Post Fatigue - Block 12
We are finishing out the year with an epic Accumulation block - Post Fatigue. In order to truly appreciate how this will work we need to review what increases the size of the muscle: mechanical damage and/or cellular stress.
There is a lot of debate about what actually causes protein synthesis (hypertrophy). If you look up hypertrophy you will get a plethora of information about how this happens. In reality it is fairly simple: create stress in an area, break down muscle cells, rest, repair muscle, and then increase muscle size.
A critical aspect is creating tension in an area based on exercise selection, execution of said exercise, time under tension, and external load placed on that muscle. If we can leverage all of these factors we can change the architecture of muscle consistently. It stems from the action of the muscle, bringing the insertion closer to the origin, as long as possible, also known as Execution!
The muscle’s action is pulling where it inserts (insertion) closer to the origin (origin), this is a contraction. The hamstring’s action is to pull the tibia bone closer to the femur, referred to as flexion. Quadriceps action is to push the tibia away from the femur - extension. The lats pull the humorous closer to the spine - extension. While the pec pulls the humorous closer to the midline of the body - adduction.
If we can look at the action of hinge patterns, squat patterns, pullups, or bench press as simply pulling the insertion closer to the origin. When we understand the muscle action we know how to create tension. One of the areas we stress is full range of motion (ROM), this is to create tension over as long a period as possible. With that comes a certain level of strength being a limiting factor in certain portions of the lift. This is where mechanical advantage becomes so important to understand. It is also a big reason we focus so much on Flexibility every training session - to give the potential to create tension longer.
As we approach the end range of lengthened or shortened range we may lack the contractile units to create tension. This will lead to a seeking of some sort of mechanical advantage, or alteration in position to accommodate the lack of contractile strength. That altered position takes tension off the muscles we are trying to work. It becomes less about moving the insertion away and closer to the origin, and completing the lift.
This is where something like a Post Fatigue protocol comes into play. We will reach a point where we lack the contractile ability to maintain tension in the targeted muscle group. This could be the product of mechanical stress or cellular stress, but will lead to diminished tension in the targeted muscle. One of the best things about compound movement patterns is the external we can load potentially used. One of the bad things is we may have to utilize a strategy that prioritizes finishing that movement regardless of the tension created in a certain area.
As we reach our capacity to create tension in an area we need strategies that we can utilize to create as much muscle tension in that area as possible. As we reach the end range capacity with compound movements such as squats, pullups, RDLs, or bench press we will readily utilize a strategy that finds mechanical advantage by taking tension off the direct muscle. When we reach this threshold, we will focus on completion instead of tension. This is when we utilize a movement pattern that mimics the same muscle action with either lighter loads, mechanically advantaged, more stability, or easier to execute. The end result is we can maintain tension longer in a muscle area.
A1 Front Squat - Compound Movement stimulate as much muscle fiber as possible.
A2 Heels Elevated DB Hack Squat - Compound Movement maintain tension as long as possible.
We will still want to be conscious about what we are doing with the compound movement that precedes the simple/isolation movement to elicit the best response possible. The process of moving becomes the primary goal over an outcome of external load. Creating a connection between not only what we are doing but how we are doing becomes the goal.
It is good to calibrate our movement patterns. We constantly stress full ROM maintaining position through all prescribed tempo, reps and sets. The point of any exercise or program is to garner a specific outcome. If we lose sight of the of execution any exercise or protocol, we lose the connection to the purpose of that exercise or protocol.