while not training to failure proves that such training is not necessary (at the very least, for some) to realize muscular conditioning and growth.
So now the question is clearly not whether training to momentary concentric failure is absolutely necessary (it may not be for you), but whether it is the most effective way to weight train.
Training To Failure: The Most Effective Way To Weight Train?
Physiologically, we need to consider what happens when a weight training movement is taken to failure. Muscles fail because they're firing patterns can no longer provide them with enough sufficiently rested fibers in order to continue to produce the necessary force. Taking a segment from the article The Neuromuscular System Part I: What A Weight Trainer Needs To Know About Muscle:
Muscle Fibers have two recruitment patterns. In the first pattern, units that innervate the same types of fibers are recruited at different times, so that some units are resting (recovering) while others are firing. Obviously, at high loads this pattern isn't possible because all available motor units will have to be fired at the same time to lift the load. In the second pattern, motor units that are more fatigue resistant are recruited before fibers that are more rapidly fatigued.
Since productive (not rehabilitative) weight training involves lifting weights that require the firing of the type I, IIA and type IIB fibers, the highest threshold fibers will cause failure when they fatigue. What I mean is that if you lift a load that requires the participation of the high threshold type IIB fibers, then this weight could not be lifted without them (although they may not develop their maximum tension by twitching at maximum frequency). If it could have been, the type IIBs would not have been recruited at all. When these fibers fatigue you can, therefore, no longer continue to lift the weight. And remember, even if the weight isn't initially heavy enough to recruit the highest threshold fibers, as the lower threshold fibers fatigue the higher threshold ones are gradually recruited to take up the slack. Oh yeah, the highest threshold fibers also happen to be the ones with the most potential for growth. So, by taking the set to failure you are exhausting more of these muscle fibers than if you stopped the set short of failure. Strong support for taking sets to the point of momentary concentric failure, if fiber exhaustion is indeed the stimulus for growth.
Muscle Fiber Considerations
So, what exactly is muscle fiber exhaustion? The causative factors of muscle fiber fatigue were covered extensively in the Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training article and somewhat in the Neuromuscular System series on the 'Physiology Related Articles' page. Taking some information from those sources we have:
From the phosphagen system:
Declining intramuscular ATP is thought to be a major cause of fatigue during high intensity exercise.
and...
Creatine phosphate (CP) concentrations quickly decrease within the first few seconds of exercise and eventually decreasing to 5-10% of the pre-exercise concentration within 30 seconds. When this happens there is insufficient CP levels to replenish ATP stores at an optimal rate.
and...
As contraction continues, there is not enough CP left to continue fueling the ADP -> ATP conversion and ATP stores get depleted also. This, along with the influence of some other occurances, brings a cease to muscular contraction.
And during the anaerobic glycolysis mechanism:
Lactic acid build-up in the muscle cells make the interior of the muscle more acidic. This acidic environment interferes with the chemical processes that expose actin cross-bridging sites and permit cross-bridging. It also interferes with ATP formation. So, these factors, along with depleted energy stores, cause the muscle fibers to become fatigued and contraction to cease.
and...
...during muscle contraction, calcium ions (Ca++) are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by way of the T System and then returned to that organelle by way of the Ca-Pump. What would happen then, if all this didn't go as smoothly as anticipated?
Studies on isolated muscle fibers have, indeed, linked reduced sarcoplasmic Ca++ concentrations to fatigue. Specifically, repetitive 'tetanic' contractions of isolated muscles caused a gradual decline of force that was closely associated with a decline in sarcoplasmic Ca++ concentrations (Westerblad & Allen, 1991). After only 10-20 such contractions, sarcoplasmic calcium concentrations became insufficient for forceful contraction (Westerblad et al., 1991). The reason for this is simply because decreased Ca++ release for binding to troponin reduces the number of actin/myosin cross-bridges that can be formed.
Forceful contraction could be reestablished with extremely high doses of caffeine (which stimulates greater Ca++ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum), but this required caffeine doses at physiologically dangerous levels. This does show, however, that the problem appears not to be with the Ca++ concentrations in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, or their release channels, but probably as a consequence of impaired T-tubule signaling. During repeated contractions of a muscle fiber, K+ begins 'pooling' in the T-tubules. This results from an inability of the Na+/K+ ATPase Pump to maintain the proper Na+/K+ balance on the sarcolemma (at the T-tubules). This disturbance of the membrane potential in the T-tubules inhibits the conduction of the action potential to the sarcoplasmic reticulum and Ca++ is not optimally released - and, thus, forceful contraction is not achieved.
In addition, lactic acid build-up factors in here also. Increased intracellular H+ concentrations (caused by lactic acid accumulation) slows the uptake of Ca++ by the sarcoplasmic reticulum. This occurs because H+ interferes with the operation of the Ca++/ATPase Pump. This reduces muscle contraction force by interfering with intracellular and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca++ concentrations.
and...
As ATP is broken down to provide energy for muscular contraction inorganic phosphate (Pi) accumulates in the cell. On the one hand this is 'good' because phosphate (Pi) is known to be an important stimulator of glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose to produce ATP) and glycogenolysis (the breakdown of glycogen to produce ATP) - thus stimulating the production of more ATP by these pathways. But the increased Pi levels also inhibit further cross-bridges from being formed between actin and myosin filaments. When ATP is used to fuel contraction Pi must be released from the myosin head. Elevated intracellular Pi concentrations impairs this process, resulting in reduced tension development - meaning that as Pi builds up, muscular force production goes down. This may be another contributing factor to muscle fatigue.
There's nothing magical in any of the above that implies that momentary muscular failure, itself, directly causes a subsequent increase in muscular strength/size. It may be possible that a lower blood pH (caused by the high muscular concentrations of lactic acid) causes growth hormone (GH) release which may, in turn, have anabolic effects - but only if several other factors are also in line. Anecdotal evidence, however, points out that growth hormone per se is not the major player when it comes to muscular growth/strengthening. When judging the merits of training to failure, though, this effect must be taken into account. This whole argument, of course, only applies if you are performing weight training with weights that cause the predominant utilization of the anaerobic glycolysis mechanism (weights that cause failure to occur in ~30 to ~60 seconds of beginning the set - around 75% to 85% of your 1 rep maximum - the bodybuilding mainstay).
If you've read the articles on this site about muscular growth you will, however, know that the build-up of phosphate and hydrogen ions as a muscle fatigues is thought to contribute to the growth stimulus. It is only logical to conclude that training to failure would result in a larger accumulation of these metabolites and, therefore, produce a greater growth response. But if these fatigue factors were the most potent stimulus for growth then Bodybuilding techniques such as compound sets, and drop sets (which create great fatigue in the muscles) would be known as the most powerful tools for promoting growth. Yet years of experience of thousands of Bodybuilders have shown that this is not necessarily the case - compounds sets, for sure, are considered to be used more for 'detailing' and 'refining' muscular development.
Still, it cannot be denied that these fatigue metabolites have their role in promoting muscle growth. But would two sets, not to failure, produce the same, or greater, result as one all-out set? Maybe. Maybe not. Other factors have yet to be considered.
From the perspective of tension and time: Since it is clear that muscles grow in response to tension and the time that they are required to produce this tension (resulting in microtrauma being done to the fibers), anything that prolongs the time under which they are contracting hard will also increase the growth stimulus. In this light, training to failure is definitely more efficient at stimulating muscular gains than stopping short of failure. The amount of time that the last failure rep extends a set has to be considered. If you did nine full reps in a set, reaching failure on the tenth rep and assuming that the tenth rep (which was only partially completed) lasted the same duration as the other reps (which it may or may not), then attempting that tenth rep extended the set ~10% longer than if you had stopped at the ninth rep. From only the perspective of time under muscular tension, which is a strong stimulus for muscular adaptation, training to failure is more efficient at stimulating muscular growth and strengthening than stopping sets short of failure.

A note on negatives: Research has shown that negatives (eccentrics) produce more microtrauma to muscle fibers than concentrics or isometrics. This occurs not only because of complex biomechanical processes but also because fewer total fibers are recruited during the eccentric portion of a lift than during the concentric phase (the lifting part). Fewer fibers doing the job mean more tension is developed in each fiber and, therefore, more damage is sustained by each individual fiber. Recent studies have indicated that this does not necessarily translate into accelerated growth, though. As was covered in the articles on The WeighTrainer about muscular growth, muscle damage and muscle recovery and supercompensation are different processes. High levels of microtrauma (as caused by strong eccentric contractions) are known to interfere with glycogen replenishment and other metabolic processes in muscle after training - this may factor in. Before you decide to try to minimize the negative portions of your lifts, however, bear in mind that many other studies have indicated that the negative phase is, in fact, the most important phase of the lift for stimulating hypertrophy (growth). The lesson to be learned is that negative-accentuated training will stimulate growth - perhaps moreso than any other type of training - but because of the level of damage they do, and the resultant disruption of metabolic processes such as glycogen replenishment, negative-emphasis reps will impose a longer recovery period.
Peripheral Nervous System Considerations
Getting back on subject: It was covered in the Neuromuscular System series that contracting a muscle involves more than just what occurs in the muscle itself. The nervous system is intimately involved in the process. Taking another few lines from that series:
...as effort fractionally increases, so does the frequency of firing of each motor unit. A sudden increase in force requirement is met by the recruitment of more motor units.
So, extending this, as the muscle fibers exhaust, and you reach the point of failure, the nervous system will recruit all available motor units and fire them as frequently as is possible. It is a well-established fact, though, that as a maximum muscular contraction continues, the frequency of motor units firing decreases. In fact, one study showed that by the end of a 30 second maximum voluntary contraction the firing frequency decreased by 80%. Eventually the frequency of twitching of the high threshold fibers becomes insufficient to sustain the effort.
We know that each neuron must release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) every time that it fires (or 'twitches') a motor unit. We also know that the neurons transmit impulses down the length of their axons by way of Sodium/Potassium transport and the Sodium/Potassium ATPase Pump. The signal is carried across the membrane of the muscle cell in the same manner. The whole process also relies heavily on optimum calcium levels and enzymes that are involved in the synthesis and breakdown of acetylcholine and numerous other substances. The frequency of motor unit firing decreases, therefore, as these substrates are exhausted - yet as failure approaches we continue our maximal effort to lift the weight. What kind of an impact does such a furious effort have on the nervous system?
Consideration of such matters really is nothing new, but it probably is to most weight trainers. Consider the fact that during the 1960s a man called Dr. John Ziegler designed a machine that he used to monitor overtraining by sending electric currents through muscle. The 'Isotron', as he called it (cheesy 60s name), would be used to induce a muscular contraction by supplying a small electrical impulse to the muscle being tested. It was found that an overtrained or recently trained muscle would require a higher current than a rested muscle for 'strong' contraction to be achieved. What does this tell us? It tells us that for a period after training a higher than normal activation threshold is needed to produce contraction.
Incidently, ~75 mA was the 'normal' current required to produce 'strong' contraction. Anything over ~100 mA was considered indicative of overtraining. You may also be wondering how accurate this is given the fact that type II fibers naturally have higher activation thresholds than type Is. Well, oddly enough, when it comes to external stimulation (such as the kind the Isotron applied) the type II fibers are actually easier to induce a contraction in than the type Is.
Regardless of all this - and whether signal transmission at the neuron or sarcolemma is responsible for the effects - this clearly illustrates that the peripheral nervous system requires its own recovery period after training!
In addition, from the Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training article:
There is evidence that fatigue during fast and powerful activities (such as some forms of weight training) occurs first at the neuromuscular junction. This would mean that failure during such an activity occurs not because of muscle fiber factors, but because of an inability on the part of the nervous system to innervate the muscle cells optimally. Precisely, the motor neurons cannot manufacture and release acetylcholine (ACh) fast enough to maintain transmission of the action potential from the motor neurons to the muscles.
This is another way in which failure can occur because of the peripheral nervous system.
Central Nervous System Considerations
Our nervous system arguments up to now have focused on the peripheral nervous system. But, as any experienced coach can tell you, the central nervous system has a large bearing on the failure point and the overtraining phenomenon. Taking another segment from the Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training article:
In order for a muscle fiber to twitch the central nervous system (CNS) must send a nerve impulse to the controlling motor unit. The innervating nerve cannot maintain its capacity to transmit this signal, with optimum frequency, speed and power for extended periods of time. Eventually concentrations of substrates such as sodium, potassium, calcium, neurotransmitters, enzymes, etc. decreases to the point where muscle contraction becomes markedly slower and weaker. If high discharge rates are continued the nerve cell will assume a state of inhibition to protect itself from further stimuli. The force of contraction, therefore, is directly related to the frequency, speed and power of the electrical 'signal' sent by the CNS.
Interestingly, though far from understood, is the fact that a trainee's motivation and emotional state can profoundly affect the discharge characteristics of the central nervous system.
Clearly, the central nervous system can play a pivotal role in the perception and reality of fatigue.
If these concepts seem a bit vague, just think of a lifter 'psyching up' for a big lift, or remember some time when you thought that you couldn't possibly get another rep, but somehow managed to 'dig deep' and force another one out. Both of those situations illustrate the manipulation of the central nervous system in order to allow the lifter to be stronger. Any experienced coach will tell you, however, that you shouldn't 'psyche up' all the time or you'll 'burn yourself out'. The 'old-timers' referred to this as using up too much 'nervous energy'. However you want to look at it, training too intensely, too often, will certainly lead to the nerve cells entering a state of inhibition. When that happens you can forget about making good progress until you take enough of a break to allow for central nervous system recovery.
NOTE: As a general rule, training to failure with low reps and heavy weights is much more taxing on the nervous system than training to failure with high reps and lighter weights. Keep this in mind when you're designing your training programs.
So, for heavy training, failure may not even occur because of exhaustion of the muscles at all, but because of exhaustion of the nervous system, so to speak. This would, assumably, take a large 'recovery' toll on the nervous system.
Special Considerations For The Olympic Lifts (and closely related lifts)
As anyone who practices these lifts knows, they are extremely complex, high-skill movements. Because of the very explosive nature of these lifts, the very fastest-twitch fibers must be recruited during their execution if the lifts are to be performed properly. Higher reps would require the use of training weights that would not be heavy enough to maximally stimulate these high threshold fibers - the ones that are used for the all-important maximum single attempts. For these reasons, Olympic lifters practice, almost exclusively, low reps on these style lifts. For an Olympic lifter, performing higher reps just wouldn't be a sensible training practice. All this means that the nervous system takes quite a beating on these lifts. Pertaining to failure (again from the Muscular Fatigue During Weight Training article) remember :
There is evidence that fatigue during fast and powerful activities (such as some forms of weight training) occurs first at the neuromuscular junction. This would mean that failure during such an activity occurs not because of muscular failure, but because of an inability on the part of the nervous system to innervate the muscle cells.
Combine this with the fact that muscular and neuromuscular fatigue quickly causes a deterioration of form on these complex lifts, and you have a strong case against taking sets of the Weightlifting-style lifts to failure. In fact, it is very rare for Olympic weightlifters to train the Olympic lifts to failure (unless, of course, they miss a maximum attempt); it just makes no sense.
For someone who wishes to practice these lifts (or, more likely, their 'power' versions) for strength development or athletic improvement, it still doesn't make sense to practice higher reps, as the very nature of these lifts require activation of the fastest of the fast twitch fibers. These fibers are, by nature, quickly fatigued. Don't forget that even the simpler 'power' versions of these lifts (the Power Clean, Power Jerk, Power Snatch), or even High Pulls, still qualify as high-skill movements and, therefore, are susceptible to form deterioration with fatigue. Slightly higher reps than with the full Olympic lifts may be employed though - up to 5 reps - but they should not be trained to failure.
What Really Makes A Muscle Grow And Strengthen
If you've read the Muscle Growth series, combined with what was discussed above, it's probably becoming obvious to you by now that training to muscular failure (concentrically, eccentrically or isometrically) is NOT the necessary stimulus for growth. Quite simply, tension, time and the build-up of fatigue products is. The fibers need to develop sufficient tension for long enough a period to damage themselves (incur microtrauma) - causing growth factors to be released in the cells and leached out into the surrounding area and intracellular calcium levels must rise to 'set off' both growth and destructive processes. Extra growth stimulus is also provided by the build-up of fatigue metabolites such as phosphate and hydrogen ions (caused by elevated lactic acid levels). None of this is dependent on reaching a point of momentary failure. In fact, depending on rep-range and overall training volume, the failure effort may prove to be an 'unreasonable' burden on the nervous (both central and peripheral) and signaling systems (primarily the T system). Time must then be given for the recovery and supercompensation processes to take place.
This isn't to say that training to failure can't have a place in a sensible training schedule, as it certainly can and, in fact, does. For people who possess above average nervous system recovery abilities it may even become a major mainstay of their training programs. The point is simply that the effects of such training and personal recovery patterns of all systems involved have to be considered before such a training approach is adopted.
I really hope this article has helped you sort out some of the confusion that surrounds the "you have to train to failure to make a muscle grow" mentality. By now, you should be seeing that those 'boring' physiology articles really do have a purpose.

Training Beyond Failure
Article by Nick (moderator and contributor to Muscletalk)
Nick can be contacted through the Muscletalk forum for any nutrition questions or comments.
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Bodybuilders and strength athletes are always saying you have to train past failure to make good strength and size gains. What do they mean? There are a number of different ways of going beyond the pain barrier in order to work a muscle as much as possible, all of which take dedication and enthusiastic training, with the absolute want to make gains. The aim of a workout is to stimulate as many muscle fibres in the muscle as possible, and to do this the muscle must be trained to complete exhaustion.
Some of us think we train hard. I used to think so, but looking back that was only at a level of about 80% of how hard I train now. Even if your diet is perfect, and you take quality anabolic aids, you will not grow if you don't give it 100% in the gym. And 100% means 100%, i.e. until you physically (not psychologically) cannot do anymore.
Some bodybuilders claim they train better without a partner, but most find they need one, not only for encouragement, but to give assistance in order to do a few more reps after reaching failure on a weight.
Ways of training beyond failure are discussed below, many of which require assistance from a training partner:
Forced reps
Train to failure, then get a spot to assist you in lifting a few more reps out, but keep your form strict.
Drop sets
This is where you train to failure with a weight, then immediately use a lighter weight. Typically triple-drops are used, but there's no reason not to go all out sometimes and drop until hardly any weight is being lifted, going to failure on each weight.
Negative reps
Positive failure is where it is no longer possible to lift the weight. This is reached before negative failure, which is where it is no longer possible to control the negative movement of the weight. Here, after you have reached positive failure, your training partner will lift the weight, and you have to control it on the way down for a few reps.
Negative resistance reps
This is where, after positive failure, your training partner lifts the positive part of the movement and then pushes the weight down lightly and you have to try to resist the force. For example, in biceps curls, do a set until positive failure, then your partner lifts the weight up to your shoulders; he then applies some downward pressure while you attempt to keep the weight in the curled position. Be careful with these as they can cause injury - keep your form strict, only do 2-3 reps like this and only do them occasionally.
Cheat reps
Obviously, cheating should be discouraged, and try to keep perfect form on all exercises to minimise risk of injury and maximise isolation effort on the muscle. However, if you have reached failure with perfect form, cheat reps performed carefully can help you squeeze an extra few reps out and go beyond failure.
Rest-pause
I don't see many trainers using this method, but it's very simple and effective. Simply train a set to failure, put the weight down, shake off the pain, then pick the same weight up and go again, 2-3 times.
Half reps
When you cannot do another full rep, do a few more with just half the movement; as this is still stimulating the muscle.
Supersets
Two or more different exercises may be performed in succession with no rest in between. This may be two exercises for the same muscle group, or 2 for antagonistic muscles (I feel the latter is not very effective, as you cannot give your all for the second muscle after training the first set to failure).
Pre-exhaust
In a workout, to maximise exertion on a muscle, try performing isolation exercises before compound movements. This will ensure that the muscle in question will be well worked from the isolation movement, so during the compound movement it will tire before other muscles, so is maximally worked. This principle is more appropriate for bodybuilders and not strength trainers.
Different ways of training beyond failure can be incorporated together in the same set. For example in bench pressing: Train to positive failure, followed by 2-3 forced reps with your training partner; put the weight down, and strip some weight off and go again with the same principle as a triple drop; after the last drop try banging out 10 half reps. Precede bench press by dumbbell flyes, so the isolation movement is first.

Link: http://www.anabolex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63381 (Tak til Bruno J for det link) :bigsmile:

Bruno J · January 2, 2006

Godt initiativ MaxPower :smile: . Det ville være synd, hvis så gode artikler skulle forsvinde i glemslen, bare fordi nogen internetsider ikke længere fungerer. Nu skal vi bare holde liv i MOL for at bevare dem :laugh: .

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