ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

about us

/

contact

/

06.12.2011


Strength athletes gain more strength by training properly

Almost every strength athlete is familiar with the dilemma: should I train 'properly' and therefore use a weight that is nothing special? Or should I go for the more impressive weights, which means I can't make full reps? Choose the first option, advise sports scientists at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. This way you'll build more strength in the long run.

The researchers will soon publish in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research the results of an experiment they did with 40 males in their twenties. Ten men in the control group did nothing for ten weeks; thirty men trained their biceps twice a week on a sitting curl machine.


Fifteen of the thirty men trained their biceps with a weight at which they could make full reps [FULL]. The figure below shows what Full ROM means.

The other fifteen men [PART] trained their biceps by doing only a Partial ROM. The men in the PART group trained with 10 kg heavier weights than the men in the FULL group did.



At the end of the ten weeks the maximal strength of the FULL group had increased by 26 percent. The increase in the PART group was only 16 percent. The researchers could not detect an effect on muscle mass. There was no difference in the increase in muscle thickness [MT] between the two groups.






The researchers speculate that if you train your muscles with full reps they 'recruit' more muscle fibres for this, and therefore the training effect is greater. Another possibility is that full reps lead to better circulation of blood in the muscle, and therefore also to a better supply of oxygen and nutrients.

Source:
J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Oct 24. [Epub ahead of print].

More:
Post-training muscle pain not necessary for muscle gain 02.11.2011
Not fully recovered – but training again? 15.06.2011
Want bigger biceps? Use the hormone peak after leg training 23.03.2011
You'll get more progression if you do a long set at the end of a training session 05.12.2010
On Hammer Strength Machines you can train one and a half times harder 20.11.2010
Reduced training better than stopping altogether in a rest period 29.09.2010
You build up more strength with 6 sets than with 1 set 06.09.2010
Rest periods of 2 or 5 minutes between sets? It makes no difference to muscle growth 20.07.2010
Three sets builds more muscle than one set 15.07.2010
Keep training in your imagination between sets to increase your strength 29.06.2010
In regular sports half sets make for more effective strength training 26.06.2010
Eleven weeks' not at-failure training just as effective as eleven weeks' at-failure 23.06.2010
Grit your teeth and you'll be stronger 04.06.2010
Muscle group you train first grows fastest 22.04.2010
Combine strength training with stretching and you'll get stronger 29.03.2010
Amount of rest between sets makes no difference to strength progression 24.01.2010
Optimal resistance training: choose weights according to your energy level 08.01.2010