Static Holds - Substitute for Negatives ?

M

Moonglum

New Member
Now go easy on me guys ! Remember I'm new to this
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Although I'm still on my 15's, I've been thinking ahead to the 5's and the progression of overload i.e. the negative block after peaking with your 5RM.

I think I will find it difficult to do negs on many of my exercises, but I would be able to do static holds with say 110% or more of my 5RM.

So my question is - are they an acceptable substitute for the negs as they provide TUT with an increased load ? If so - what portion of the movement should I hold for the various exercises ? I realise that I will be stronger, and hence could hold more weight, in certain positions eg on the leg press a slight bend of the knees will allow you to hold greater weight for longer than holding at the midpoint etc.

Alternatively I could do a second block of 5's ?

Help me out guys !
 
So I load up with say 110% of 5RM and do 20 reps with increasing interrep pauses to combat accumulating fatigue and allow sufficient TUT. Got it.

Although I would still like to know what people here think of statics.
 
Not a very good substitute for negatives. Not saying they won't be beneficial at all. It's just that they are no substitute for negatives. No range of motion involved. This means they may benefit some exercises more than others. And in those exercises, it may be effective only for a certain muscle group, not necessarily all muscle groups involved in a normal rep of that lift.

Just my 0.02.

Regards,
-JV
 
Yup, studies suggest that strong isometric contractions are beneficial but not as beneficial for hypertrophy as concentric and eccentric contractions. This has been discussed here many times so I'm sure a search will throw up more info and some studies. DC training adds isos and stretches at the end of regular sets to, hopefully, increase strain and TUT a bit more. I find heavy bb static holds with a regular grip are good for grip training.

If you can't do negs (and a lot of us don't do them because they are often awkward to do without machines or extra spotters) then you can use Max-Stim as 9to5lifter suggested or you could just do another two weeks of 5s as they will likely still be able to trigger a PS response for even longer than that (although with diminishing returns over time as RBE catches up).

Instead of doing sets of 5 with your 5RMs you could try sets of 3 to save your CNS somewhat. So instead of 3 sets of 5 try 5 sets of 3. You can always cluster reps in twos or singles if you find even 3 reps gets to be a real strain on your CNS. If you can increase the load a bit each week that would allow the loads to remain effective for longer still. That's assuming your form doesn't suffer much.

It's worth having a go at negatives for chins and dips if you have a weight belt. They are about the easiest exercises to try negs with. You just need a stool or similar to allow you to get back to the top position between eccentrics. If you have access to machines then it is often possible to do negs by raising the load with two limbs and lowering with one.

If you are doing presses as part of your routine, switching to push presses at the end of the 5s and focussing on the eccentric can be a good way to increase strain on your delts.
 
I believe it was said that statics effect approximately 18% of the ROM, obviously from the position they are held. I would expect 100% to be a little better.
 
Thanks Guys

I'll have a go at max-stim or clustering then - when I get there
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Also - what credit do you give to studies that point towards DOMS as a possible indicator of the growth process instead of/in addition to micro-trauma.

I like to keep you on your toes
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<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Also - what credit do you give to studies that point towards DOMS as a possible indicator of the growth process instead of/in addition to micro-trauma.</div>

Search loaded stretch in the HST FAQ.
 
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