Try this Hack to Get Bigger

While I've previously explained that stretching seldom helps improve your flexibility in the long term, there are some benefits that come from stretching. This exciting study from 2015 done by Miranda et. al. tested stretching as a means for increasing training volume (the number of repetitions performed in a set or session) in the wide-grip seated row exercise. There were two groups of participants, both of whom performed three sets to failure with two minutes of rest in between sets. The only difference between the groups was that the experimental group performed 40 seconds of a passive pectoralis major stretch at the end of their allotted rest periods. The idea here was to stretch the antagonist (opposing) muscles.

What the experimenters found was fascinating: there was a statistically significant difference in the antagonist stretching group. Those participants performed more repetitions in all three sets. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated greater contractions in the latissimus dorsi and the biceps brachii muscles.

 

While this particular study only tested one exercise, it is likely that we can utilize this concept with other movements to reap similar benefits. For instance, in doing a bench press, you could stretch the latissimus dorsi. Before your set of leg curls, stretch out your quadriceps. You get the idea. This hack can help you get more training volume, which will ultimately result in greater hypertrophy (muscle growth)!

The mechanisms behind these findings are still unclear. My guess would be that stretching the antagonist muscles would allow for greater range of motion throughout the exercise, and thus, a stronger contraction in the agonist muscles. For example, the pecs have to stretch during the top of the rowing exercise. A bigger stretch in the pecs could possibly allow for the lats to generate a stronger contraction.

Static stretching before a set may be disadvantageous for power production, and thus, I do not prescribe it before movements like the clean and jerk. However, in a bodybuilding routine, there may be some added bonuses to stretching during rest periods to accumulate more total training volume.
This concept has not yet been applied to strength-based movements, but it could be an interesting point for experimentation on your own before the big lifts. Give this trick a try and see how you like it!

Works Cited:

1. Miranda, Humberto, et al. "Acute effects of antagonist static stretching in the inter-set rest period on repetition performance and muscle activation." Research in Sports Medicine 23.1 (2015): 37-50.

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Training for Symmetry: Using Bodybuilding Exercises to Improve your Lifts

Biceps curls, lateral shoulder raises, and shrugs, oh my. These are just a few staple exercises of the bodybuilding community. Although individuals who belong to the more "functional" end of the spectrum can write these exercises off as being useless and purely vain, isolation exercises for the sheer purpose of hypertrophy (muscle growth) certainly have their place in a well-constructed strength training routine.

Bodybuilders aim to achieve symmetry and balance. They use open chain exercises (isolations) to attack specific muscle groups.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the strength athletes (in sports like weightlifting or powerlifting). While movements like squats, presses and pulls are excellent for building power and brute strength, the big lifts can sometimes fail to target certain groups of muscles.

Let's use a powerlifter, for example. A squat, bench press and deadlift will, yes, activate nearly every muscle in the body. In each of these lifts, however, big prime movers will be responsible for generating the majority of the force required to move the weight. The smaller muscles may not get the attention they require or deserve.

There are three major reasons why I believe bodybuilding exercises can help take your strength to the next level.

1. They target lagging muscles. Now, as I alluded to above, while movements like a deadlift do require nearly every muscle in the body to work in unison, the synergistic (assistant) muscles may not fire to a very high degree. It is quite common that powerlifters need to add some assistance work to focus on weaker areas. Barbell hip thrusters could help you improve glute activation and take some stress off of your lower back. Cable triceps extensions could be just the exercise you need to strengthen your triceps. Now, your triceps can work in conjunction with the latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major and minor muscles, and deltoids to create a stronger drive in your bench press. Depending on your technique, you may not be strengthening all of the necessary muscles from the big lifts alone.
2. They improve muscular balance. When there is a lack of balance between the right and left sides of the body, or even between the anterior chain and the posterior chain, problems can arise. If your left side is significantly stronger than your right (as you might find in a pitcher or a tennis player), it is extremely important to give your weaker side some extra love. Similarly, issues like knee pain can arise when a lifter is quadriceps dominant with comparatively weak hamstrings. Similarly, if I hear someone complain of shoulder pain, I look for a lack of balance in the upper body. I will have them strengthen the posterior deltoids, the middle and lower trapezius, and the external rotators. An ideal physique in bodybuilding is one in which all areas of the body are equally developed. "[A] symmetrical body is also less prone to injury. A particular muscle group will be less likely to compensate for a weaker muscle group, thus overburdening that muscle group while further weakening, and potentially injuring, the under-developed muscle group, if the weaker muscle group is balanced with the stronger grouping," says David Robinson, CPT. Some isolation work will go a long way to build a more symmetrical physique.
3. Bigger muscles are stronger muscles. Pretty straight forward. Greg Nuckols, a powerlifting coach, said it well, "Think of muscle mass as potential strength. If you gain mass, you may not necessarily be stronger right away (i.e. if you trained with lower weights and lost a bit of technical efficiency with max weights), but you have the potential to be stronger. If you stay the same size, you have a cap on how strong you can possibly get. When comparing two individuals, the one with more muscle may not necessarily be the stronger one (for all the factors listed above – muscle attachments, segment lengths, technique, etc.), though he probably will be. However, when comparing small you to jacked you, all other things being equal, jacked you will be stronger." Basically, the bigger your muscles are, the more force they can produce! Weightlifters fixate on training for strength, but sometimes they forget to include hypertrophy work into their accessory sessions. This small change can have a big influence on your performance.

Doing "curls for the girls" is fantastic, but isolation movements can also provide a multitude of other benefits. In fact, building bigger muscles overall can potentially improve your main lifts and simultaneously make your body more resilient to injury! Improve aesthetics and get stronger. Channel your inner Ahhhhnold and add some more bodybuilding exercises into your workout routine.

Works Cited:

1. Nuckols, Greg. "Powerlifters Should Train More Like Bodybuilders • Strengtheory." Strengtheory. N.p., 07 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.
2. Robinson, David. "Symmetry: Why It Is Important, & How To Achieve It! - Bodybuilding.com." Bodybuilding.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.

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