Scientific Way Muscles Work

Scientific Way Muscles Work

            So, the way that muscles are worked and become stronger and faster is obviously from exercise and activity, but this is the scientific way it all happens.  You muscles are made of fibers that overlap each other like when you interlock your fingers.  When you workout these fibers expand and contract, and with repetition and weight they eventually expand and contract to the point of tearing.  Sounds painful but it’s not.  When the fibers tear they release lactic acid in your muscles which is what makes your muscles sore after working out.  The lactic acid repair your muscles only a little stronger and bigger in order to compensate for the workout it just went through.  This repair can take anywhere from two to four days.  But because lactic acid is produced from proteins, eating protein full meats and other foods creates more proteins making the repairs act faster and more efficient.  This is why it’s always a good idea to eat a meal or a protein shake after a long workout.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.
here is a website to de3scribe what i'm talking about http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/13020/1/How-Bodybuilding-Works--The-Science-of-Bodybuilding.html

Different Ways to Rep

Different Ways to Rep

            Along with the many different ways you can perform your sets, there are also many different ways your can perform you reps in your exercises.  This post is going to discuss all the different variations of doing reps and their benefits to your muscles and working out in general.  It will also discuss the right and wrong ways to perform reps. 

            Sadly many people perform their repetitions wrong causing injury and inadequate results.  The biggest mistake I see is that on an exercise like bench press, people will always take the weight off the rack go down for a rep and lock out their elbows when they finish every rep.  This isn’t the worst thing that you can do but what can happen is that as you get better and better at bench press your weight will go up and eventually locking out your elbows could really injure you elbows and shoulders.  Also you will see much better results from a rep where you go down to your chest and push the weight up about 3/4 to 4/5 of the way up.  what this does, is that as you do your rep down you experience tension and pressure on your muscles making them work, and by not lifting the weight all the way to the top, keeps that pressure down on your chest and other muscles making them continue to work.  By locking out your elbows you take all that weight off of your muscles so for that little bit they aren’t working at all.  I also see problems with the elbows in bicep curls, people tend to bring the bar all the way up and then return it down about half way, but their elbows are still bent quite a ways.  This has the opposite effect as the bench press because this means your arms aren’t getting a full stretch, which is why on curls you do want to extend your elbows all the way out, making so your muscles get the full stretch. 

            Now there are many different variations of reps that you can do to see different results, like on bicep curls.  If you feel pretty good on your form and weight for bicep curls, then one option for you to try is to curl the bar up, but as you curl it up keep the bar against your body the whole rep.  Then as you bring the bar back down still keep it against your body, this hits new peaks in your biceps that you don’t work a lot from regular bicep workouts.  Another way to rep is to take the normal reps and slow them down tremendously.  Like something like squats, instead of just squatting down, take five whole seconds to go down and five seconds to come up, this destroys your muscles making them work very hard.  You can also do a normal rep but as you go down stay down for a few seconds then come up. 

            There are many innovative ways to do reps, like putting weight onto dips, pushups, pull ups, sit ups, or planks.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.      

Different Ways to Set

Different Ways to Set

You don’t have to lift by doing a set of a lift and them repeating that set multiple times, there are many different ways to lift.  Certain ways of doing sets can have certain effect on your muscle gains depending on your preference and lifting goals.  This post will explain these ways and their advantages compared to the traditional ways.

The traditional and most common way of lifting is to do one set of an exercise and then repeat that set multiple times.  This is usually the first way to lift a person learns because it gives a basic gain to the muscles.  With this style the amount of reps usually varies from 5-12 repetitions per set.  There is nothing wrong with this style of lifting, it is fast simple and easy to understand, but another way to finish your sets is to have set out many exercises and rotate through these after your first set.  So let’s say that you do one set of pull ups, you finish that one set, then instead of doing another set of pull ups you move onto your next exercise, like curls, then you do one set of curls.  Next you just keep following down the list of all the exercises you had planned, and after you do one set of all the whole workout, you return to your first workout, pull ups, and do a second set of this, and just repeat this process until your workout is finished.  This form of doing your workout gives a new sensation to your muscles compared to the traditional way.  From going to one exercise which works a certain area in that muscles group to immediately follow with another exercise that works a different area of that muscle group, confuses the muscles a little and your muscles won’t get as tired in one area as fast.

Another version of finishing your sets in your workout, focuses on one workout at a time unlike the previously discussed style.  This version of sets is called pyramid sets, for reasons you will soon understand.  So for a pyramid set you start with a really easy weight and do it for a large amount of reps, say 20 or so.  Then for your next set on the same exercise, you add about 10 to 15 pounds to the weight and do a slightly less amount of reps, like 15.  Continue this pattern until you get to a very heavy weight your can only do about 5 reps of.  So for an example, you do one set for 20 reps, then add 10 pounds and do 15 reps, then add weight and do 12 reps, add weight and do 10 reps, then add weight and rep 8 times, then add a very heavy weight and only do it for 5 reps.  This form of sets are very good at adding gains to a lift and to the certain muscle groups effected.  A very similar workout, that also creates increased gains are called escalators.  Escalators start with a light weight, but only do about 5-8 reps, then add weight and do the same amount of reps.  Follow this pattern until you get to a weight you can only do one rep of. 

The last way to do your sets is by taking a very easy weight for that exercise and doing normal sets but with a lot of reps like 20-25.  This adds toning and definition to the muscles.  These are different ways to do your sets that should keep your interested and continue to add gains to your workouts.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.