Mechanical Load

U

UFGatorDude30

New Member
I am not exactly the most science savy person and feel like an idiot for asking this but.. I've re-read the Mechanical Load principle over and over and even the post of the "HST for Dummies" that tries to reiterate it even simpler and still can't really grasp the meaning of it.

In other words, how can I "apply" mechanical load as a principle to my work out.

For example... I know that:

1)Frequency: aka you need to stimilate each muscle a minimum of twice, even three times a week to put it an an "environment" of hypertrophy

2)Progessive Load: increase resistance over time

3)SD: nuff said

Sorry in advance.
 
Mechanical load: Basically, you need to pick stuff up to lift weights. What this is saying is that it is the load that is the growth stimulus, not fatigue or "the pump" or whatever else. Loading a muscle is what causes it to grow (all things, like diet, etc, assumed.) So... to apply this, you just need to realize that you don't want to go to failure each workout, you don't have to get a pump, you don't need to work until you are puking and burning all over, because that isn't what causes the growth.
 
Mechanical load is the force pulling on your muscles fibers as they contract to resist that tension. Typically the force is GRAVITY pulling on a barbell while you contract your muscles in order to lift the barbell against gravity's force.

If it helps think of it as 'resistance', 'tension', 'force', whatever. You need to contract your muscles AGAINST something: mechanical load.
 
Yeah what its really saying is: You've got to actually lift weights (frequently with the weight getting progressively heavier)
 
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