09-21-04, 09:16 PM | ||
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Ottawa, Canada
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Speed of Contraction
Quote:
Rep speed, or "speed of contraction" is scientifically measured as "degrees per second". It is referred to more commonly as time (in seconds) for the range of movement. There does seem to be a proven correlation between rep speed and mass development. As the speed of contraction increases there is less force applied to the muscle. Therefore lifting slower and heavier will maximize mass development. Quick contractions do have benficial effects on the synchronization of muscle fibres. East German researchers Hartmann and Tunneman did research in this field. They concluded that slowing down the movement increased both the tension on the muscle and the time under tension for the muscle, resulting in faster increases in strength and mass. These were examples given in the journal review article (I only have it in print): 1) To recruit slow-twitch endurance fibres: 3 sets, 15-20 reps, 2-0-1 tempo 2) To recruit Type IIa fast twitch fibres: 4 sets, 4-6 reps, 4-0-8 tempo 3)To recruit Type II b fast twitch fibres (pure power and strength fibres): 6 sets, 2-3 reps, 3-1-1 tempo BTW: The tempo refers to concentric phase - hold - eccentric phase. So it would seem that there is research to support that a combination of higher reps and faster rep speed both work to recruit the slow twitch fibres. Deb |
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09-22-04, 08:06 AM | |
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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Deb, thanks for such great answers! You helped me a lot! I build muscles soooo easily... I gain huge bulk in my quad and hamstring even with squats/lunges without any weights... To make things worse, I'm shortie, so I really look like a female Tony Little if I gain muscles in my lower body I'd prefer to be ectomorph who can lift heavy without thinking about bulking - lifting heavy is much more time efficient and is sooo motivating...
thanks again, Mai |
Tags |
arm definition, fast twitch, heavyhands, slow twitch, swimming |
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