By Pete Sisco - Developer of Static Contraction Training
Most people workout way too often.
I'm talking about lifting weights here, not jogging
or cycling or yoga. The primary function of cardio
exercise (despite its name) is to simply burn off
excess calories. Since fat gain is a result of calories
in versus calories out, running or cycling provides
a way to increase our output of calories and keep
our weight in check.
That's why even walking, which
barely taxes the heart, is still productive for weight
loss. This type of low intensity activity can be performed
every day.
Yoga and stretching can also be performed every day.
Flexibility is probably the most neglected aspect
of fitness. How many people in your gym are stretching
compared to those doing cardio and pumping iron?
So it's very ironic that when it comes to lifting
weights and building muscle, virtually everyone is
training far too frequently! You'd be amazed at how
little high intensity exercise you really need!
Our Study
We recently conducted a study using eight middle
aged golfers. We wanted to determine how little exercise
could not only result in increased strength but also
how it would transfer to athletic performance. We
chose golf because swinging a club uses a very exaggerated
range of motion and our abbreviated workout used no
range of motion. That right, no movement.
The subjects were given a workout that consisted
of six exercises perform on one day and six different
exercises done on a different workout day. Each exercise
involved a 10 to 20-second static hold. A weight was
lifted into position (sometimes with assistance) and
then held statically without locking out.
These workouts had an actual exercise duration of
only 60 to 120 seconds. Over a six week period these
subjects performed between 4 and 9 workouts, averaging
6.6 workouts in the six week period. So that's as
little as one minute of actual exercise about once
per week for six week.
So what happened?
Their Astonishing Results
Measurements of their strength in twelve muscle groups
were compared for before and after calculation of
improvement. The results of their fourteen minutes
of exercise over six weeks were as follows:
Compare the above results with a conventional training
protocol. Most people do at least two exercises per
muscle group, perform three sets and perhaps 12 or
15 reps per set. Allowing just five seconds per rep,
that makes for at least 36 minutes of exercise per
workout. This is usually done three times per week.
So in six weeks a conventional program would involve
648 minutes of exercise. That's 42 times more than
the subjects on our study! Are your results in the
last six weeks 42 times better that their results?
I doubt it.
Performance Improvement
Remember, these golfers were exercising in a way
that did not involve stretching or moving the weight
over a full range of motion. So how did this affect
a full range of motion activity like a golf drive?
Every one of them showed an improvement. The increase
in drive distance varied from 5 to 31 yards! Keep
in mind that these subjects had been golfing for up
to forty years and had handicaps as low as eleven.
So getting any improvement in golfers who already
play at this level is impressive. Getting it with
14 minutes of exercise spread over six weeks is truly
revolutionary.
The fact is, every sport, even a finesse sport like
golf, is improved by an increase in strength. Muscles
are responsible for all movement in the body and stronger
muscles will deliver more power to every aspect of
movement, irrespective of its range of motion.
Since this study we've gone on to improve this method
of training. Further research showed that static hold
times could be reduced to even less that what the
golfers used. Workouts can be spaced further apart
as a trainee gets stronger. I work with advanced trainees
who train once every six weeks! Yet they gain in strength
on every exercise each time the work out. The weights
they hoist are enormous.
We believe the time is coming when most people will
have a better understanding the role of proper, efficient
strength training methods and frequency. For the guy
who wants maximum results with minimum time invested,
an ultra-brief but ultra-intense workout will be performed
about as often as he gets a haircut. Anything more
is just lifting weights as a busy-work hobby.
