While the boss is away............Thread

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Eh, I get up every morning around 5:30 am anyways, but I use that time to get a real good stretch going, do some pullups, pushups, and situps to get the blood flowing and then make a big breakfast. So when it comes to the gym, its got to be during lunch (which results in a rushed lift) or after the mob later in the evening.
 
Sweet, I just found a Trader Joe's like 10-15 minutes from my place. I know where I'll be tonight...buying every meat imaginable. I wonder if they'll have quinoa, I've yet to find a supplier in the area. Bison meat makes you :bb:
 
Nabisco said:
Sweet, I just found a Trader Joe's like 10-15 minutes from my place. I know where I'll be tonight...buying every meat imaginable. I wonder if they'll have quinoa, I've yet to find a supplier in the area. Bison meat makes you :bb:
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Psssssss. quinoa isn't a meat ~smiley winking eye~
 
xjsynx said:
Psssssss. quinoa isn't a meat ~smiley winking eye~
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I know, and I realize thats how it looked now that I took a second look at my post. I just had bison on the mind since I found the trader joe's, but I'm also looking for a supplier of quinoa as a carb source.

:stick:
 
I've been looking for more protein sources, now that I'm working on a recomp. I've weighted my diet heavily towards the protein, healthy fats side, and since my diet tends to steer clear of carbs I wanted to find a few more complete carb sources so when I am getting in some carbs, its the good kind. I also carb up once or twice a week to keep my body going. I try to limit my carbs to breakfast and post workout, although my post workout meal ends up being late in the evening; you win some, you lose some.

I'm also supplementing with the basics (fish oil, multi, green tea) and Leviathin
 
Nabisco said:
I've been looking for more protein sources, now that I'm working on a recomp. I've weighted my diet heavily towards the protein, healthy fats side, and since my diet tends to steer clear of carbs I wanted to find a few more complete carb sources so when I am getting in some carbs, its the good kind. I also carb up once or twice a week to keep my body going. I try to limit my carbs to breakfast and post workout, although my post workout meal ends up being late in the evening; you win some, you lose some.

I'm also supplementing with the basics (fish oil, multi, green tea) and Leviathin
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I need to find more meat/protein choices.

Also, look into Buckwheat for a solid carb source.
 
thewilman said:
That's true...but what does that have to do with ostrich? :D

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Hi protein and low fat! :whip:
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Not to mention its one fine tasty meat. And it tastes more like a red meat than a bird. I've had it before and all I can say is :jaw:
 
Wilman, I just checked out that link you posted. Dude, I am so buying me 25lbs of ground ostrich. I just dont think I can fit 25lbs in my fridge. :frustrate
 
Introduction to the second principle

The eccentric action of a muscle refers to a resisted lengthening of that muscle;
a muscle exerting force while it’s being lengthened. This type of action is also called
the yielding or negative action (as opposed to the overcoming
action which refers to the actual lifting of the resistance).

Eccentric action is present in most free-weight and machine exercises. However, since
concentric strength potential is lower than the eccentric strength potential the yielding
portion of a movement is rarely fully stimulated. In other words, the relative weakness of
the overcoming portion prevents a complete overload during the yielding portion of the
exercise.

As I will explain, it is the yielding portion of an exercise which gives us the greatest bang
for our buck. So an individual seeking maximum result should plan training methods
emphasizing eccentric overload.
​
Eccentric stress as a superior stimulus for strength improvements
It’s been a while since we’ve known that the yielding (eccentric/negative) portion of an
exercise is responsible for more strength gains than the overcoming
(concentric/miometric/positive) portion. For example, a study by Hortobagyi and
coworkers found that the total maximal strength improvement from eccentric-only
training brought more strength gains than a concentric-only program followed for 6
weeks. Total maximal strength is the sum of maximum concentric, isometric, and
eccentric strength. In that parameter, eccentric training gave a mean improvement of
85%, while concentric training led to an improvement of 78%. Furthermore, this study
used submaximal yielding actions and maximal overcoming actions. Surely this tells us a
lot about the potential of yielding strength training, at least when maximum strength
gains are the concern. These results are in accordance with the body of scientific
literature on the subject. For example, a study by Higbie et al. (1996) found a combined
strength increase (concentric strength improvement + eccentric strength improvement) of
43% with an eccentric-only regimen compared to one of 31.2% with a concentric only
regimen. We should also note a study by Hilliard-Robertson and coworkers which
concluded that “A resistance training protocol which includes eccentric as well as
concentric exercise, particularly when the eccentric is emphasized, appears to result in
greater strength gains than concentric exercise alone”. This is in accordance with an
early study by Komi and Buskirk (1972) which recorded greater strength increases after
an eccentric training regimen than after a concentric-only regimen.

It was also found that omitting eccentric stress in a training program severely
compromises the potential strength gains (Dudley et al. 1991).
​
Eccentric stress as a superior stimulus for muscle growth
The last above-mentioned study (Higbie et al. 1996) found that eccentric-only training
led to an average muscle size gain of 6.6% over 10 weeks while a concentric-only
program led to gains of 5%. While the difference may not seem dramatic, any
knowledgeable bodybuilder understands that 2% more muscle over a 10 week period can
be visually significant, especially in the long run.
  • (Farthing and Chilibeck 2003), which concluded that “eccentric training resulted
    in greater hypertrophy than concentric training.”
  • (LaStayo et al. 2003) even found accentuated eccentric training to cause 19%
    more muscle growth than traditional strength training over 11 weeks!
  • “eccentric muscle actions are a necessary stimulus for muscle hypertrophy” (Cote
    et al. 1988).
Why is eccentric training effective?
Eccentric training allows one to stimulate greater strength and size gains than pure
concentric training. There are five major reasons why:
  1. There is a greater neural adaptation to eccentric training than to concentric training
    (Hortobagyi et al. 1996).
  2. There is a more important force output produced during a maximal eccentric action
    (greater overload) because you can use a higher external load (Colliander and Tesch
    1990).
  3. There is a higher level of stress per motor unit during eccentric work. Less motor units
    are recruited during the eccentric portion of a movement, thus each of the recruited motor
    units receives much more stimulation (Grabiner and Owings 2002, Linnamo et al. 2002).
    Furthermore, since the nervous systems seems to recruit less motor units during a
    maximal eccentric action, the potential for improvement could be greater than with
    maximal concentric action.
  4. There is some evidence that maximal eccentric actions will preferably recruit fasttwitch
    muscle fibers (high threshold motor units), which are more responsive to muscle
    growth and strengthening (Nardone et al. 1989, Howell et al. 1995, Hortobagyi et al.
    1996). In fact, eccentric training may stimulate an evolution towards a faster contractile
    profile (Martin et al. 1995).
  5. Most of the micro-trauma to the muscle cells incurred during training is a result of the
    eccentric action (Brown et al. 1997, Gibala et al. 2000). It has been established that this
    micro-trauma acts as the signal to start the muscle adaptation process (Clarke and
    Feedback, 1996).
Key points
  1. If you de-emphasize the yielding portion of your strength exercises (lowering the bar
    very fast, not contracting your muscles during the eccentric portion, etc.) you might as
    well not be training at all (at least if maximum strength and size are important to you).
    Be careful though, it doesn’t mean that you should accentuate/emphasize the eccentric
    stress in all of your exercises, just that some exercises should target a very large
    eccentric overload.
  2. Accentuating the eccentric stress during a session will lead to more strength gains.
    The reasons are related to structural as well as neural adaptations.
  3. The eccentric portion of a movement is the main stimulus for muscle growth as it is
    the cause of most of the micro-trauma inflicted on the muscles, which acts as the signal
    to kick the muscle building process into overdrive.
  4. One more benefit that I have found from experience is that overloading the eccentric
    portion of an exercise allows one to get used to holding big weights and controlling
    them. This can have a very important confidence-building effect when attempting to lift
    maximum weights.
How to take advantage of the eccentric portion of an exercise
The first way to take advantage of the eccentric portion of an exercise is to adjust the way you perform that phase of the movement for each repetition of every set of every one of
your “normal” training exercises. The second approach is to use eccentric-only training
as a special training technique, but this will be discussed more in depth in the chapter
detailing the ninth principle.

The current trend in bodybuilding/muscle gain training is to execute the eccentric portion
of an exercise slowly or at least under control (lowering the weight in 3-4 seconds).

While this is already far superior to bouncing the weight up and down it is not 100%
optimal to maximize muscle growth; or at least it is somewhat incomplete.

Why is it incomplete? It is possible to lower a weight under control by relying on
intramuscular and intermuscular friction as well as relying on the non-targeted muscle
groups: the target muscles can actually relax even though you are controlling the weight
as you are lowering it. Most powerlifters use the coaching queue “lower the bar with your
lats when you bench press”: by flaring out your lats, the friction between your inner arm
and your lats will breakdown the descent, allowing the chest, triceps and deltoid muscles
to work to a lesser extent (conserving energy for the actual lifting portion). This is good if
you want to max out on a lift. However, to simulate maximal muscle growth it isn’t
optimal. Maximum hypertrophy stimulation is achieved if there are no breaks in muscle
tension during a set. This means that the target muscles should always contract
maximally during the whole movement (thus you should not rely on friction during the
eccentric portion of the exercise) and also that you should never pause between reps
during a set. Keep those muscles under tension!

Not only should you lower the weight under control, you should be flexing the target
muscle group as hard as you can during that portion of the exercise. To accomplish this
you must focus on the feeling of the muscle contraction (internal training) rather than on
the actual lifting of the bar (external training). As I always say, when you are lifting to
build muscle mass you do not lift weights, you contract muscles against a resistance.
​
That’s how the first ¾ of the eccentric phase should be performed:
slow with a maximal muscular contraction/tension.

Doing this will already make each and every repetition
drastically more effective than simply “lowering the weight under control”. But to make
it a “perfect eccentric rep” we need to add a second phase which occurs during the last ¼
of the eccentric portion of a repetition.

Studies have shown that a rapid eccentric action occurring when a muscle is stretched can
drastically increase high-threshold motor unit recruitment. It can also potentiate the
subsequent concentric movement. This is the principle behind the various plyometric
training exercises used by athletes. When a muscle is forcefully and rapidly stretched
under load you can increase the amount of force you can produce in the actual lifting
phase (this is due to the activation of the myotatic stretch reflex, to the elastic
components of the muscle tissue as well as to an increased recruitment of high-threshold
motor units). This method can be applied to regular lifting exercise and is a very powerful
growth producing method.

To do this you execute the first ¾ of the eccentric phase slowly under max tension (to
reap the hypertrophy-stimulating benefits) and as you get close to the end of the eccentric
range of motion, accelerate the weight downward to stretch it forcefully under load. As
you reach the fully stretched position you explode upwards using the compensatory
acceleration principle. The exact way of performing this technique safely will be
discussed in the next chapter. But for now remember that the perfect eccentric rep starts
with a slow, flexed phase and ends with a rapid stretch phase.

Key points
  1. The first ¾ of the eccentric phase should not only be performed slowly and under
    control, but also while the target muscle group is being tensed to its maximum.
  2. In the last ¼ of the eccentric phase you should increase the speed of movement until
    you reach the fully stretched position to maximize force production and HTMU
    recruitment.
 
BTW...before I depart...anybody else but me wanna know where Easy got that picture for the caption contest??? :blink:
 
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