BahamaMan’s BodyBlog

            I first stumbled across this information a couple of years ago when I started reading everything I could find about building muscle.  Contrary to when I was a kid and just lifted weights, ate well, and waited for good stuff to happened, as a soon to be 40 something I wasn’t even sure I could still build muscle.  So, in addition to establishing that I was not over the muscle-building hill, I learned a couple things that I think have helped me build muscle quickly. 

            As a grown-up I read that big multi-joint exercises (think squats, deadlifts, cleans) stimulate exercise-induced testosterone and HGH production.  I also read that production of these hormones is maximal with between-set rest intervals of 60-90 seconds.  Finally, I read about a volume-threshold theory for muscle stimulation; the theory that a few teeth-grinding, nearly gut-busting sets per body part are all that you really need to initiate muscle breakdown and rebuilding. 

            The “problem” with emphasizing big, multi-joint exercises is that a person eventually starts moving big weights.  This can become a “problem” if; you workout by yourself and don’t have a spotter, you have a limited amount of weight in your home gym, you have a back issue and you’re not keen on putting too much pressure on the ol’ spine , you’re getting older and all kind of stuff hurts that didn’t when you were younger, etc. 

            I have versions of most those problems and after a couple years of big movements I really needed to tweak my training approach.  I needed to somehow make lighter weights feel heavier.  I had also gotten very overtrained which, I think, made me willing to try something different. 

            Now,way back when I started this mid-life pursuit of muscle I had read that most of the good muscle damage associated with weightlifting occurs during the eccentric (negative) portion of the movement.  (The muscles microtear as they resist their lengthening.) That’s nice, I thought.  I really should work on resisting the weight more during the negative portion of exercises.  But, of course, when I do that, I can’t use as much weight, so… not today, not this month, not this year. 

            But if a guy is doing any reading at all, again and again you will come across references to the value of emphasizing the eccentric portion of exercises for building strength and muscle.  And the goal is REALLY to build bigger muscles right?!  Not to get 12 reps with the stack on the lat pulldown machine (BTW, you should be doing chin-ups)

            Take squats for example.  Sometimes these days I will do SLOW SQUATS.  What I mean is that I do a “count to four on the way down” eccentric portion of the movement and then a normal concentric finish.  Three sets of 20 reps at 215 or so.  Sweet fancy moses do I get sore!  Especially sore in my quads (which normal back squats never do for me).  Same thing with stiff-legged deadlifts; count to three on the way down and then a normal concentric finish.  Three sets at 225 for 15ish reps.  Oh-my-gosh do my hammies get sore. 

Of course, you can (should) emphasize the negative (eccentric) portion of every movement: chin-ups, dips, rows, skull crushers, pullovers.  Heck, even frat-boy mirror hogs will benefit from controlling the negative portion of all their preacher curls.

            So, let’s review:  Emphasizing the eccentric portion of multi-joint exercises solves a bunch of the problems that older guys have (boosts testosterone production, easier on the joints) AND will help anybody gain muscle faster. 

Give it a try!