M . E FEATURE
By Werner Beukes , Deputy Editor
TRIED AND TRUE TRAINING PRINCIPLES OF THE MASTER BLASTER
WEIDER ’ S PRINCIPLES
1 FORCED REPS
If a muscle won ' t grow you can make it grow by using the Weider Principle of forced reps . When you have reached failure on a set you can ask your training partner to help you get a few extra reps out by pushing you past the point of failure . This assistance should only be enough to allow you to still do the majority of the work . This will enable your muscles to grow because you are lifting beyond the point of momentary failure . The key to effective forced reps is for your training partner , who also needs to know where to best position himself to help move the weight , to apply the right amount of resistance for you to still finish a set without doing the set on your behalf . Forced reps are also one of the best ways to target a lagging body part .
2 FLUSHING
The idea behind the Weider flushing method is to send a maximum amount of blood to a specific muscle and fatigue it so it can adapt and grow bigger . Train one body part with multiple exercises ( 3-4 ) before you train another . Flushing , which is also commonly referred to as blood volumisation , is your body ' s way of sending vital muscle-building nutrients to begin repairing an area damaged through intense exercise to best stimulate growth . It does this by maximising the amount of blood that flows to that area as it is the transport system needed to shuttle anabolic substrates to active or recovering muscles . The best way to achieve this is to use relentless reps and light weight . With this approach you can pump your muscles full of blood to increase muscle gains .
IT ’ S WINTER TIME , WHICH PROBABLY MEANS YOU ’ RE AT YOUR WIT ’ S END AS TO HOW TO JACK UP YOUR CURRENT ROUTINE TO BUILD MORE MUSCLE . Don ’ t despair . We have dusted off five of the best techniques cataloged and codified by bodybuilding pioneer Joe Weider , also known as ‘ The Master Blaster ’, to give you that edge in the gym and stimulate the muscle growth you ’ re after .
3 ISO-TENSION
Iso-tension is a technique used by bodybuilders to flex and hold their muscles on certain exercises for 6-10 seconds . The idea behind this principle , according to Weider , is to keep the muscle / s fully contracted before releasing the tension . Bodybuilders who are competing in shows also use this technique to enhance their posing ability as it helps to increase muscle control .
4 REST-PAUSE
Utilise this principle by squeezing more reps out of a set by taking brief periods of rest . Pick a weight you can lift for 2-3 reps , rest for 20 seconds , then try another 2-3 reps . Take another rest and then go again for as many reps as you can handle , then repeat one more time .
5 PRE- EXHAUSTION
This is basically a technique to pre-fatigue a large muscle group with an isolation single-joint movement before executing a compound movement directly afterwards . For instance – perform a chest isolation exercise like dumbbell flyes before performing a bench press . In that way your chest would be fully exhausted before you do the compound movement to failure . This aims to activate and incorporate as many muscle fibres as possible during the subsequent compound exercise , thereby delivering a greater compensatory response that should lead to new muscle growth and development .
WHO WAS JOE WEIDER ?
Joe Weider was born in 1922 and grew up in Montreal , Canada . Joe and his brother Ben began training their bodies with a set of barbells they made with parts they found in a junk yard . Joe later won Quebec ’ s weightlifting competition and started publishing a muscle magazine titled “ Your Physique ” followed by another publication “ Muscle Power ” in the 1960s . He became the driving force behind the health and fitness industry and developed the Weider Principles to help bodybuilders train more effectively . These Principles , gathered and honed by Weider , have influenced countless athletes , coaches and sports scientists over the years .
M . E
30 Muscle Evolution