Old Forum Sprinting

[NidKid]

Pavel,

I'm very familiar with your muscle tensing method and have used it in the gym with a 3x3 program with slow eccentrics for some incredibly fast gains.

My question now is does this expand to cardio? I am training to enlist in the Navy SEALs and need not only to be strong but also be fast in the water and on land.

So do you recommend "staying tight" when I'm running and swimming? I tried it in the pool this morning and I was far more efficient and stopping on the other side felt like putting the brakes on a runaway train but I was only marginally faster for a lot more energy output and concentration.

 

[Kyrinov]

I'm not Pavel.  But he's not here.  And your question is easy to answer.  The tightness thing is to train your CNS to operate at a higher threshold.  You are giving the "max tense!" command so that when you give the "some tense!" command to execute a movement (like a swimming stroke, running or striking) you get more motor unit recruitment than you would otherwise because you've been training your CNS to recruit more motor units.  It feels just as easy as before - but you get much greater power output.  Tensing muscles in regular activities is a quick path to exhaustion and poor technique.  When it comes to building strength, my (limited) experience is the more tension, the better.  When it comes to moving with power, efficiency and accuracy my (much less limited) experience is the less tension, the better.  You will still generate tension, don't worry, but letting only the proper prime agonist sequence tense and letting the rest provide control is the way to go.  There is a purpose to tension, but I've found that other than when deliberately building strength, the less conscious tension, the better the performance.  This is touched on a little bit in S&S with reference to the performance vs. perceived effort experiment with the kick pads that Pavel talks about.

 

[NidKid]

Thank you for the reply, would you mind, what does the acronym S&S stand for? I have read Power to the People and The Naked Warrior. So what you're saying is if I use muscle tension sometimes then whatever I need will pull through the rest of the time. That would definitely be ideal.

 

[Al Ciampa]

S&S = "Kettlebell Simple and Sinister" ... Pavel's book.

Max tension for pure strength and power work; appropriate tension for other activities.