bitterplacebo
Well-known member
The jack, or female, interface uses a slotted inner conductor as a receptacle for the pin contact of the mating plug, or male, interface
While the boss is away............Thread
- Thread starter xjsynx
- Start date
- Status
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
a top case and a bottom case each having substantially semicircular grip openings; wherein
said lock male screw includes a grip portion which extends through said substantially semicircular grip openings.
said lock male screw includes a grip portion which extends through said substantially semicircular grip openings.
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
a mounting opening having front and rear sides for freely inserting the lock male screw from the rear side, the mounting opening allowing the lock male screw to move between an extended screwing position and a retracted non-screwing position; and
a lock female screw which is mountable to the front side of the mounting opening while the lock male screw is retracted to the non-screwing position, the lock female screw being screwable to an apparatus lock male screw of an apparatus to which the connector device is to be connected; wherein
the lock male screw and the lock female screw are separate, independent elements.
a lock female screw which is mountable to the front side of the mounting opening while the lock male screw is retracted to the non-screwing position, the lock female screw being screwable to an apparatus lock male screw of an apparatus to which the connector device is to be connected; wherein
the lock male screw and the lock female screw are separate, independent elements.
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
wherein a first engaging portion for securing the lock female screw is provided at an inner wall of the mounting opening, and wherein a second engaging portion for engagement with the first engaging portion is located at an outer periphery of the lock female screw.
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
there's got to be some suggestive instructions out there involving rack mount screws
thewilman
Well-known member
crabcakes :head:
EasyEJL
Never enough
no cats in my house, 2 of the 3 dogs would attack them (the other would hide), and besides I think now it would be igf-2 stash
xjsynx
Member
no cats in my house, 2 of the 3 dogs would attack them (the other would hide), and besides I think now it would be igf-2 stash
Gotta love when people take things literally...
thewilman
Well-known member
no cats in my house, 2 of the 3 dogs would attack them (the other would hide), and besides I think now it would be igf-2 stash
He won't grow that big on IGF-2 :stick:
xjsynx
Member
Looks like a good flick...I like Ed Harris....w/ or w/o hair
He was good in "History of Violence"
Yeah looks good and that was a good movie....
xjsynx
Member
Thursday (Traps conjugate/Shoulders heavy)
A. Barbell shrugs
4 x 6-8 reps
B1. Haney shrugs (behind the back shrugs in the Smith machine)
3 x 10-12 reps
B2. Upright rowing
3 x 10-12 reps
C. Standing calf machine shrugs
3 x 8-10 reps
D. Rear delt machine
1 x 100 reps
E. Military press
5 x 5
A. Barbell shrugs
4 x 6-8 reps
B1. Haney shrugs (behind the back shrugs in the Smith machine)
3 x 10-12 reps
B2. Upright rowing
3 x 10-12 reps
C. Standing calf machine shrugs
3 x 8-10 reps
D. Rear delt machine
1 x 100 reps
E. Military press
5 x 5
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
100 rep rear delt exercise, is that right?
xjsynx
Member
100-Rep Set
The 100-Rep exercise of the workout is a "flushing" set of 100 repetitions. Ideally you'd complete the 100 reps without any rest, but at first, while you build up your work capacity, it's okay to take a few 3-5 second pauses during the set.
The purpose of this set isn't to stimulate hypertrophy directly, but rather to enhance recovery from the previous workload. The very high rep/low intensity set will increase muscle flushing which will help bring blood and nutrients to the muscle group as well as the tendons.
It'll also help get rid of the metabolic wastes accumulated during the workout. Plus, systematic use of very high rep sets can increase muscle capillary density (more blood vessels going to the muscles) which will further enhance recovery capacity as well as work capacity.
There will still be a minimal hypertrophy effect from such sets, mostly in the slow-twitch muscle fibers. While athletes don't want that, bodybuilders who are only interested in size will accept any added hypertrophy they can get!
The 100-Rep exercise of the workout is a "flushing" set of 100 repetitions. Ideally you'd complete the 100 reps without any rest, but at first, while you build up your work capacity, it's okay to take a few 3-5 second pauses during the set.
The purpose of this set isn't to stimulate hypertrophy directly, but rather to enhance recovery from the previous workload. The very high rep/low intensity set will increase muscle flushing which will help bring blood and nutrients to the muscle group as well as the tendons.
It'll also help get rid of the metabolic wastes accumulated during the workout. Plus, systematic use of very high rep sets can increase muscle capillary density (more blood vessels going to the muscles) which will further enhance recovery capacity as well as work capacity.
There will still be a minimal hypertrophy effect from such sets, mostly in the slow-twitch muscle fibers. While athletes don't want that, bodybuilders who are only interested in size will accept any added hypertrophy they can get!
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
so why for rear delts?
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
I guess I'm not seeing the whole picture,
there's probably another day that swaps your rep ranges?
there's probably another day that swaps your rep ranges?
xjsynx
Member
Eccentric quasi-isometrics
Eccentric quasi-isometrics (EQIs) (Siff 1994) are not your ordinary type of
stretching. As such, they may be able to deliver results and benefits that you
won’t see with any other type of stretching.
Please notice that I say, “may be able to.” This statement is in reference to
the fact that no direct research has been done on the effects of this specific
type of muscle action. All of the information presented below is based on
either published research on topics indirectly related to EQIs or on anecdotal
evidence gathered from the real-world application of EQIs with athletes.
Please make no mistake about it, the effects of EQIs have not been written
about in many other publications. Thus, the information presented below is
theory based on direct anecdotal and indirect empirical evidence.
What are EQIs?
EQIs are essentially just what the name says:
Eccentric: The muscles are lengthening as they are contracting.
Quasi-Isometrics: The action is very slow (nearly static).
Strictly defined, EQIs are simply an eccentric action. However, the
eccentric action takes place at such a slow rate that the term “quasiisometric”
is applied (EQIs can also be described as a yielding-isometric).
The descriptive term “quasi-isometric” lets us know that the action is nearly
isometric, because almost no movement takes place relative to the duration
of the muscle action.
To better understand just what EQIs are, it is best that we take a look at an
example.
Invalid Link Removed
In this example, the athlete is in a push-up position with his hands on blocks.
This is the starting position. In this position, the athlete will attempt to hold
an isometric contraction. As time goes on, the athlete will begin to fatigue.
Because an isometric contraction is nothing more than a slow eccentric, the
athlete will slowly start to “sink down” between the blocks. The athlete is
still attempting to hold an isometric contraction, but it has turned into a very
slow eccentric contraction.
As the athlete sinks lower and lower, the muscles (and their associated
connective tissue) begin to lengthen. The athlete continues to attempt an
isometric contraction. This contraction in the lengthened state is where most
of the benefits of EQIs are derived. Note that weights (dumbbells, barbell)
can also be used. You only have to reach the stretched position of a strength
exercise (e.g. bottom portion of a fly) and hold the weight.
Benefits of EQIs
As previously mentioned, EQIs offer a myriad of potential benefits that
cannot be had with traditional stretching. These benefits include everything
from injury prevention to increased lactic acid tolerance. Let’s explore a
few of these benefits in depth.
Primary Benefits
With traditional stretching methods (static stretching of a relaxed muscle)
primarily the parallel elastic component (PEC) of a muscle is stretched (Siff
1993; Tumanyan and Dzhanyan 1980; Iashvili 1982). Stretching of a
contracted muscle will have a more pronounced effect on the series elastic
component (SEC). To understand what this means, we must understand the
difference between the PEC (made up of the sarcolemma, titin, and other
structures) and SEC (made up of tendon and other structures).
Invalid Link Removed
From the picture, we can see that the contractile component (CC) of muscle
is “in series” with an elastic component (the SEC).
Having the SEC in series with the contractile component means that the SEC
will be under tension when the contractile component produces tension
(Levangie and Norkin 2001).
With the PEC things are a little different. The PEC is an elastic component
of muscle that functions in parallel with the contractile component. This
means that as the contractile component lengthens or shortens, so does the
PEC (Levangie and Norkin 2001).
What does all this have to do with EQIs? Well, there are two types of
tension, active and passive. The PEC is responsible for producing passive
tension, while the contractile component is responsible for producing active tension.
The total tension in a muscle is the sum of both active and passive
tensions.
As the PEC lengthens it produces more and more passive tension. However,
the contractile component of muscle has a specific range in which it
produces the greatest amount of tension. If the contractile component is
shortened or lengthened beyond this range, then the tension it produces will
decrease. This is known as the isometric length-tension relationship
(Levangie and Norkin 2001).
Let’s go back and relate this information to our EQI push-up example. At
the beginning of the action the athlete is producing tension with the
contractile component of muscle. Since the SEC acts in series with the
contractile component, the SEC is also under tension. However, since the
athlete has not yet begun to fatigue and “sink down,” the contractile
component is not lengthened significantly and therefore, neither is the PEC.
As the athlete begins to fatigue and sink down, the contractile component
begins to lengthen, and so does the PEC. At this point, both passive and
active tensions contribute to the total tension.
This is one of the strengths of EQIs over other stretching methods. It allows
the athlete to stretch both the SEC and PEC at the same time.
As mentioned before, with traditional stretching methods (static stretching of
a relaxed muscle) primarily the parallel elastic component (PEC) of a muscle
is stretched. If the emphasis is put on traditional methods of stretching, then
primarily the PEC will become more flexible. This worsens the ratio of
passive (which the PEC is responsible for) to active flexibility (which the
SEC is primarily responsible for), which may cause a higher incidence of
injuries in athletes (Iashvili 1982). In addition, increasing only passive
flexibility will not improve dynamic flexibility (the kind needed in most
sport actions) to a significant extent. Furthermore, Iashvili (1982) has
shown that there is a greater correlation between active flexibility and sport
achievement than passive flexibility and sport achievement.
Since passive static stretching primarily impacts the PEC, the SEC is left unstretched.
This is important to note because one of the primary applications
of passive static stretching is to re-lengthen the muscle after work that
involves contraction (i.e. strength-training). However, passive static
stretching does not stretch the components of muscle that are involved in
contraction! This is another reason why EQIs are superior to traditional
stretching.
Secondary Benefits
In addition to the injury prevention and SEC lengthening benefits of EQIs,
there are several other benefits that they may offer:
Shifting the length-tension curve: As mentioned above, muscle contracts
most effectively at a specific length. By putting your muscles into a quasiisometric
contraction in a lengthened position, you are requiring your
muscles to produce force in an area of the length-tension curve in which they
are typically weak. By doing this over and over again, it may be possible to
shift this curve slightly, so that your muscles can produce greater force in a
lengthened state.
Strengthening the tendon: Because eccentric training leads to more
hypertrophy at the distal portions of the muscle (Seger et al. 1998), it is
logical to believe that more stress is put on the distal ends of the muscle
during an eccentric contraction. Consequently, this is where the tendons are
located. In addition, Griffiths (1991) has shown that stretches at a slow or
moderate rate occur entirely at the tendon. Combine this with the fact that
EQIs put the SEC (of which the tendon is a major component) under tension,
and it seems obvious that EQIs put a tremendous amount of stress and strain
on the tendon.
It has been shown that changes in activity can promote subsequent changes
in the structure and strength of connective tissue (Komi 2003; Hayashi et al.
1996). This is one of the reasons that EQIs have the potential to reduce
injury. EQIs may also produce changes in the SEC that allow more elastic
strain energy to be stored by the tendon.
Strength transfer to all joint angles: Unlike traditional isometric exercises,
which only produce strength gains at the specific joint angle, EQIs produce
strength gains at all joint angles. This is due to the fact that EQIs are done
with the muscles in extension. Raitsin (1974) showed that training muscles
isometrically in a stretched position leads to a greater transfer of strength
gains to all joint angles. In addition, EQIs are not a strict isometric
contraction. Rather, they are a quasi-isometric contraction. Because of this,
the muscles are trained at more than one joint angle, enhancing the carryover
to all of joint angles used.
Hypertrophy and possible hyperplasia: The work of Dr. Jose Antonio with
birds has shown us that a prolonged, weighted stretch of a muscle can result
in a 318% increase in muscle mass (Antonio and Gonyea 1993). In addition,
this same study showed an 82% increase in fiber number. This study was
performed on birds that were stretched for hours and days at time however.
The types of results seen in this study are not likely to be replicated with
EQIs, but some hypertrophy (and possibly hyperplasia) may result.
Lactic acid tolerance: One peculiarity of EQIs is the fact that blood cannot
effectively travel into or out of the muscle due to the strength of the
contraction (assuming the strength of the contraction is great enough). This
results in a build-up of metabolic by-products that cannot effectively be
cleared from the muscle until the contraction has stopped. One of these byproducts
is lactic acid.
During many sports (basketball, hockey, etc.) it is common for a large
amount of lactic acid to build-up in the muscle. Being able to tolerate this
lactic acid build-up and continue contraction of the muscles is an important
matter in these sports.
Reactive hyperemia: As mentioned above, during EQIs a tremendous
amount of lactic acid and other by-products build-up in the muscle.
However, when the contraction is completed the body attempts to wash all
of these by-products out of the muscle. This is accomplished through a
process called “reactive hyperemia.” During reactive hyperemia the blood
vessels of the previously contracted muscles dilate. This transient
phenomenon can be doubly beneficial if the blood contains large amounts of
glucose, amino acids, and other nutrients that may aid in the muscles’
recovery from an exhausting contraction.
Increase mental toughness: Anyone who has ever done interval training, or
any other type of work where lactic acid builds-up in the body, knows what
a challenge it is to keep going when your body is telling you to stop. EQIs
can present this same challenge. The difference is, there is nothing else to
look at, nothing else to concentrate on. For an athlete, this can be a very
effective tool to increase mental toughness and relaxation. If, while doing
EQIs, you start to think about how hard it is and how you don’t want to go
on, you are almost guaranteed to fail long before your body is done.
However, if you can relax while your body is in tremendous pain, then you
will be able to push your body to its true limits. This is an aspect of EQIs
that is not often talked about, but it is also an aspect that may carryover to
the playing field better than any other.
Recognition of postural weakness: One of the major determinants of a good
training program is whether or not it addresses the individual weak points of
an athlete. To do this however, either the athlete or his coach must first
recognize what these weak points are. There are several ways to determine
weak points (and there are various types of weak points), but EQIs offer a
distinct advantage over some of the other methods currently used to
determine postural weaknesses during sport actions. Namely, EQIs are a
nearly static (quasi-isometric) exercise. This affords the coach the
opportunity to analyze an athlete’s posture in sport-specific positions over a
prolonged period of time. Effective analysis of posture during rapid
dynamic actions without a highly trained professional and/or the use of
special equipment (i.e. high-speed cameras) are nearly impossible.
Admittedly, the nearly static nature of EQIs is also one of the downsides to
using them for postural analysis, as sports involve dynamic actions.
However, EQIs can be an important weapon in the analysis arsenal, because
more information about an athlete’s condition can translate into the
formulation of a more effective training program.
In regard to the duration and intensity of EQIs, it is important to note that to
reap all of the benefits mentioned above, duration must be emphasized.
Because of this, intensity must be sufficiently low so as to allow sufficient
duration of the muscle action.
However, while duration is favored over intensity, proper posture is
emphasized above all else. As soon as posture begins to degrade, the
exercise should halt. This is a small point, but is cannot be emphasized
enough.
EQIs should be performed to muscular failure (or the aforementioned
degradation in form) in order to get the most benefit. This is due to the fact
that as you fatigue, you will sink lower into the stretch. The further (up to a
point) the SEC and PEC stretch, the more benefit you can expect to see.
The time you can hold an EQI for is largely dependent on what exercise you
are doing. However, as a guideline, I have provided a table below so that
you can have an idea of how your athletes’ performances rate. Again, keep
in mind that proper posture must be emphasized over duration. A long
duration EQI with poor posture will not translate into good results, and may
even have negative effects.
Using EQIs after a training session will re-lengthen the contracted tissue.
This is important because if the muscles are left in a contracted state, then
blood flow to the muscle will be significantly reduced (Zatsiorsky 1995).
This is bad news for those of you who are worrying so much about postworkout
nutrition. If blood can’t effectively reach the muscle, then how do
you expect it to utilize the various nutrients in the blood to repair itself?
One of the first benefits people notice is that they are not nearly as sore the
next day if EQIs are done after a training session. This is most likely
because the muscles have been re-lengthened, allowing for optimal recovery.
The implications of this are great. If the body can achieve complete
recovery at a rapid rate, then more training sessions are possible in a given
time-period. To further accelerate the recovery process, take advantage of
reactive hyperemia by drinking your post-workout shake 15-30 minutes
before doing your EQIs. This will provide the exhausted muscles with a
large dose of the substrates they need to recover.
Conclusion
Traditional stretching has recently been looked down upon, and rightly so,
by many as being ineffective at promoting flexibility during dynamic
sporting actions, as well as being ineffective at relieving muscle soreness.
While both of these criticisms are valid, traditional stretching has often been
removed with nothing to take its place.
EQIs not only do a better job of enhancing dynamic flexibility and relieving
muscle soreness, but they offer a myriad of other benefits to the strength
coach and the athlete who are willing to put in the hard (and painful) work
involved.
Eccentric quasi-isometrics (EQIs) (Siff 1994) are not your ordinary type of
stretching. As such, they may be able to deliver results and benefits that you
won’t see with any other type of stretching.
Please notice that I say, “may be able to.” This statement is in reference to
the fact that no direct research has been done on the effects of this specific
type of muscle action. All of the information presented below is based on
either published research on topics indirectly related to EQIs or on anecdotal
evidence gathered from the real-world application of EQIs with athletes.
Please make no mistake about it, the effects of EQIs have not been written
about in many other publications. Thus, the information presented below is
theory based on direct anecdotal and indirect empirical evidence.
What are EQIs?
EQIs are essentially just what the name says:
Eccentric: The muscles are lengthening as they are contracting.
Quasi-Isometrics: The action is very slow (nearly static).
Strictly defined, EQIs are simply an eccentric action. However, the
eccentric action takes place at such a slow rate that the term “quasiisometric”
is applied (EQIs can also be described as a yielding-isometric).
The descriptive term “quasi-isometric” lets us know that the action is nearly
isometric, because almost no movement takes place relative to the duration
of the muscle action.
To better understand just what EQIs are, it is best that we take a look at an
example.
Invalid Link Removed
In this example, the athlete is in a push-up position with his hands on blocks.
This is the starting position. In this position, the athlete will attempt to hold
an isometric contraction. As time goes on, the athlete will begin to fatigue.
Because an isometric contraction is nothing more than a slow eccentric, the
athlete will slowly start to “sink down” between the blocks. The athlete is
still attempting to hold an isometric contraction, but it has turned into a very
slow eccentric contraction.
As the athlete sinks lower and lower, the muscles (and their associated
connective tissue) begin to lengthen. The athlete continues to attempt an
isometric contraction. This contraction in the lengthened state is where most
of the benefits of EQIs are derived. Note that weights (dumbbells, barbell)
can also be used. You only have to reach the stretched position of a strength
exercise (e.g. bottom portion of a fly) and hold the weight.
Benefits of EQIs
As previously mentioned, EQIs offer a myriad of potential benefits that
cannot be had with traditional stretching. These benefits include everything
from injury prevention to increased lactic acid tolerance. Let’s explore a
few of these benefits in depth.
Primary Benefits
With traditional stretching methods (static stretching of a relaxed muscle)
primarily the parallel elastic component (PEC) of a muscle is stretched (Siff
1993; Tumanyan and Dzhanyan 1980; Iashvili 1982). Stretching of a
contracted muscle will have a more pronounced effect on the series elastic
component (SEC). To understand what this means, we must understand the
difference between the PEC (made up of the sarcolemma, titin, and other
structures) and SEC (made up of tendon and other structures).
Invalid Link Removed
From the picture, we can see that the contractile component (CC) of muscle
is “in series” with an elastic component (the SEC).
Having the SEC in series with the contractile component means that the SEC
will be under tension when the contractile component produces tension
(Levangie and Norkin 2001).
With the PEC things are a little different. The PEC is an elastic component
of muscle that functions in parallel with the contractile component. This
means that as the contractile component lengthens or shortens, so does the
PEC (Levangie and Norkin 2001).
What does all this have to do with EQIs? Well, there are two types of
tension, active and passive. The PEC is responsible for producing passive
tension, while the contractile component is responsible for producing active tension.
The total tension in a muscle is the sum of both active and passive
tensions.
As the PEC lengthens it produces more and more passive tension. However,
the contractile component of muscle has a specific range in which it
produces the greatest amount of tension. If the contractile component is
shortened or lengthened beyond this range, then the tension it produces will
decrease. This is known as the isometric length-tension relationship
(Levangie and Norkin 2001).
Let’s go back and relate this information to our EQI push-up example. At
the beginning of the action the athlete is producing tension with the
contractile component of muscle. Since the SEC acts in series with the
contractile component, the SEC is also under tension. However, since the
athlete has not yet begun to fatigue and “sink down,” the contractile
component is not lengthened significantly and therefore, neither is the PEC.
As the athlete begins to fatigue and sink down, the contractile component
begins to lengthen, and so does the PEC. At this point, both passive and
active tensions contribute to the total tension.
This is one of the strengths of EQIs over other stretching methods. It allows
the athlete to stretch both the SEC and PEC at the same time.
As mentioned before, with traditional stretching methods (static stretching of
a relaxed muscle) primarily the parallel elastic component (PEC) of a muscle
is stretched. If the emphasis is put on traditional methods of stretching, then
primarily the PEC will become more flexible. This worsens the ratio of
passive (which the PEC is responsible for) to active flexibility (which the
SEC is primarily responsible for), which may cause a higher incidence of
injuries in athletes (Iashvili 1982). In addition, increasing only passive
flexibility will not improve dynamic flexibility (the kind needed in most
sport actions) to a significant extent. Furthermore, Iashvili (1982) has
shown that there is a greater correlation between active flexibility and sport
achievement than passive flexibility and sport achievement.
Since passive static stretching primarily impacts the PEC, the SEC is left unstretched.
This is important to note because one of the primary applications
of passive static stretching is to re-lengthen the muscle after work that
involves contraction (i.e. strength-training). However, passive static
stretching does not stretch the components of muscle that are involved in
contraction! This is another reason why EQIs are superior to traditional
stretching.
Secondary Benefits
In addition to the injury prevention and SEC lengthening benefits of EQIs,
there are several other benefits that they may offer:
Shifting the length-tension curve: As mentioned above, muscle contracts
most effectively at a specific length. By putting your muscles into a quasiisometric
contraction in a lengthened position, you are requiring your
muscles to produce force in an area of the length-tension curve in which they
are typically weak. By doing this over and over again, it may be possible to
shift this curve slightly, so that your muscles can produce greater force in a
lengthened state.
Strengthening the tendon: Because eccentric training leads to more
hypertrophy at the distal portions of the muscle (Seger et al. 1998), it is
logical to believe that more stress is put on the distal ends of the muscle
during an eccentric contraction. Consequently, this is where the tendons are
located. In addition, Griffiths (1991) has shown that stretches at a slow or
moderate rate occur entirely at the tendon. Combine this with the fact that
EQIs put the SEC (of which the tendon is a major component) under tension,
and it seems obvious that EQIs put a tremendous amount of stress and strain
on the tendon.
It has been shown that changes in activity can promote subsequent changes
in the structure and strength of connective tissue (Komi 2003; Hayashi et al.
1996). This is one of the reasons that EQIs have the potential to reduce
injury. EQIs may also produce changes in the SEC that allow more elastic
strain energy to be stored by the tendon.
Strength transfer to all joint angles: Unlike traditional isometric exercises,
which only produce strength gains at the specific joint angle, EQIs produce
strength gains at all joint angles. This is due to the fact that EQIs are done
with the muscles in extension. Raitsin (1974) showed that training muscles
isometrically in a stretched position leads to a greater transfer of strength
gains to all joint angles. In addition, EQIs are not a strict isometric
contraction. Rather, they are a quasi-isometric contraction. Because of this,
the muscles are trained at more than one joint angle, enhancing the carryover
to all of joint angles used.
Hypertrophy and possible hyperplasia: The work of Dr. Jose Antonio with
birds has shown us that a prolonged, weighted stretch of a muscle can result
in a 318% increase in muscle mass (Antonio and Gonyea 1993). In addition,
this same study showed an 82% increase in fiber number. This study was
performed on birds that were stretched for hours and days at time however.
The types of results seen in this study are not likely to be replicated with
EQIs, but some hypertrophy (and possibly hyperplasia) may result.
Lactic acid tolerance: One peculiarity of EQIs is the fact that blood cannot
effectively travel into or out of the muscle due to the strength of the
contraction (assuming the strength of the contraction is great enough). This
results in a build-up of metabolic by-products that cannot effectively be
cleared from the muscle until the contraction has stopped. One of these byproducts
is lactic acid.
During many sports (basketball, hockey, etc.) it is common for a large
amount of lactic acid to build-up in the muscle. Being able to tolerate this
lactic acid build-up and continue contraction of the muscles is an important
matter in these sports.
Reactive hyperemia: As mentioned above, during EQIs a tremendous
amount of lactic acid and other by-products build-up in the muscle.
However, when the contraction is completed the body attempts to wash all
of these by-products out of the muscle. This is accomplished through a
process called “reactive hyperemia.” During reactive hyperemia the blood
vessels of the previously contracted muscles dilate. This transient
phenomenon can be doubly beneficial if the blood contains large amounts of
glucose, amino acids, and other nutrients that may aid in the muscles’
recovery from an exhausting contraction.
Increase mental toughness: Anyone who has ever done interval training, or
any other type of work where lactic acid builds-up in the body, knows what
a challenge it is to keep going when your body is telling you to stop. EQIs
can present this same challenge. The difference is, there is nothing else to
look at, nothing else to concentrate on. For an athlete, this can be a very
effective tool to increase mental toughness and relaxation. If, while doing
EQIs, you start to think about how hard it is and how you don’t want to go
on, you are almost guaranteed to fail long before your body is done.
However, if you can relax while your body is in tremendous pain, then you
will be able to push your body to its true limits. This is an aspect of EQIs
that is not often talked about, but it is also an aspect that may carryover to
the playing field better than any other.
Recognition of postural weakness: One of the major determinants of a good
training program is whether or not it addresses the individual weak points of
an athlete. To do this however, either the athlete or his coach must first
recognize what these weak points are. There are several ways to determine
weak points (and there are various types of weak points), but EQIs offer a
distinct advantage over some of the other methods currently used to
determine postural weaknesses during sport actions. Namely, EQIs are a
nearly static (quasi-isometric) exercise. This affords the coach the
opportunity to analyze an athlete’s posture in sport-specific positions over a
prolonged period of time. Effective analysis of posture during rapid
dynamic actions without a highly trained professional and/or the use of
special equipment (i.e. high-speed cameras) are nearly impossible.
Admittedly, the nearly static nature of EQIs is also one of the downsides to
using them for postural analysis, as sports involve dynamic actions.
However, EQIs can be an important weapon in the analysis arsenal, because
more information about an athlete’s condition can translate into the
formulation of a more effective training program.
In regard to the duration and intensity of EQIs, it is important to note that to
reap all of the benefits mentioned above, duration must be emphasized.
Because of this, intensity must be sufficiently low so as to allow sufficient
duration of the muscle action.
However, while duration is favored over intensity, proper posture is
emphasized above all else. As soon as posture begins to degrade, the
exercise should halt. This is a small point, but is cannot be emphasized
enough.
EQIs should be performed to muscular failure (or the aforementioned
degradation in form) in order to get the most benefit. This is due to the fact
that as you fatigue, you will sink lower into the stretch. The further (up to a
point) the SEC and PEC stretch, the more benefit you can expect to see.
The time you can hold an EQI for is largely dependent on what exercise you
are doing. However, as a guideline, I have provided a table below so that
you can have an idea of how your athletes’ performances rate. Again, keep
in mind that proper posture must be emphasized over duration. A long
duration EQI with poor posture will not translate into good results, and may
even have negative effects.
Using EQIs after a training session will re-lengthen the contracted tissue.
This is important because if the muscles are left in a contracted state, then
blood flow to the muscle will be significantly reduced (Zatsiorsky 1995).
This is bad news for those of you who are worrying so much about postworkout
nutrition. If blood can’t effectively reach the muscle, then how do
you expect it to utilize the various nutrients in the blood to repair itself?
One of the first benefits people notice is that they are not nearly as sore the
next day if EQIs are done after a training session. This is most likely
because the muscles have been re-lengthened, allowing for optimal recovery.
The implications of this are great. If the body can achieve complete
recovery at a rapid rate, then more training sessions are possible in a given
time-period. To further accelerate the recovery process, take advantage of
reactive hyperemia by drinking your post-workout shake 15-30 minutes
before doing your EQIs. This will provide the exhausted muscles with a
large dose of the substrates they need to recover.
Conclusion
Traditional stretching has recently been looked down upon, and rightly so,
by many as being ineffective at promoting flexibility during dynamic
sporting actions, as well as being ineffective at relieving muscle soreness.
While both of these criticisms are valid, traditional stretching has often been
removed with nothing to take its place.
EQIs not only do a better job of enhancing dynamic flexibility and relieving
muscle soreness, but they offer a myriad of other benefits to the strength
coach and the athlete who are willing to put in the hard (and painful) work
involved.
xjsynx
Member
Shoulders & Traps day...
xjsynx
Member
Bigger picture for weeks 1-4 out of 12:
Monday (Shoulders conjugate/Traps heavy)
A. Seated dumbbell press
4 x 6-8 reps
B1. Upright rowing
3 x 10-12 reps
B2. Seated incline lateral raise
3 x 10-12 reps
C. Arnold press
3 x 8-10 reps
D. Lateral raise
1 x 100 reps (take pauses if needed)
E. Barbell power shrugs
5 x 5 reps
Tuesday (Quads/Hams/Biceps/Triceps)
A1. Back squat
1 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 8, 1 x 20
A2. Romanian deadlift
1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 15
B1. Barbell curl
3 x 6-8 reps
B2. Close-grip decline press
3 x 6-8 reps
C1. Preacher curl
3 x 10-12 reps
C2. Decline dumbbell triceps extension
3 x 10-12 reps
D1. Hammer curl
3 x 12-15 reps
D2. Cable triceps extension
3 x 12-15 reps
Thursday (Traps conjugate/Shoulders heavy)
A. Barbell shrugs
4 x 6-8 reps
B1. Haney shrugs (behind the back shrugs in the Smith machine)
3 x 10-12 reps
B2. Upright rowing
3 x 10-12 reps
C. Standing calf machine shrugs
3 x 8-10 reps
D. Rear delt machine
1 x 100 reps
E. Military press
5 x 5
Saturday (Chest/Back)
A1. Incline bench press
3 x 6-8 reps
A2. Bent over barbell rowing
3 x 6-8 reps
B1. Flat dumbbell bench press
3 x 10-12 reps
B2. Lat pulldown
3 x 10-12 reps
C1. Decline bench press
3 x 12-15 reps
C2. Seated rowing
3 x 12-15 reps
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
I mean why 100 reps for only rear delts and not the others
xjsynx
Member
Too much volume.
bitterplacebo
Well-known member
hello
so did you have a date yesterday?
so did you have a date yesterday?
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