Constant Tension Training

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CONSTANT TENSION TRAINING

October 18, 2011

By Nick Tumminello, CPT There’s a good chance you’ e noticed a shi!t in your gymlately" The sole #o$er rack in the corner o! your !ree%$eight area, once dust%co eredand neglected, is in high demand" The !e$ s&uat racks are being used !or actual ass%to%grass s&uats rather than curls and shrugs" 'nd the cushy seated machines $ithselectori(ed #late stacks are slo$ly being #ushed to the #eri#hery" )t seems basicbarbell training and com#ound li!ts are all the rage these days * and !or goodreason, since no other training methods can #ack on mass $ith the same e+ciencyas the tried%and%true sta#les like the bench, s&uat and deadli!t" achine%basedmo ements, on the other hand, ha e come under -re because they tend to #ushtrainers into unnatural mo ement #atterns and strength imbalances"

The big lifts are all well and good for anyone whose goals are strength and size, but the trend

toward compound movements negates the essential role that machines play in hypertrophy.

What the classic bodybuilders knew — and what today’s upstarts need to learn — is that pushing

major weight while activating multiple muscle groups is only part of the e uation, and machines

still play an essential role in bodybuilding by allowing a lifter to apply consistent tension to a

working muscle through a complete range of motion. !t the bottom of a barbell curl, there’s not

much tension on the muscle. "nter contrast training, which takes its inspiration from the time

under tension produced by machines and tweaks basic compound movements to make them just

as ideal for hypertrophy. #n other words, you get the best of both worlds without sacrificing your

new found love for s uats.

$!%T#!& !$$%'!()

When most lifters talk about performing partials, they’re referring to the last portion of a rep.

Typical e*amples include the uarter s uat and the rack deadlift or +rack pull, where you perform

only the top third of the movement to lift heavier without working through an e*ercise’s common

sticking points. These types of partial-rep e*ercises are great if you’re a powerlifter looking to

build strength and +lockout ability in the major lifts, and they’re also useful if you need the egoboost of moving weight you could never handle through the full range. ut if your goal is to

ma*imize hypertrophy, you’ll need to focus on a different partial range.

To make significant gains in size, you need to emphasize the mid-range portion of every rep, as

that’s where you’ll be recruiting the highest number of motor units while you’re moving weight.

/imply put, more motor-unit recruitment means more productive workouts, which means

increased gains in size and strength.

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There’s a fundamental concept in the science of muscle physiology called the +length tension

relationship, which refers to how much force a muscle can generate relative to its length. !s

numerous studies have shown, muscles e*hibit the highest force output when working from

somewhere between fully elongated 3stretched4 and fully shortened 3contracted4. /imply put, for

every e*ercise you use to get bigger, stronger or faster, your muscles e*ert ma*imum force in the

middle range of a rep. !dditionally, the more force you generate within this +mid range, the more

motor units you recruit, which means you’ll be bringing more muscle into the game.

The practical application of all this increased muscle activity is the +mid-range partial, which

takes the increased strength potential of the standard partial rep and moves it to the middle,

shifting the partial’s purpose to an emphasis on hypertrophy. $erforming a mid-range partial rep

is as simple as it sounds. Throughout your entire set you’ll stay in the middle of the range. While

the mid-range specifics will vary for each e*ercise, the basic principle remains constant5 6ou’ll

never fully lock out the weight, nor will you ever go all the way to the bottom of a lift. "ssentially,

you’re eliminating both ends of the range of motion and concentrating just on the middle.

#n addition to activating more motor units, mid-range partials offer another major benefit for big-

time muscle building5 They force you to keep constant tension on your working muscles, as the

lack of locking out or full e*tension prevents them from resting at any point during your entire set.

This constant-tension method ensures that active muscles receive more time under tension,

which, like increased motor-unit recruitment, is a battle-tested and scientifically proven way to

gain muscle mass.

0eep in mind, however, that the mid-range partials used in constant-tension training aren’t

something you should be doing for every set. #f you never force your muscles to work through a

full range of motion, you can e*pect losses in mobility, which is why the accompanying workout

calls for a few mid-range partial sets and a few full-range sets for many of the lifts.

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The beauty of the constant tension method is that it can be applied to virtually any e*ercise. That

said, you’ll find it’s most useful when applied to free-weight movements. ecause of the nature of

machine-based e*ercises, there’s no need to augment them to achieve constant tension. To

understand free-weight vs. machine biomechanics, let’s use a biceps curl for e*ample. 2uringany style of biceps curl, the point at which your biceps are ma*imally loaded is the point in the

range of motion in which your forearm is at a 9:-degree angle with the load vector. #f you’re using

free weights, gravity is your load vector. /o the point of ma*imal loading would be when your

elbow reaches 9: degrees of fle*ion or when your forearm is parallel to the floor.

#f you’re doing biceps curls using a cable column, the cable itself is the load vector, and the point

of ma*imal loading is when your forearm forms a 9:-degree angle with the cable 3which is

coming from an angle4. The farther your elbow fle*es 3or e*tends4 beyond that 9:-degree angle,

the less stress you’ll place on your biceps. #n other words, during a free-weight biceps curl, as



the dumbbell approaches either your shoulder in the top of the motion or your thighs in the

bottom, your biceps are receiving significantly less stimulation.

1achines for the most part, unlike free weights and cables, are neither gravity dependant nor

load-vector dependant. ecause of their cam-based design, they provide constant tension to theworking muscle throughout the entire range of motion. /o when you perform biceps curls on a

machine, you’re working just as hard at the bottom position 3elbows e*tended4 as during the mid-

range and at the top position 3elbows fully fle*ed4.

The take%home message here is sim#le. )! used #ro#erly, machines can be a #o$er!ul$ea#on in your muscle%building arsenal" 'nd des#ite the im#ortance o! com#ound!ree%$eight mo ements !or increasing si(e and strength, anyone $hose main goal ismuscle hy#ertro#hy should absolutely include machines in his #rogram"

T#1#87 #/ ";"%6T)#87 !nother component of the constant tension method is timing. With this protocol, you’ll find that

performing each set for a given amount of time is more effective than counting reps. "ach of the

mid-range partial sets in the accompanying workout calls for lifting the load for a prescribed

number of seconds, for a focus on time under tension rather than total reps performed. /cience

shows that this method, when done correctly, is actually as scientifically sound as counting reps.

When performing mid-range partials as timed sets, don’t worry about your total number of reps or

rep speed — these factors won’t matter. !ll that counts with constant-tension training is that each

rep within a set remains within the middle range of the movement. 1ake this your priority and

maintain strict form on each e*ercise, and you can rest assured that your working muscles will

receive some serious stress regardless of how many actual reps you perform. 0eep in mind,

however, that you’ll be performing prescribed rep counts 3not seconds4 for machine-based

moves in this workout, as machines already offer constant tension for reasons described above.

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<se this program for the ne*t si* weeks to combine the time-under-tension benefits of machine-

based moves with the anabolic boost of compound barbell lifts. =or all moves shown in bold,check out the corresponding e*ercise description before performing them.

Day 1: Chest & Tri's

EXERCISE SETS TIMING*/REPSBench Press (mid-range) 3 4 sec!ndsBench "ress (#$%% range) & '-Inc%ine $m e%% Press (mid-range)** 3 4 sec!ndsInc%ine $m e%% Press (#$%% range) & '-Ca %e Cr!ss!+er 4 -,

E.-Bar S $%%cr$sher (mid range) & '-E.-Bar S $%%cr$sher (#$%% range) 4 , -,&



Trice"s Pressd!0n 4 , -,&/ )T O T CO NT)N3 45P6, P547O4 T 5 ) %4'N35 P'4T)'9 O:5 5NT 7O4 T 5P456C4)B5 T) 5" 456T ON5 )N T5 B5T 55N 65T6"//7O4 T 5 ) %4'N35 45P6, 9O 54 T 5 5)3 T6 NT)9 ;O 4 59BO 6 45'C '<0% 53455 'N395, 'N N5:54 9OC= O T ;O 4 '4 6 'T T 5 TOP"

Day 2: Legs

EXERCISE SETS TIMING*/REPSBac S1$a2 (mid range)** 3 4 sec!ndsBac S1$a2 (#$%% range) & '-

$m e%% S"%i2 S1$a2 (mid range) 3 4 sec!nds$m e%% S"%i2 S1$a2 (#$%% range) & '-

B$%garian S"%i2 S1$a2 (mid range) 3 4 sec!ndsB$%garian S"%i2 S1$a2 (#$%% range) & '-

eg E 2ensi!n 3 , -,&5ing eg C$r% 3 , -,&

S2anding Ca%# Raise 4 ,*WITHOUT COUNTING REPS PER!OR" THE "ID#R$NGE P$RTI$L "O%E"ENT!OR THE PRESCRI ED TI"E REST ONE "INUTE ETWEEN SETS**!OR THE "ID#R$NGE REPS DESCEND UNTIL (OUR THIGHS $RE P$R$LLELTO THE !LOOR $ND STOP $ !EW INCHES SHORT O! LOC)OUT IN THE TOPPOSITION

D$( : a+, & i-s

EXERCISE SETS TIMING*/REPS6ide-Gri" a2 P$%%d!0n (mid range) 3 4 sec!nds6ide-Gri" a2 P$%%d!0n (#$%% range) & '-Sea2ed Ca %e R!0 (mid range)** 3 4 sec!ndsSea2ed Ca %e R!0 (#$%% range) & '-7ammer S2reng2h R!0 4 -,

$m e%% Bice"s C$r% (mid range) 3 4 sec!nds$m e%% Bice"s C$r% (#$%% range) & '-

Machine Preacher C$r% 4 , -,&>W#T)'<T ('<8T#87 %"$/, $"%='%1 T)" 1#2-%!87" $!%T#!& 1';"1"8T ='% T)"$%"/(%# "2 T#1". %"/T '8" 1#8<T" "TW""8 /"T/.>>='% T)" 1#2-%!87" %"$/, $<&& T)" (&'/"-7%#$ )!82&" !&& T)" W!6 #8T' 6'<%1#2/"(T#'8 2<%#87 T)" ('8("8T%#( $'%T#'8, <T /T'$ ! ="W #8()"/ /)'%T '=&'(0#87 '<T '8 T)" 8"7!T#;".

D$( .: Sh/0 ers Tra3s & $4s

EXERCISE SETS TIMING*/REPSSea2ed 8+erhead Bar e%% Press (mid range) 3 4 sec!ndsSea2ed 8+erhead Bar e%% Press (#$%% range) & '-

$m e%% a2era% Raise (mid range)** 3 4 sec!nds$m e%% a2era% Raise (#$%% range) & -,

9r!n2 $m e%% Raise (mid range)** 3 4 sec!nds9r!n2 $m e%% Raise (#$%% range) & -,



$m e%% Shr$g 4 ,&-,6eigh2ed S0iss Ba%% Cr$nch ,&-,S0iss Ba%% Pi e ?@-?A

>W#T)'<T ('<8T#87 %"$/, $"%='%1 T)" 1#2-%!87" $!%T#!& 1';"1"8T ='% T)"

$%"/(%# "2 T#1". %"/T '8" 1#8<T" "TW""8 /"T/.>>='% T)" 1#2-%!87" %"$/, 1!#8T!#8 !T &"!/T A #8()"/ "TW""8 T)" 2<1 "&&/ !82 6'<% T)#7)/ #8 T)" 'TT'1 $'/#T#'8, <T /T#&& 7' /&#7)T&6 ! ';"$!%!&&"& #8 T)" T'$ $'/#T#'8.

- /ee more at5 http5BBwww.musclemag.comBarticleBconstant-tension-trainingCsthash.@zdc6T*D.dpuf

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