I netflixed a weight training video by Iron Man managazine about a technique for more effective bodybuilding. The video was quite boring, but I found the technique as very useful in practice. I watched the first 20 minutes, got the gyst of the technique (“Positions of Flexion Method“) and sent it back to Netflix.
The Philosophy is that you can hyper-stimulate your muscles by working exercises across multiple angles and ranges of motion for each muscle group. The idea is that people often walk into a gym and follow up an exercise like bench press with a dumbell press. They are essentially doing the same exercise and not stimulating the muscle in a productive ways.
The approach calls for (for a specific muscle group):
- Performing a mid-range exercise using a compound movement.
- Performing a full extension exercise where the muscle fibers are completely stretched.
- Perform a short-range/concentrated exercise where you really contract the muscle hard.
As an example, let’s use a specific body part as an example, the chest. Applying this technique, you would do the following:
- Perform flat bench dumbell presses. Be sure not to lockout your arms at the top of the movement. Bring down the weights until your arms form 90 degree angles. Press the weights back up. In this movement you will focus on the “mid-range” of the exercise.
- Perform incline dumbell flys. Be sure to get a full range of extension. The point is to really stretch the muscle during this exercise.
- Perform cable cross-over pulls using a pulley cable system. The point is to really contract the muscle hard on each rep.
I found that applying this type of a three-exercise per body part philosophy has helped me warm-up my muscles well (i.e. lower change of injury) and get a better pump. Instead of just going randomly from machine to machine, it will require a more deliberate plan and sequencing, but so far the results look promising.
To read more about this method of training, check out this article from the guy who pioneered the technique.
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I found an ad in Iron Man around 1996, purchased it and just made sense. Instead of running around from one exercise to another, there was actually a method which makes sense, after years of weightlifting. The funny thing about these exercises is that after completing a routine (legs, chest, or whatever), I wasn’t exhausted.
It actually originated from Univ. of Colorado (Hence PoF’s nickname: the Colorado Experiment) in which a bodybuilder who was injured in a car accident was trying to get back into shape. After a 3 year absence, it worked and at record time he was competing again.
I’ve just started working out again after about 5 lazy years. I’m getting back on the PoF Colorado Experiment. A little sore now, but the rust is coming off and the results are positive.
And yes, the videos are informative, but the narrator will bore you to tears.