Issue 094
November 2012
Learn the two most important principles of training before you switch to GSP’s latest online workout regime
It seems like the modern combat sports athlete is spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting a training program. Magazines and websites are full of your favorite MMA stars’ workouts and routines. If you want to train like George St Pierre, you can spend 10 minutes with a search engine and figure out how to do just that.
Paul McVeigh
Pro fighter & sports scientist
TUF 14 cast member Paul McVeigh is a sports scientist and coach. He’s also one of the leading bantamweight fighters in Europe.
These workouts range from atrocious to great, but, in general, as more and more strength and conditioning professionals become involved with the sport, the standard is being raised. We have come a long way from the old high-volume bodybuilding routines that were the staple of those looking to develop athletically a few years back.
Having a solid program to follow is extremely important, but understanding the principles behind the program design is better. Knowing why a program works will help you get better results than simply doing the program without thinking about it. Two of the most important principles to understand are ‘intramuscular tension’ and ‘total time under tension.’
By understanding these two principles the athlete can assess the quality of a strength and conditioning program by its own merits as opposed to taking someone else’s word for it.
INTRAMUSCULAR TENSION
This is the amount of tension the muscles need to produce to generate the force necessary to accomplish a movement. The greater the intramuscular tension generated, the greater the strength and size gains as the body adapts to the new demands placed upon it.
As, Force = Mass x Acceleration, we can increase intramuscular tension by picking up heavier weights and/or lifting it as fast as possible. To use this principle within your own strength training always try to preform the concentric or overcoming part of the lift as rapidly as possible. When the load is high the actual bar speed may be low. But as long as the intent to move it rapidly is present, the intramuscular tension will be high
With the eccentric or yielding portion of the lift the opposite is true. We want to control the descent of the bar. Why the difference? Gravity. It doesn’t take any intramuscular tension to perform a maximal speed eccentric just let the bar do what it wants to do and hope your sternum is not poking out of your spine afterwards. The general rule of ‘fast up, slow down’ is what we are looking for when we want to maximize intramuscular tension.
TOTAL TIME UNDER TENSION
This is the total time that a muscle group is under tension. To increase the total time under tension, increase the number of sets or increase the length of each set by adjusting the tempo of the reps. Time under tension is associated positively with the breakdown of muscle protein. So long as the body is given enough time and nutrition, this breakdown will be repaired and then some.
Think of the typical hypertrophy workout. It tends to be multiple sets per movement in the 8–15 rep ranges. That’s a lot of total time under tension.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
So, what does this all mean for the athlete looking to get an advantage on his competition? Firstly, ensure you are lifting a load that is heavy to maximize the intramuscular tension. Pumping the pink dumb bells will bring you nothing but shame. For those new to strength training, a load of 40% of your one rep maximum can still produce strength gains. But for more experienced lifters looking to get stronger the percentage required is closer to 85%.
Lifting heavy weights is not the only way to generate high levels of intramuscular tension. Sub maximal weights lifted explosively will also require a lot too. This is why many coaches regularly add Olympic lifts, jump training, med ball training and speed lifts to their programs.
It is also important to ensure that the time under tension principle is respected. Lifting the heaviest load you can for a single rep may generate a high degree of intramuscular tension, but, as the time under tension is low, very little in the way of strength gains will be achieved. When using lower rep ranges increase the number of sets and/or tempo of the repetitions to get the strength gains you deserve.
By understanding these two principles we can spot the great training programs out there and not waste time on the ones that give us back very little.
