How To Get Strong Fast – Developing Power with Contrast Training
The human body is a pretty amazing machine and like all machines it can be hotted up to be bigger stronger and faster, that is if you know what you are doing…. Conveniently, according to my clients, both past and present, I do know what I’m doing so I’ll let you in on a interesting method I use if my guys need to either break a plateau or gain strength really fast because they decided to enter an unplanned event 3 weeks out that they weren’t ready for… Not mentioning any names but he knows who he is.
Ok so before I get into the nitty gritty of the training method I’ll explain, very simply, how strength of muscles works.
In a muscle you have fibres, these fibres have a mechanism in them that contracts or relaxes depending on what your body is signalling to it (this is called sliding filament theory, if you want to look it up be my guests but I’m not going to bore you with the details or fill my blog explaining it). These signals can be sent from your brain as well as various protective sensory organs within the muscle itself, or from external stimulus like electric shock (think taser).
The more of these fibres that contract the more force is created, in the same way that five people pushing a car is more effective that just one person pushing a car. If the car is very light, then one person might be enough but if it very heavy then you will need to call in a few friends. This is how our muscles work so to lift more, be stronger, we want to be able to recruit more muscle fibres. Problem is that the body knows/thinks if you recruit too many muscle fibres it will injure itself, and its right, to a point, but the body is like an over protective grandmother and likes to play it safe.
So what do we do? Trick granny and show her that everything is going to be ok by doing it any way! Enter contrast training. Contrast training uses a principle called post-activation potentiation (PAP) and it works like this. You lift something really heavy, then immediately after you use the same muscle group to perform an explosive movement with a much lighter weight then rest and repeat. for example, bench press and medicine ball chest throws.
So why does this make you stronger? Well, with contrast training when you lift big you recruit close to what your body thinks is the maximal number of muscle fibres that is safe for us to do so without injury, then by following up with a lighter but faster movement you trick your body into re-activating those muscle fibres to do something much easier, this then basically sets a new baseline for your body to operate from and gives rapid strength gains.
Now before you get all excited about contrast training and think you are going to win the Olympics with this ‘one simple trick’, just take a breath and calm down. Like with all training stimulus, your body will adapt and get used to it. Sorry but this means that you can nott get infinite strength gains, but it is great, like I said, for breaking through plateaus or as a preparatory phase coming into some sort of event or competition.
Contrast training, as fantastic as it is, is not for beginners either. This is because of the high intensity (high muscle fibre recruitment) nature of the programming. Because of this it is suited for more experienced trainees and athletes.
Contrast training is a fantastic example of the kind of progression that can be achieved if you have the right knowledge and understand how to apply it. This is the Actionsport Performance difference and why my athletes and clients achieve extraordinary results. If you want to achieve similar results contact me today to find out about my online coaching program and how it can help you get the most from your body.
Train hard and be safe.
Your strength coach,
Cam
