2.
Don’t lift with
momentum
We have all seen that guy in the
corner swinging the dumbbells
wondering whether he’s doing a
circus act or just trying to train
his biceps.
Again, it goes back to making
sure that we are applying constant
tension to the working muscle. You
want to make the exercises as hard
as possible before applying any
additional load. A great cue for
maximising tension on the muscle
you want to grow and removing any
momentum is to tense the opposite
(antagonist) muscle to the one you’re
working (agonist).
For example, on a bicep curl,
tensing your tricep (the antagonist)
firstly will apply a resistance to the
bicep (the agonist) which will stop
any swinging or momentum and will
force you to only contract and use
the bicep for the exercise.
3.
Work the full range
of the muscle
The muscle is essentially composed
of three main parts- the long, middle
and short range. All parts work
slightly differently when they are
placed under load and can all grow.
This is why we want to make sure all
parts of the muscle, from long to
short, are being trained at the
optimal rate.
To ensure this happens, you need
to train a muscle through the full
range a motion. This doesn’t just
mean full range of the exercise.
You want to be able to maintain
‘active tension’ on the desired
muscle for as long as possible, and
stop the movement when you start
to feel to tension leave the desired
muscle and move somewhere else.
For example, if you are performing
a lat pull down and towards the
bottom of the exercise you start to
use your bicep and bring your chest
over the bar, this is either because
the weight is too heavy for the short
range of your lats to control, or that
your lats have reached a point
where they can’t contract any
further and now the biceps are
doing the work instead.
To work the full range of the
muscle you will most likely need a
varied exercise programme that
targets the working muscle from
different angles and positions.
4.
Machine
set up
One of the biggest mistakes that
I see in the gym is someone not
considering the machine or
equipment set up for their body.
They will just sit down at that piece
of equipment and begin training,
keeping the same set up as the
person before.
Everyone is slightly different.
Height, width, limb length and
muscle flexibility are all factors
that should affect how you set a
machine up. If you don’t set up the
equipment specifically for you,
you might not be putting yourself in
the best position to apply force and
put load through the intended
muscle.
Take some time to adjust the
bench, seat or cable angle to find
the most optimal position. You will
know when you find it- the exercise
should feel smooth throughout the
full range of motion.
APRIL 2018 | FLEX
37