Program Design #1: Performance
This will be the first in a series going deeper into the program design principles I outlined here.
Performance:
What is the smallest unit of your weight training workout? If you answered the repetition, congratulations. It’s not the exercise you are doing and it’s not even the set you are on. It is the repetition you are completing. Your workout is like a building. Each repetition you focus on executing well is a quality product put in place by a well trained craftsman. As opposed to cheap supplies being thrown together by a second-rate builder.
You do not complete repetitions merely to finish a set. And you do not complete sets merely to finish an exercise. If that is the mindset, why do it in the first place? There is nothing magical about a set, or an exercise or a workout. There is no workout fairy that comes to you at night to bestow muscle and take away fat because you completed 3 sets of 10 repetitions of squats or bench press.
There are biochemical reactions happening as your execute a repetition. It may not be a workout fairy, but it is pretty magical. You are disrupting your body’s homeostasis and forcing it to respond. And assuming you give it adequate rest and nutrition, it will respond by growing stronger and more muscular (girls do not worry).
You may assume a repetition is simply moving a weight from point “A” to point “B” and back again. You may assume that simply moving a weight guarantees you the same level of biochemical reactions as someone who is really exerting a focused effort. However, using electromyography (basically using sensors to record how active a muscle is) it has been determined that your focus during the repetition is very important! [1 and 2]
Please do not mindlessly move the weight. Focus on feeling the muscle you are intending to work squeeze and stretch through the range of motion. Your focus will pay off with improved results.
On the eccentric portion of the rep, usually lowering the weight against gravity, you want to feel the working muscle stretch out, not relax. On the concentric portion of the rep, usually pushing the weight upward against gravity, you want to feel the intended muscle contracting through the range of motion. Depending on the exercise, there may or may not be a brief period of relaxation at the top part of the repetition.
The eccentric portion is generally best performed under control; slightly slow, but not so slow that you needlessly tire yourself out. The concentric portion of the rep is best done a bit faster, but not so fast that you fail to contract the desired muscle. As long as you are able to contract the muscle, a faster concentric will actually help you recruit more muscle fiber.
This is a continual process of learning. You can always attempt to improve your ability to contract/recruit a muscle. As you gradually increase weight and try to move the concentric portion faster, you will need to constantly remind yourself to focus on the quality of your repetition and muscle contraction.
To recap:
Do not move the weight mindlessly.
Do not try to increase weight before you are able to feel the correct muscle working.
Engage your muscles and feel them working properly.
References:
https://www.t-nation.com/training/mind-muscle-connection-fact-or-bs
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26700744
