Warped Fireside Chats

New to the iron? A veteran muscle head? Regardless of your experience level, have you ever stopped to think about what would constitute a perfect rep? Is it fast, choppy, smooth, easy, or fluent? Any of these things? Should one strive for as much range as possible, or are short bursts really all you need? These are the things that I have considered during the last twenty-two years of moving the iron…..I know: That makes me an old fart! I prefer: An experienced fart, however!

So, to build muscle, all you really need to do is just pick up something heavy and move it, yes? No! Believe it or not, the process of building muscle is actually quite the complex process, when you stop to consider all of the chemical reactions, neuro-transmitters firing, muscle movement, bone angular movements, tendons and joints working in perfect harmony, etc. Whoa, heavy stuff: Heavier stuff than I’m qualified to write about, so instead, let’s look at the basic mechanics for a perfect rep.

Regardless of which exercise you are looking to perform, there are bare minimum requirements for a perfect repetition. The following will be the first in a series for all exercises, starting with the Flat Bench Press:

Start – Firm grip, correct arm spacing (slightly wider than your shoulders), feet planted firmly on the mat in front of you, lats spread out, slight arch in lower back, chest and glutes taut.

Thought: Remember to visualize each movement before beginning. Think of how the movement will feel, and which muscles you are actually looking to utilize. Feel your chest muscles before beginning and imagine how the resistance will feel and ultimately what your pumped-up chest will feel like once you have completed the movement.

Movement –

1. With or without assistance, push bar up utilizing chest muscle until it is off the rack or pins and situated directly over mid chest, stabilize weight and concentrate on working the chest muscle
2. Once total focus has been directed into the chest muscle, begin to lower the bar by moving your elbows downward (this begins a weight transfer directly onto the chest) remembering to concentrate on the chest muscles. At this same time, the lats should begin to contract (this is not a fully efforted part of the movement, more so a default) and air should be brought into the lungs (inhale)
3. Lower the weight all the way down to mid chest, keep a firm grip, expand the chest up to meet the bar (again, your lats contracting will assist with this)
4. Once the bar touches the chest, explode the weight back upwards by pushing the elbows straight up, while moving air out of the lungs (exhale)

NOTE: Remember to explode the weight back up, but pacing should be a primary concern.

End – Once you have thoroughly exhausted your chest muscles (muscle group exhaustion should be the primary goal during each exercise performed), hold the weight above mid chest for a beat of ten seconds, while contracting the muscles as tightly as possible, then bring the bar back overhead, subsequently setting the bar back onto the rack or pins.

Rep note: Once the exercise begins all reps should resemble a mechanical piston: Fluent, not choppy or jerky. This is important, as our bodies were designed to move fluidly, consistently and gracefully. I understand that when moving the heavy stuff, no one really wants to think of themselves as “graceful,” but trust me this is the perfect way to complete any repetition. Watch any bodybuilding video or strong man competition where repetitions are getting completed and you’ll quickly see, that smooth and fluent are the standard.

Perfect rep key words to remember:

Fluent

Focus

Firm

Parting shot: Move it smoothly tonight: Make the difference you are looking for!

Next up: The wide-grip pull-down.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 31st, 2008 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.