Question: How do I know if I am training hard enough to reach momentary muscular failure (MMF) when doing a timed static contraction (TSC)?
I often begin to shake when performing TSC. Does that mean I’m at momentary muscle failure?
I bought your book Timed Static Contraction Training: A Guide to Minimalist High Intensity Isometrics and I´ve been training using that as guide.
Answer: MMF occurs when you are unable to continue performing an exercise in the prescribed manner. This is the point when you are unable to continue lifting in strict form when performing dynamic exercises, and the point when you are unable to prevent the weight from lowering during static holds. The main reason working to MMF is recommended during these kinds of exercises is because it guarantees you have worked the target muscles as intensely as possible (as hard as possible relative to their momentary ability).
MMF doesn’t happen when performing TSC because you’re contracting against an immobile or unyielding object for a predetermined amount of time instead of lifting or holding a weight until you can’t. TSC is typically performed in three phases of increasing effort, starting with a moderate or 50 percent effort, then increasing to hard or 75%, and finally maximum effort. When you contract as hard as you can during this last phase you accomplish the same thing you do when working to MMF during dynamic exercises and static holds.
If your muscles shake during exercise it is because they are becoming deeply fatigued. Normally, your body recruits exactly the number of motor units (groups of muscle fibers sharing a motor neuron) needed to produce the desired amount of force for the movement you are performing. As some become fatigued others are recruited to take their place. Normally this happens pretty smoothly, but the more fatigued you become and the more and larger the motor units dropping out the more the force produced varies from the target and you start to shake.
The degree of shakiness relative to fatigue can vary a lot between individuals and even between muscle groups within individuals though, and is not a reliable indicator of how hard you’re working. I often shake after only one or two reps when performing upper body pushing exercises, but very little during other exercises. I’ve trained some people who shake from the start on certain exercises and others who don’t shake at all.
Don’t worry about either MMF or shaking during TSC. If you want the best possible results from TSC just commit to consistently giving everything you’ve got during the final, maximum-effort phase.
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Well, the timing on this couldn’t have been better. The notice for this post popped up in the middle of a timed static contraction at the beginning of my workout. I took it as a sign that I had reached failure. Lol.
Thank you for providing the info regarding muscle shaking during the performance of TSC reps Drew. I was wondering about that.
I do mostly dynamic bodyweight movements within a full body routine every 3-5 days, but use TSC for neck and SL deadlifts (w/strap per the TSC book). Interestingly, it’s only the SL DL that I’ve experienced the shaking on.
Thank you for all the no-nonsense info you provide. I look forward to purchasing all your future guides, especially the next bodyweight book!
I’ve been interested in static contractions at several points of ROM for a particular exercise.
For instance with the curl because the ROM is relatively short in comparison to say a pullover on a Nautilus machine, i thought of using static contractions at the beginning , the middle and the end of the movement.
where as with the pullover due to the much greater ROM i was thinking of using 5 or 6 different points of ROM for the exercise.
I also thought of doing several reps in a normal fashion ie. 4/4 full ROM after the statics.
Thoughts ?
I don’t think it is necessary to perform timed static contractions or static holds in more than one position for most exercises. I also would not recommend continuing the exercise dynamically afterwards. If done properly only one static or dynamic set by itself is enough.
For more on this read Q&A: Timed Static Contractions, Static Holds, and Full-Range Strength Gains
Drew, I was wondering about your thoughts on using TSC as a pre-exhaust technique. One of the places I workout has a chest press without much of a weight stack. I have been doing a TSC to pre-exhaust the chest, supersetting the chest press. This leaves me able to do about 7 reps. I do something similar for pulldown, as that weight stack is also kind of puny. Good idea under the circumstances? Thanks.
TSC can be effective for pre-exhaustion, but you might also want to consider switching from chest press and pulldown machines to bench presses and chin-ups.
The problem might also be your form. While some machines provide too little resistance for very strong users a far more common problem is people don’t know how to perform the exercises effectively.
I based the idea of using static contractions at different points of ROM on a study done by MEDX that indicated strength gains associated with this type of training. If I can remember the name of the study I will post it. It also fits with Arthur Jones observation about Type S and Type G responders.
I wouldn’t recommend it because my experience training people with both TSC and dynamic exercise has been different and I believe there are flaws in these studies. I wrote about this in Q&A: Timed Static Contractions, Static Holds, and Full-Range Strength Gains
OK, I agree that testing subjects with compound or multiple joint involvement exercises makes it impossible to determine what muscle was primarily utilized at any given point of ROM with any degree of specificity. However Jones observation about what he named Type S ( for specific) and type G ( for general ) response to limited ROM exercise was based on a study of subjects who were performing the MedX computerized leg extension as the exercise and strength tested at the conclusion on the same leg extension machine as well.
So much for any objections as to the validity of the study due to the variety of problems when using compound exercises as compound exercises were not used for this study.
In the latter few decades of Jones life he was very concerned about specificity in the testing.
He was far more concerned with the validity of his work than he was about adding to his wealth. I spoke to him in person at length in 1996 primarily about his contribution to the science of resistance training and as a result of many hours of discussion I am certain that if any studies in this field have any validity it was the studies that involved Jones directly or indirectly.
I’m well aware of the study and others like it, but am skeptical of the results of these because, as I mentioned already, when the subjects in the isometric group perform the exercises using the same protocol and on the same equipment they will be tested on they will have an advantage in testing over the dynamic group. I’m not saying there is no specificity, but rather the effect is not as great as these studies would suggest.
If it was true that strength gains were this specific to the positions trained it would mean a person’s strength curves would change over time to adapt to the resistance curves of the exercises they perform. If this happened then eventually the “sticking points” in certain exercises would go away. Anyone who has trained with free weights for a long period of time knows this does not happen.
If strength gains were this specific to the positions trained it would mean that no matter how much stronger someone became on compound pushing exercises since there is little resistance near the end point they would still have difficulty reaching full extension on knee and elbow extension machines with well-balanced resistance curves.
If strength gains were this specific to the positions trained someone who regularly performs certain exercises isometrically at the mid-range position would find a portion of the ROM around the mid-range to be disproportionately easy when they perform the exercise dynamically due to their altered strength curve. I have not seen this with any of the people I trained using TSC when switching back to or testing on dynamic exercises.
Thanks for yours as always incredibly deeply and meaningful explanations Drew.
I´m commited to your TSC training and wonder if I should alternate my routine when it come to witch exercise I start with, if I start with example Stiff-Legged Deadlift one day, should I change the exercise order to start with something else the other time I’m training (I train 2 times a week)?
And also, I often do Stiff-Legged Deadlift then I do Squat after that following with Heel-Raise, maybe I should spread it out more between the exercises?
I hope you can get something out of my very poor english, sorry for that.
Best regards, Patrik.
I don’t recommend changing the exercise order arbitrarily, but if you are having difficulty with a particular exercise you might want to perform it first during your workouts.
I usually alternate between exercises targeting different muscle groups to limit the effect of local muscular fatigue on subsequent exercises, especially where it might affect the ability to maintain proper body position or grip.
For more on this read the section on exercise order in High Intensity Workouts.
Afternoon Drew,
I read this, and your previous work, on TSC and what caught my eye in particular was your qualification that you typically reserve these approaches for people with injuries. I have a client who is one of the hardest workers I’ve trained. She’s small at about 5’1”, but deceiving,y small. She was recently diagnosed with tendinitis and bursitis in her shoulder (she travels a great deal for work, and this is her carrying shoulder for her luggage) and I’ve been researching as much as I can about what exercises to introduce/modify to bring her to failure on our existing MedX equipment, while minimizing as much as possible the stress on her joint.
Are isometrics the answer for this, and if so, am I looking for the hold at 90 deg.? What weight is ideal for this, if I’m seeking the same HIT timeframe of 90-120 seconds for failure?
Any other suggestions you might have for this are truly appreciated.
Joshua
Unlike a static hold no weight is used for timed static contractions. When using machines the movement arm, pedal, or seat is locked into place or restrained so it can not be lifted beyond the desired position but the trainee is not required to hold a heavy weight in place. The difficulty is entirely dependent upon how hard they contract. This is often a safer and more tolerable option for people with joint problems and the mid-range position is usually the best although some experimentation may be required if they still experience discomfort there.
Hi Drew happy new year! I’ve been doing timed static contractions for several weeks with my 15 yr old son. We perform squat, deadlift, bench, military, bicep curl, french press and shrug once a week for one set of one minute. It just so happens my son has hit a growth spurt and is visible taller and broader. However I’m 45 and my strength is apparently increasing but my sons is lagging behind me. I know that co–ordination can suffer during a growth spurt but can strength as well? His strength has increased but the last session, yesterday, he only beat 2 of the 7 exercises.l would have assumed he would gain strength far faster than me!
Hey Matt,
How are you measuring strength? Are you performing timed static contractions or static holds? They are completely different isometric protocols.
Rate of strength increases can very between individuals for many reasons, but an apparent slow down in combination with a growth spurt may be due in part to changes in musculoskeletal leverage. In any case, you shouldn’t worry much about changes on a workout to workout basis, but rather progress over periods of weeks and months.
Hi Drew,
I question I hope you with your incredible knowledge can answer is if I train after your book “Timed Static Contraction Training: A Guide to Minimalist High Intensity Isometrics” do I train my fast twitch fibers?
My thought is that I do, (under the third phase when I give it all and my muscle already is fatigue) but I don’t know fore sure.
Thanks & Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Patrik.
Yes. If you put enough effort into the exercises all of the motor units in the muscles worked will be recruited and stimulated to grow larger and stronger.
I know this sounds nerdy but bare with me. I’m measuring force via a load cell plotting a graph on a laptop. It is calibrated and your previous set, done a week ago, is displayed while the current one plots in real time. This does encourage a very high intensity. Anyway we’ve only been doing it for a few weeks with a sample size of two! Like I say we have got ‘stronger’ but I have improved more than my lad.
Hey Matt, there is nothing nerdy about that. I wouldn’t worry too much about variations between workouts or between the two of you as long as you are both making progress in the long term.
Dorian Yates forearms prove static contractions work. Joe Rogan was marvelling at the size of his forearms in one of his shows and Dorian goes “I never trained forearms, that was just from holding onto the bar for other exercises”. Not related but I am interested in them because I have dodgy knees, there’s a few good articles out there about how CNS fatigue training makes other parts of the body stronger as it connects all parts, also between upper and lower body, first experiment was done on this in the 1870’s I believe where the lady had to increase her right hand grip strength over 2 weeks and when coming back for testing her left hand grip strength was 60% stronger also. Not a bad idea to strengthen a part of the body that is injured without directly stressing it. Love you work Drew I have to say.
What you are referring to is cross transfer. When you perform an exercise for a muscle on one side of the body there is also a neural adaptation in the contralateral muscle. This is used regularly in early stage rehabilitation.
Hey Drew where can I purchase the orange strap? I notice Steve Maxwell uses the same strap too
It is the Forearm Forklift furniture moving strap. I write about the use of these in the 2019 Update to my books Project Kratos Bodyweight High Intensity Training and Timed Static Contraction Training.