Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

lock out or not to lock out

ktw

Active member
I've decided I want to experiment with some new ideas for my upper body repetition day. I've been seeing a lot of literature saying that not locking out through one way or another leads to more isolation/hypertrophy. I usually do compound movements for almost everything, except when I do skull crushers or something and I was thinking about trying this not locking out technique, but wanted to know what everyone's opinion on it was.
 
Have you ever watched Ronnie Colemman's video "The Unbelievable". I got it off of Shareaza. Amazing workouts and he doesn't lock out. Check it out, he's nuts.
 
Hey, let me know how that goes for you. Locking out is such a habit for me i guess i never think not to do it.
 
Don't lock out when your goal is pure hypertrophy. Keep in mind however that in order to continue to grow you must at some point incorporate progressive loading. Best way to do this is with strength training, and locking out is an important part fo strength training.

Not locking out would be a concept good for certain exercise when using TUT so as to keep tension on the muscle through the entire set. During a lockout, tension is taken off the muscle at least slightly for most exercises.

Some exercises however, the "lockout" is in fact the highest degree of tension the muscle has. This is true of many cable based exercises like cable-crossover. Lateral raises are another example; whether DB or cable.


So really it comes down to what your goal is for that exercise or that day, and depends on which exercise it is.
 
I typically lock out nearly everything but try to keep some tension by squeezing the muscle even at lock-out. I don't lock out some tricep exercised because of bad elbows and it seems to hurt my joints less if I don't lock on tricep exercises. But, as Null just said, hypertrophy is definitely aided most by keeping the tension on the muscle throughout the set.
 
I no longer lockout with any pressing exercises. Puts more stress on joints and takes tension off muscle. I started focusing on the bottom 2/3's of my presses and have seen more improvement. I also never let my elbow higher than my should on laterals or front cable raises.
 
Ill have to give it a try, its just hard for me to get a full contraction without going very close to lock out
 
I recently switched to not locking out as well, mostly because I am using a TUT routine, varying my ratios from week to week. However, once every week or so I will incorporate some lockouts on a few of my exercises
 
Ya, for me it's just something hard to get used to. I'm on a westside template with an upper body rep day geared towards hypertrophy, so I was thinking of switching not locking out and varying TUT on those days. I will continue to lock out everything else on all my other days though.
 
Alright, so I experimented with not locking out today and it was odd to say the least. For bench I first started coming up just maybe an inch or two below lockout. At first, I could do about 5 to 6 more reps than normal with the same weight. So I went up on the next set. By the 3rd out of 5th work set the lactic acid buildup was pretty strong. My chest felt nearly rock hard. The only problem was, so did my triceps. I had a hard time finding a sweet spot with this type of movement that isolated the chest. I did it for all my other exercises and it produced the same results. By the last of all my work sets, I had to go down in weight because the pump I was receiving was nearly painful. I will still lockout on certain exercises though as it did not prove to be an advantage to not lock out on close grip bench and curls. Other people trying this, let me know how it goes, I'm curious as to what the sweet spot in the rep range is for bench using this technique.
 
Not locking out on pressing movements especially are a very good idea for several reasons. First you have more time under tension for the muscles which in the long run will make you stronger.And that will promote growth. The other reason is that in 10 years your joints will thank you. I usually DO lock out because I Lift really Heavy most of the time 1-6 Reps.
Although I probably should Start. Good lifting
 
jonny21 said:
Puts more stress on joints and takes tension off muscle.
Click to expand...
I tried locking out last week after this discussion here and found out that I never lock out--at least for squats, presses. I come very close but definitely don't lock out the joint. It feels like that would be hell on the joint to do repeatedly. I'd rather have my muscle being fatigued and torn down than my joint.
 
BBAddict said:
I'd rather have my muscle being fatigued and torn down than my joint.
Click to expand...

That's the idea.

During any weight-bearing exercises don't lock out for the sake of your joints. Why not keep the tension in the muscle throughout the set. Rather than resting at the top, with your knees locked out doing squats. I see so many people locking out in the gym lifting heavy weights and my body starts to ache. Happy lifting-
 
Sea223 said:
That's the idea.

During any weight-bearing exercises don't lock out for the sake of your joints. Why not keep the tension in the muscle throughout the set. Rather than resting at the top, with your knees locked out doing squats. I see so many people locking out in the gym lifting heavy weights and my body starts to ache. Happy lifting-
Click to expand...

Just about every time I get the bloodflow going on the elliptical machine. I look over and see somebody locking out on the leg press machine. I make that "ouch, don't do that face" and look away.
 
guyfromkop2 said:
i'm a powerlifter, so i lockout on every movement, otherwise it's red light city
Click to expand...
:lol:
 
Ya, I'm about to start a 4 day westside style program soon as a change from the WSB for skinny bastards program I was on, and I've been thinking about this thread that the idea of not locking out and it does not really pertain to the style of training I intend to do. My main goal is to build an assload of mass and meet my strength goals and while not locking out probably would help for some movements, I do not think it is very conducive to helping my big three lifts
 
ktw said:
My main goal is to build an assload of mass and meet my strength goals and while not locking out probably would help for some movements, I do not think it is very conducive to helping my big three lifts
Click to expand...
Mass wise I think it would help by not locking- strength wise on weight-bearing lifts (Squats) While at full knee extension (locked) a lot of the tension that I feel should be in the muscle goes into the joint- making it a little easier to lift a little more weight. Your muscles are getting a little rest in the top of the movement. It's harder keeping the tension in the muscles
 
As far as my experience, changing my quad routine from locking/pausing at the top of squats to not locking/pausing has helped me tremendously. I do less reps, and I guess this is because the continuous stress on the muscle. But all in all, my lagging legs have accumalated growth. I was a fan for locking out on every exercise. Now I dont lock out on any. I feel the muscles worked more by the end of the session. Just my .02
 
I try to give a constant rhythm to my exercises. If I have to 'pause' to get another rep, then I'm done with that set. It was really hard to start at first, but since I've started it 2 months ago I've had both strength and size go up much quicker then I was before.
 
guyfromkop2 said:
just dummy up and lift, people put too much thought into lifting weights, it's not brain surgery
Click to expand...

Very TRUE! But I think that this minor change in my routine did help me somewhat. I feel my muscles worked more. But all in all, just what you said.:goodpost:
 
Synthetik said:
Very TRUE! But I think that this minor change in my routine did help me somewhat. I feel my muscles worked more. But all in all, just what you said.:goodpost:
Click to expand...

are you getting stronger? that's when you know it works or not, and with strength comes size, there is nothing worse than a guy who wants to look strong but is weak when he could easily be strong and look strong
 
No lockout here. I don't even do what most guys call full range, IMO no need to and inviting injury. I want to build as much muscle as possible, safely, not condition myself for a power lifting meet.


CROWLER
 
As for me and my strength, yes I am getting stronger. Every 4th week I intend to switch up my routine and go heavy for low reps. I've done this once, and my strength did go up. Last time I squated close to 300lbs ( i have weak legs) was when I juiced a couple years back (mistake on my part). So I'm happy with my results so far. But like most of us here say, everyone is different, different strategies for different people.
 
I'm doing a westside routine now geared solely on improving my big 3, so locking out is a must, but in the future if I want a bb type program I will incorporate that method into my routine.
 
Synthetik said:
As for me and my strength, yes I am getting stronger. Every 4th week I intend to switch up my routine and go heavy for low reps. I've done this once, and my strength did go up. Last time I squated close to 300lbs ( i have weak legs) was when I juiced a couple years back (mistake on my part). So I'm happy with my results so far. But like most of us here say, everyone is different, different strategies for different people.
Click to expand...

you need to squat more :D
 
Yo Guy, just curious but what kind of stance do you use for squatting/pulling? I've been squatting super wide and pulling traditional, but it seems logical that I try sumo since I squat fairly wide, yet when I try pulling this way it just doesn't feel right.
 
ktw said:
Yo Guy, just curious but what kind of stance do you use for squatting/pulling? I've been squatting super wide and pulling traditional, but it seems logical that I try sumo since I squat fairly wide, yet when I try pulling this way it just doesn't feel right.
Click to expand...

i squat about medium to wide, i've been going wider on squats lately, and pullin my feet are about 6" apart. and most guys pull sumo because it's easier to get down to the bar in your gear
 
Ya I thought somehow I would be able to involve my posterior chain more pulling sumo, but it really doesn't feel as solid to me as when I pull normally with feet at shoulder width and hands just outside. I dunno, I guess everyon'es different so I should just stick with what feels right. I have really long legs (I'm 6 2, 200lbs) so squatting wide is definately an advantage for me.
 
ktw said:
Ya I thought somehow I would be able to involve my posterior chain more pulling sumo, but it really doesn't feel as solid to me as when I pull normally with feet at shoulder width and hands just outside. I dunno, I guess everyon'es different so I should just stick with what feels right. I have really long legs (I'm 6 2, 200lbs) so squatting wide is definately an advantage for me.
Click to expand...

it's more hips with sumo, and try pullin with your feet about 6" apart, it helps keep you really tight throughout the lift, and let your arms just dangle, if you move them out past perpendicular to the floor you are making your pull longer, and at 6'2 you have one hell of a long pull
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top