Tension time is most important for bodybuilders?

[BiggT]

I'll give my opinion on TUT. This is just from my own personal experience. I don't put stock into studies performed on previously untrained 18 year olds or experiments with electrodes hooked up to people doing lat pulldowns.

When it comes to hypertrophy, I feel load is king, and progressively heavy training is optimal for hypertrophy of a natural trainee. Sets/Reps are way overrated, they do not matter as long as you're out of a heavily neural rep range (anything above max triples, really). The body isn't as smart as everybody gives it credit for. It can't count, and it can't tell time, it only recognizes work. It also doesn't get 'shocked', it simply responds to something that it was forced to do despite being unconditioned for the task. TUT has some validity, but I think it would best be talked about in terms of total workload or volume (work done)....I feel that sacrificing load and progress in order to take 10 seconds to do a bench press rep is not a very good idea (and for athletes it is a death curse, but thats another topic).

When you throw in AAS, you've got a new wrench in the argument. In terms of performance, training is still king, but in terms of physique, training takes a back seat as even the SHITTIEST, most inefficient, most idiotic training stimulus and "routine" will spark growth in most people who take enough drugs. This is where modern bodybuilding gets the "diet is 95%" thing. You have guys (and ladies too) running around with the testosterone levels of 50 teenage boys, so moronic training will be enough stimulus for incredible growth, then it is as simple as eaing for your goals.

But, to give my opinion, I think load and progression are far more important for hypertrophy than TUT.

 

[Tweakle]

everything takes a backseat to genetics. You can only develop into the best you, training 'for size' won't work shit if you have average genetics.

heavy training and always trying to get the weights up is a way better idea for the skinny white guy looking to add some size, it's when people think they can win the Olympia if they just find that magic hypertrophy routine that problems start...

 

[Big_Joe]

Curently taking exercise phyisology, and my professor has been training athletes and powerlifters for years now. He mentioned that for size, the bodybuilder is more concenred with tension time than powerlifting. I usually rest a lot between sets as I have become accustomed to it. But the more time the muscle is under tension, the more muscle fibers we recuit and thus more likely to cause Hypotrophy. I always used to max out and it has worked for a while, but I have the mentality that I feel that If i can't lift heavy, I won't get big. I can care less about benching 300lbs if benching with less weight will produce better results.

In any cause, I want to have less rest inbetween sets. I usually rest 2-3 mintues inbetween sets, sometimes even 5 minutes when Getting extremly heavvy say in the low row or bench press. But I've found that due to lactic acid buildup (and cardiovascular reasons) its tough to rest 45 seconds inbetween sets, especially if I expect to lift heavier and more reps. What do you guys think from expereince? Better to rest less inbetween sets and lift less weight, or rest more and have more time to rest to lift heavier. Again, this is with the theory that powerlifters want to rest and lift heavy, but bodybuilders want maximum tension time..

If you want to use time under tension you shouldn't go to lockout. When you go to lockout you shift the load from the muscles to the bones. Stop the weight just before your joints lockout and tighten the muscles that you are working. Hold them in the loaded and tensed condition for a few seconds on each rep. Then repeat. If you are eating right and enough this will make you grow. Remember it's not about lifting a weight it's about working the muscles.

As for resting between sets let your heart rate and breathing tell you if you have had enough rest. If your heart rate is still up and you are huffing and puffing like a train then you need more rest. If your heart beat is back to normal and your bearthing is normal do another set. Pay attension to your body not the clock on the wall.

 

[blut wump]

It's not about how much weight is on the bar, it's about how the set feels. You have to make a mental connection with the muscle and feel it working. Don't let your ego get involved in your workout and use only enough weight that you can feel the muscle. Work it until you get a pump and then push it through the pain for a real high intensity workout. If you get it right, you can grow to your maximum potential on just one set a week.

j/k

Lift progressively and rest enough that you can make your sets.

 

[Protobuilder]

Ah yes, wanking. I hate wanking. I used to like it. Now I don’t.

BW – you really had me going there. I was like, WTF?!? LoL

My take: basically what BW said above. You need a blend of TUT and max tension (generated through weight on the bar). Go too far in either direction and you get crappy size results, in general. E.g., you could lift 5 pounds and do 500 reps . . . helluva’ lot of TUT . . . which amounts to jack crap. Or, pick 95% of your max, do one rep . . . not much TUT, and probably not a lot of size gains, again, “generally speaking.”

It’s not rocket science. Do heavy tension work (heavy weights) AND some TUT/metabolic work (higher reps cause hormonal release, generate LA, deplete glycogen, etc. all of which may lead to hypertrophy). How you structure it is up to you. Note that WSBB basically does this: ME days (tension), RE days (TUT/metabolic work), and some DE work. Most old programs did this as well, doing something like (light bulb!) 5 heavy sets of 5 followed by 2-3 lighter sets of 10-12. So long as you’re in the middle of the spectrum, you’ll be fine. Again, the thing that matters most in the long run is . . . you guessed it: progressive training (getting stronger, adding more and more weight to the bar in a non-stupid rep range).

 

[BiggT]

Ah yes, wanking. I hate wanking. I used to like it. Now I don’t.

BW – you really had me going there. I was like, WTF?!? LoL

My take: basically what BW said above. You need a blend of TUT and max tension (generated through weight on the bar). Go too far in either direction and you get crappy size results, in general. E.g., you could lift 5 pounds and do 500 reps . . . helluva’ lot of TUT . . . which amounts to jack crap. Or, pick 95% of your max, do one rep . . . not much TUT, and probably not a lot of size gains, again, “generally speaking.”

It’s not rocket science. Do heavy tension work (heavy weights) AND some TUT/metabolic work (higher reps cause hormonal release, generate LA, deplete glycogen, etc. all of which may lead to hypertrophy). How you structure it is up to you. Note that WSBB basically does this: ME days (tension), RE days (TUT/metabolic work), and some DE work. Most old programs did this as well, doing something like (light bulb!) 5 heavy sets of 5 followed by 2-3 lighter sets of 10-12. So long as you’re in the middle of the spectrum, you’ll be fine. Again, the thing that matters most in the long run is . . . you guessed it: progressive training (getting stronger, adding more and more weight to the bar in a non-stupid rep range).

Dude, you forgot the most important part, you have to take AMPLIFY02, nobody can expect to put on size without it.

 

[Protobuilder]

I forgot to mention, you can't make gains w/out Amplify02. Or you can wait until next year and just buy Amplify03, which inevitably you won't be able to gain without.

 

[fortunatesun]

My plat search isn't working right so I couldn't find the thread Blut was referring to. I found this one instead:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-213558.html

Rest between sets, or intensity, can be indirectly linked to TUT. If the concept is clear in your mind as to what you're trying to acheive, I don't see it as mandatory that you unnecessarily complicate your workout strategy with various categories. As Protobuilder noted, the concept of combining rest times is one method that is used. Westside Barbell, for instance, has a basic guideline: 2 min. or more for strength, 90 seconds for hypertrophy oriented assistance.

Lactic acid build-up actually decreases as your body acclimates itself to the change of pace.

 

[str8cubano]

Thanks for your opinons and experience bros.

 

[coolcolj]

do the opposite of what someone will do for relative strength training

someone like that will tend to want to keep the sets under 10 seconds, have long rest periods, and don't bother controlling the eccentric too much, and have fairly low volume of work etc