Using a Weightlifting Belt
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It has been found that using a weight lifting belt during deadlifts by a certain study increase the muscle fiber activity within the abdominal region. At the same time though, it did decrease oblique activity. Other research confirms the use of a lifting belt during squats increased spinal erector activity compared to not using a belt. This evidence shows the idea that belts weaken with plenty of rest between. After doing bent over rows he does bench presses and T-bar rows followed by incline dumbbell presses. Does he have attention deficit or could he know something you don’t? Let’s find out.
By training opposing muscle groups like chest and back (or shoulders and back, bi’s with tri’s, hamstrings with quads), he’s actually enhancing his strength on the second exercise. It’s pretty clear in research that a muscle will be stronger if it’s antagonist, or opposing muscle group, is contracted immediately beforehand. Not many techniques in the gym specifically allow for a particular muscle to be able to make a gain in strength by indirect means. So if you do an overhead press followed by a lat pulldown, you’ll be stronger on the lat pulldown move.
The reason behind the increase in strength of the second muscle group is that there’s an innate limitation of an agonist muscle by its antagonist. For example, during a few standard sets of barbell curls, the triceps inhibit the contraction of the biceps to a degree. But if you precede the barbell curl with a set of pressdowns, it will lessen the inhibitory effect, so your biceps can contract with greater force. And that phenomenon can be applied to virtually every body part, with only one major limitation: your ability to get out of your comfort zone and use exercises you may not currently be using. For some of you, a root canal procedure sounds more appealing. But trust me, priming the pump by doing an agonist/antagonist scheme in your workout will really shock your system into new growth.
One key factor to remember when training opposing muscle groups in this fashion is to not take the first exercise to failure. Doing so will not allow you to benefit from the technique with as much success. Rather, the first exercise in the superset should be done with light weight (a weight with which you can do about 15 reps, of your 15rm), but do only 5-6 reps. Each light rep should be done with explosive power, but don’t go to failure. Rest about a minute or so before beginning the next exercise where you’ll crank up the weight and go for a set of 4-6 reps with 80-85% of your 1RM. After about 3-4 sets of this technique, do one set to failure of the first exercise. The next workout where you pair those two exercise together, switch the order in which you train, allowing the opposite muscle group to reap the same benefits.
Another great aspect of this technique is that there are not set rules in terms of exercise pairings, but just try and mimic the motion of the two exercises. For example, you love preacher curls, but you’re not sure what to pair it with. Head to pressdown cable and turn away. Step forward slightly and do leaning overhead extensions at an angle. Voila! A great arm combo that pairs well. What you’ll find out is that attempting to mirror your target muscle will force you to add variety to your routine, helping you get out of the rut in more ways than one.
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