high repititions in training

Bruce Baker · 10-02-2002, 07:54 AM

I have been returning to the simple treatise of using high repititions with light weights for my stretching exercises, and now with muscles returning, I am starting to lose the sensitivity of feeling movement.

Many years ago, Charles Atlas brought out a series of Muscle Tension exercises in where you concentrate on muscles being exercised using tension, and in some modern studies there has been a reintroducion of this technique of training being extremely valid.

The problem with getting muscle mass is that it takes a while to get the feeling of movement because everyone and everything is much lighter than it was, and in my case, I immediately resort to physical shortcuts that would be the case in a knowledgable opponent. This means the gorilla is strong enough to literally muscle techniques rather than let the motion dissappate or let the wave go by.

Does anyone else have a training solution, other than slowing down to reacquire sensitivity lost to the gorilla muscles coming back?

If you are wondering what I am talking about with high repetitions, each exercise has a goal of 500 repititions, whether it be tension pushup, or leg exercises, or whatever.

aiki_what · 10-02-2002, 09:54 AM

Bruce,

One thing you might want to try is several "small Motion" repetitions first. This would include dexeterity exercises, etc. This gets the smaller muscles and neurons firing so that when the big muscles start going the little ones still participate.

An Example:

A friend who was really into sword work would begin his workouts by rolling a coin across his fingers or doing "sleight of hand" card tricks and deck shuffling. He said this got his hands "thinking". Then he would do wrist rolls and such to get the wrist and forearms tuned up. He would spend about 15 - 20 minutes doing this prior to any heavy subari.

He also had many "one minute" meditations for his hands where he would concentrate on gettng one small muscle in his hand to move.

In my opinion it was a bit overboard but it did have great results.

bob_stra · 10-05-2002, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Bruce Baker wrote:

Does anyone else have a training solution, other than slowing down to reacquire sensitivity lost to the gorilla muscles coming back?

By odd co-incidence (gasp!!), I found the following URL useful

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...com%26rnum%3D1

(course, I wrote the damn thing, so never mind

Bruce Baker · 10-05-2002, 05:23 PM

You know, I used to wonder if the validation of doing 1000 stomach crunches was worth the effort, but once you learn to push through the pain, so long as there is no cramps or internal injury, the use of high repetitions give you muscles and strength without the bodybuilder muscle mass.

This theory is reiterated in much of Chin-Na training where repetitions of two or three hundred are quite common as you increase your hand, foot, or body speed in an attempt to do the same amount of repetitions is less and less time. In fact, learning to do 1000 strikes with the bokken, or jo forces you not only train beyond strength and pain, but does force you to either learn an easier way to strike, which in most cases is the correct way.

I am a big fan of light to no weight with calistenics, the old ... one ... two ... three .. four. Only my way is to work up to two hundred or more before adding weights, or if it is too easy, then do 500 - 1000.

Now with old age, I am returning to my old friends of one ... two ... three ... four, only it is taking a bit longer to get back to higher numbers of exercises ... before adventure of marriage and kids, back into some kind of physical condition that resembles the stoneage days of my twentie something.

Maybe those high repititions are the basis from being a gorilla in my middle - old age? Now if I could get permission from my wife to see if people still bounce, old age could be fun. Know what I mean?

SeiserL · 10-07-2002, 09:43 AM

IMHO, high repetition is a theory for automating muscle memory. Okay, muscles do not have memory, but they can habituate the neural passage to a specific response. High repetition, slow speed, tends to help build that habit path. Do it correctly, do it a lot. Works for me.

Until again,

Lynn

Bruce Baker · 10-09-2002, 01:37 PM

I gotta get to California.

I don't often get to train with other gorillas, but when I do, not to be funny, it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

I had to postphone my trip to CA next month, new motor in my car, one kid got a used car while the other go out of college, but don't worry Lynn, I will get there.

Gorillas may be slow to travel, but get there eventually.