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Kettlebell Tension

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pet'

pet'

Level 8 Valued Member
Hello,

We often talk about tension to help us to lift heavier. It can be applied in all moves, such as GU, press, etc... Here is the today's excellent article on SF, which explains how this works:
Sherrington’s Law of Irradiation: Why Tension Is Important

This muscle-mind link is crucial. For example, lots of old time strongman used it a lot, even on a bdw only base. Klein for instance, used it 5 to 10 times a day : contracting as strongly as it could his abs (or leg or arm) during 20 - 25s. Sandow used to do it too.

Visualisation and muscle isolation are commonly used in yoga and MA.

When you want to press for instance, trying to push a "door frame" while placing ourself right under helps a lot, even if this is a bdw version.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
That's a great article; thanks for sharing! I've been a strong believer in the power of tension since reading The Naked Warrior and believe that isometric muscle tension exercises and dynamic self resistance (à la Charles Atlas) are an excellent way to supplement any resistance/weight-based strength training programme.

Working on muscle tension without the 'distraction' of heavy weights can be an incredibly useful tool for anyone who finds themselves focusing too much on getting the weight to move from point A to point B rather than on the muscles they're meant to be engaging (see 99% of bicep curls performed in any gym if you need an illustration of that point).

If you can get hold of a copy, Dynamic Strength (previously published as Dynamic Tension) by Harry Wong has a number of excellent drills for developing muscular tension that can be practised anywhere at any time. There was a VHS released to accompany the book, which I believe can be found on Youtube.
 
I find that if I tense the glute of the straight leg in a TGU, it helps in the get up part to tall sit. Definitely worth pursuing.
The tension master was Maxick. He could control virtually every muscle in his body merely though dynamic tension.
 
Really interesting article. I have a grip-strengthener on my desk at work (where I am right now). I tried adding full-body tension while squeezing the contraption and--sure enough--it works!
 
Hello,

Pavel said that a strong grip and strong abs provide a powerful body (PttP). I think this is true !

The more I train my grip, the better some of my moves are. I noticed that the "crushing" principle helps a lots to get a proper HSPU for instance. Here, flat hands do not help. Nevertheless, slightly bent (but tight) fingers make all the difference.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Smile-n-Nod said:
Really interesting article. I have a grip-strengthener on my desk at work (where I am right now). I tried adding full-body tension while squeezing the contraption and--sure enough--it works!
Click to expand...
Good info, any advice on the grip gadget?? My job is usually active but there are times that much desk-job-only is involved, so I am guessing a grip thing would raise less complains than bringing a kettlebell.
 
Hah, it's funny: After S&S this morning, I was considering posting about grip training and how it helps me. I've found grip work very useful in increasing the rate of improvement and quality of movement in pretty much everything: ROP, S&S, TTC, etc.

@Gronk87
Most people on the forum swear by Captains of Crush grip trainers. I have a set of 1,1.5, and 2, and am working on closing the 1 properly. Like you, I have a desk job, so I tend to do it through out the day in a Grease The Groove manner: 1-3 reps, with at least 30 minutes in between. I recall Pavel Tsatsouline saying that done properly, grip work is actually pretty tiring and hard on your central nervous system, so i try not to overdo it. It's actually a good excuse to look away from the screen, stand up, and work full body tension. Just don't grunt too loud!
Another practice I really like is Farmer's Walks--great for the grip and body tightness too.
 
Gronk87 said:
Good info, any advice on the grip gadget?? My job is usually active but there are times that much desk-job-only is involved, so I am guessing a grip thing would raise less complains than bringing a kettlebell.
Click to expand...

The 'Captains of Crush' grippers by IronMind are go-to for the professional strongman or woman: Captains of Crush® Grippers
They come in a whole range of strengths from 60lb to 365lb! They even do a mini pocket-sized version you can take with you anywhere.
 
Gronk87 said:
Good info, any advice on the grip gadget?? My job is usually active but there are times that much desk-job-only is involved, so I am guessing a grip thing would raise less complains than bringing a kettlebell.
Click to expand...
Mine is a Kootek grip strengthener. The same product is sold by a bunch of different companies, under different labels and made in different colors. It's nothing special, but it was cheap and therefore I thought it was a good suggestion for someone (my daughter, in this case) to give me as a Christmas gift.
A lot of people advocate Champions of Crush grippers, but they're fairly pricey. I'm just a beginner at strength trainer, so the cheaper device was fine for me.
 
Hello,

@Gronk87
Gronk87 said:
Good info, any advice on the grip gadget?
Click to expand...
Captain of Crush grippers: Captains of Crush® Grippers

Otherwise, to work on tension, it is also possible to work without any tool. To a certain extent, this is even more benefic (but harder). You can try to push a door frame, push a wall using only one straight finger (forearm parallel to the ground). In everyday life, trying to crush everything which is not crushable (a thick table, etc...)

Then, you can try, when you are sat, to push the ground with your feet, without standing up.

All these solutions, and there are lots of others, improve body consciousness. There are plenty of transfer to a lift then.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I have a few COC grippers, but I started on these, and they are equally as good and $10-12 Cdn. each. If I had my time back I would not have bought the more expensive IronMind grippers. These are practically identical.
Northern Lights Steel Hand Grips, 250lbs | Fitness Depot

Crushing a gripper in your off hand can be an effective teaching tool for one armed exercises. I still use it from time to time.
 
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Hello,

Pinching is also very good for tension training. Pinching a table, a tube (such as a pen, etc...). Many variations are possible: thumb + 4 fingers, thumb + 3, etc...

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Currently on etk ladders. Just in the past week or so, since upping the volume and being on the early 5 rungs on heavy day, my glutes have exploded. I can only attribute this to being a tight arse during the hundreds of cleans and presses, the time under tension thing. Find it unexpected in a way, given the upper body focus. It's an odd sensation, walking feels different and I've developed a sensitive aversion to sitting on them because they feel like they are on fire! I would like to describe this as being literally on fire but clearly they're not, that would be strange. So yeah, tension, my number one fan.
 
Hello,

To a certain extent, did anyone try working only with tension and bodyweight (such as in the videos for example) ?

In post #29 of this thread, a video about Chi Kung Cultures of Strength

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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pet' said:
To a certain extent, did anyone try working only with tension and bodyweight (such as in the videos for example) ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I did. I used to follow the old Atlas course, which is all about dynamic tension and bodyweight exercises. A modern promoter of this system is John E. Peterson. He combines the work of Atlas, Liedermann and Maxick.
You can get quite some good results with this system, especially on hypertrophy and individual muscle definition.
 
Hello,

@Jan
Jan said:
Yes, I did. I used to follow the old Atlas course, which is all about dynamic tension and bodyweight exercises. A modern promoter of this system is John E. Peterson. He combines the work of Atlas, Liedermann and Maxick.
You can get quite some good results with this system, especially on hypertrophy and individual muscle definition.
Click to expand...
Thank you ! :)

Is there a book in particular or something ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Peterson has got a number of books. He explains his entire system best in "Pushing Yourself to Power". He calls his system Transformetrics.
 
Hello,

@Jan
Thanks !

Did you notice strength gains ? I am not necessarily interested in hypertrophy. Let's say that is great to look good, but this is not my goal ;)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Geoff Chafe said:
I have a few COC grippers, but I started on these, and they are equally as good and $10-12 Cdn. each. If I had my time back I would not have bought the more expensive IronMind grippers. These are practically identical.
Northern Lights Steel Hand Grips, 250lbs | Fitness Depot

Crushing a gripper in your off hand can be an effective teaching tool for one armed exercises. I still use it from time to time.
Click to expand...

Guess what, it's barely a few miles from my work. Thank you.
 
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