Interesting. Thank you Anna!From my memory of Strong Endurance, I beleive it has to do with restricted blood flow, creating the temporary mild-to-moderate acidocis where the muscle can't easily flush it out during the exercise.
Only one minute rest, not 5-10 minutes between sets?In the demo, if I'm reading my notes right, a guy who could do about 28 strict pull-ups was using 4 sets of 10 slow pull-ups, with about a minute active rest between them.
Only one minute rest, not 5-10 minutes between sets?
Understandable. Thank you!Looks like you can do it both ways, but I can't provide the specific details in the SE template
I like to do slow weighted pull-ups sometimes, I'm wondering if one slow weighted rep or several unweighted reps would matter. It seems that TUT is the issue here, so long as you can stress the muscle for 30 seconds or so the difference would be minimal and the weighting of the pull-up would enhance acid production. And what about occlusion training?Looks like you can do it both ways, but I can't provide the specific details in the SE template. Basically a set can be one rep of 30-60 seconds with the long rest between each, or you can do a few series of a few shorter ones of 30 sec each with 30 sec rest between each (enough to restore some CP), and then have the long rest between the series (to prevent acidosis).
An interesting footnote is to do the "to refusal" in the first option. In the second option your would only do the last one in the set "to refusal." "In Russian literature, when all-out sets of bodybuilding exercises are prescribed, one is instructed to do the lift "to refusal." Contemplate the difference between refusal and failure."
= Summary of all Russian Training SystemsPavel says it is "somewhat dull, but extremely productive. It's not the most exciting way to train, but it's exciting when you can suddenly do more pull-ups."
An alternative is high repetition sets (>20 reps) taken to failure, with 30 seconds rest between sets. You end up in the same place. The idea is to create lots of metabolic fatigue with low tension reps and lots of time under tension. Slow twitch fibers are very fatigue resistant so they take lots of metabolic stress to fatigue.
How many sets?An alternative is high repetition sets (>20 reps) taken to failure, with 30 seconds rest between sets
I like to do slow weighted pull-ups sometimes, I'm wondering if one slow weighted rep or several unweighted reps would matter. It seems that TUT is the issue here, so long as you can stress the muscle for 30 seconds or so the difference would be minimal and the weighting of the pull-up would enhance acid production. And what about occlusion training?
I believe the reasoning on the way around this is the partial rep as @Anna C stated:Yes, CrP will deplete but alactic glycolysis can run indefinitely till fuel runs out- these are the same muscle fibers
But Mr Miller, you make me wonder; how does starving a slow twitch muscle fiber of oxygen while using it cause growth? You would think (as you alluded to) it would grow better being used under more aerobic conditions. 30-60 seconds of partial reps is very anaerobic still.And the "plumbing" is plugged up -- blood vessels shut. So unlike high-rep exercise where blood comes in and replenishes CP but acid keeps accumulating, the slow movement is self limiting and enforces use of the slow fibers.
This is probably the one thing we can count onNone of that matters if it gives the desired outcome more effectively than other strategies.
How many sets?
Interesting that in the slow twitch articles on this blog 5-10 minutes between sets is recommended to fully clear H+. Is this truly necessary? Below is the quote from the blog article:
“It is the radical five- to ten-minute rest period that gives Selouyanov’s method its unique edge. Bodybuilders, when doing constant tension, peak contraction, and super slow reps, always rush the rest periods, chasing max pump (pump is a manifestation of H+ accumulation, by the way). Selouyanov’s research has demonstrated that while hydrogen ions are needed for a short period of time to unlock the muscle cell to anabolic hormones, they destroy the muscle if allowed to stick around too long. If you remember your chemistry, you will realize that an ion is a charged particle, ready to reach and damage. Hence the extreme five- to ten-minute rest that makes all the difference.
Professor states that active rest — walking around, “fast and loose” drills — is far superior to passively sitting around. Movement allows H+ to circulate and get cleared more rapidly by multiple muscle groups.”
I am not familiar with Selouyanov's work at all so I can't comment on it. A good discussion of these issues can be found here:
(PDF) The Role of Fiber Types in Muscle Hypertrophy: Implications for Loading Strategies
The widely available research literature has not really nailed down the specifics yet. What is commonly practiced is 1-3 sets of 20ish repetitions to failure, with short rest periods after the normal heavy training. This is what seems to work with natural bodybuilders currently.