# Is it the squeeze of the muscle that gives us the size?



## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

Hey,

I have been training with an ex bodybuilder and he has been telling me to squeeze my muscles at the end of each rep, as hard as I can.  By doin this I am forced to lower the weight i use.  Last back session I have never felt such a pump before.  With lat pulldowns he was telling me to bring the bar down by pulling my lats down first and then with my arms.  At the bottom of each rep he said to tense my lats.  I was forced to lower the weight by about 20kgs but yet I still recevied the biggest pump I have ever got.

By squeezing/tensing my muscles after each rep does this send more blood into the muscles?  Will this help me grow faster? 

Thanx,
Unsivilized


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

Getting a better pump has virtually nothing to do with hypertrophy.


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

You have been given good advise, better form and a foll ROM will give you better hypertrophy ( ie. muscle growth and increased strength).


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> You have been given good advise, better form and a foll ROM will give you better hypertrophy ( ie. muscle growth and increased strength).



Of course a greater ROM and good form is essential.  However, what he is asking is if forcefully squeezing your muscles at the peak contraction point is superior at promoting hypertrophy.  I think not, but if you can find some studies stating otherwise then I am open to the idea.


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## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

What I mainly wanted to know if it was good form and if the squeezing helped growth.  Sorry if i dind;t get my point accross on my previous post.

Thanx


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> What I mainly wanted to know if it was good form and if the squeezing helped growth.  Sorry if i dind;t get my point accross on my previous post.
> 
> Thanx



Regardless of its affect on hypertrophy, you should always use good form.  Poor form is a one-way ticket to injury in a lot of lifts.


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Of course a greater ROM and good form is essential.  However, what he is asking is if forcefully squeezing your muscles at the peak contraction point is superior at promoting hypertrophy.  I think not, but if you can find some studies stating otherwise then I am open to the idea.


I would love you to show me some studies that state bouncing , cheating, and sloppy form while lifting creates better hypertrophy


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> I would love you to show me some studies that state bouncing , cheating, and sloppy form while lifting creates better hypertrophy



First, show me where I said anything like that.


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## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

may i ask wat hypertrophy means please?


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> may i ask wat hypertrophy means please?



Hypertrophy is the incease in the size of the cells in an organ or tissue.  In the context of these forums, it basically means muscle growth.


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## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

cheers


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

Hypertrophy: Growth of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the size  of its cells. Hypertrophy is a normal response of skeletal muscle cells when they are challenged to lift excessive weight......Muscle growth and strength go hand and hand.
You deserve the real definition of this term.


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> First, show me where I said anything like that.


You didn't think proper form mattered...so I told him it did.


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## 99hawkins (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsiv - That's correct. Do what he says.


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## chunky34 (Jun 16, 2005)

Peak contraction s**ks. 

Hypertrophy occurs when you break down tissues, and this breakdown occurs mostly during the negative phase of the exercise. That's why, if your goal is hypertrophy, you should always use a controlled motion.


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## The Monkey Man (Jun 16, 2005)

I'm not going to read this whole thing...

Has anyone addressed the FLUSHING principal?


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## BigDyl (Jun 16, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Hypertrophy is the incease in the size of the cells in an organ or tissue.  In the context of these forums, it basically means muscle growth.




Where have you been?  I haven't seen you post in like 27 years.


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## Mudge (Jun 16, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> You didn't think proper form mattered...so I told him it did.



I've seen very huge guys with shitty form, in person. I could also site Ronnie Coleman.


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## CowPimp (Jun 16, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> You didn't think proper form mattered...so I told him it did.



Wrong.  I said the following:



> Regardless of its affect on hypertrophy, you should always use good form. Poor form is a one-way ticket to injury in a lot of lifts.



and...



> Of course a greater ROM and good form is essential.



I didn't even say whether there was any relation to hypertrophy or not.  I said that the effect on hypertrophy is moot, because you should be using good form  whether it aids muscle growth or not.


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## reg56 (Jun 16, 2005)

count it


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## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

What is the FLUSHING Principle?


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## The Monkey Man (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> What is the FLUSHING Principle?


Hitting a constant flow of sets/repititions, so as to move as much blood into the target muscle or muscle area(ex=bicep peak)as possible

"The reps will be a constant, piston-like motion with no pause at the beginning or end. Some people these days refer to this as 'blood-volume' training, but it's really nothing more than what we used to call the Flushing Principle back in the old days of Larry Scott and Arnold" ~Ron Harris~

There also (I think) in Weider Principals, used to be a set formula to get the max effect ----- IE... ( % of 1rm x sets x reps, etc)


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> What is the FLUSHING Principle?


Flushing. It's throwing shit in the toilet and pushing down on the handle


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 16, 2005)

Mudge said:
			
		

> I've seen very huge guys with shitty form, in person. I could also site Ronnie Coleman.


I have to agree with Mr. M on this one. If we performed perfect form on all bodybuilding exercises, we would be lifting the amount of weights that the little girl next door to you lifts. NOW REPLY TO THAT!......Come on Eric and spike give me a little SH....IT on this bro's as I have it coming......


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## Flex (Jun 16, 2005)

Mudge said:
			
		

> I've seen very huge guys with shitty form, in person. I could also site Ronnie Coleman.




2 things to say to this:

1. With the amount of juice he's on, he'll still grow

2. Related to #1, he STILL has a great MM connection (since on juice you can feel your muscles squeeze SO much more), thus he can still concentrate on squeezing the correct muscles, even if he has sloppy form


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## Flex (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> What I mainly wanted to know if it was good form and if the squeezing helped growth.  Sorry if i dind;t get my point accross on my previous post.
> 
> Thanx




Yes, it absolutely does.....just not in the way you're thinking.

What i mean is, by giving it a peak contraction, you are making sure you're using the correct muscles when doing any given exercize (ie lat pulldowns). 

Personally, i've dropped weight on most exercizes I do and have never grown so much. Take biceps for example. On a preacher bench, with only 20lb db's, I concentrate on squeezing them up, peaking them at the top, then slowly lowering them by maintaining tension on biceps. Not only do you get great pumps, but hypertrophy is definitely occuring as well. 

On the contrary, I always see old dudes that have been "slaving" away in the gym for years on end with weights that are too heavy (but not for their egos), and they continue to fling the weight up with all the momentum their body is capable of, yet, for some reason, they don't question themselves with something as simple as "why the fuck haven't I grown after all these years?"


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## The Monkey Man (Jun 16, 2005)

There is no answer to one who won't switch up a workout!?!?


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 16, 2005)

Flex said:
			
		

> Yes, it absolutely does.....just not in the way you're thinking.
> 
> What i mean is, by giving it a peak contraction, you are making sure you're using the correct muscles when doing any given exercize (ie lat pulldowns).
> 
> ...


Funny thing as i fit into that group of the older dudes. Now saying that, i tore the left rotator cuff recently. soI have had to change to a shit load of ligther weights. I really feel that it is giving more size and strength then all the heavier weights have done for me. Flex has a point


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

Tough Old Man said:
			
		

> I have to agree with Mr. M on this one. If we performed perfect form on all bodybuilding exercises, we would be lifting the amount of weights that the little girl next door to you lifts. NOW REPLY TO THAT!......Come on Eric and spike give me a little SH....IT on this bro's as I have it coming......


I think perfect form is good sometimes and cheating is good at times as well...The bitch is the older I get the more I get injured if I don't use good form.
Ronnie is a great example of a person with amazing genitics who can do anything and not get hurt....Dorian wasnt so lucky.


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## Unsivilized (Jun 16, 2005)

Thanx for the replys.

I have gathered that using the heaviest weight that i can perform an exercise with perfect form including the squeeze is the way to get allot bigger.  

The other night i was doing lat pulldowns with 100 kgs sets of 6-8 and i was gettin a pump but i lowered it down to 70kgs and i pulled the bar down with my lats first and then used my arms the rest of the way.  At the bottom i squeezed my lats as hard as i could for approximately 1 sec.  After i got off the machine I had never felt so huge and pumped in my life.  

The dude training with me is big.  He claims that he used to be 150kgs 8% (which is fkn huge).  He was destined to go far... however unfortunately he was in a car accident... the car passed through the passenger side of his car and hit him at 120kms an hour... He told me the only reason he is still alive today is because of steroids.  While on steroids his neck grew so huge that it was luckily not broken in the car accident.  After the accident he suffered many injuries however and had to stop training.

Just thought I'd add this in to show that bodybuilding can actually save your life.

This was a very inspirational to hear from an ex bodybuilder whilst he delivered his story to me on the verge of tears.  He was forced to give up what he loved most but it is because of the thing he loved most he was still here today, offering his advice and inspiration to young bodybuilders like myself.

Unsivilized


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## GFR (Jun 16, 2005)

Unsivilized said:
			
		

> Thanx for the replys.
> 
> I have gathered that using the heaviest weight that i can perform an exercise with perfect form including the squeeze is the way to get allot bigger.
> 
> ...



We need more inspirational stories about how steroids save life's. 

I will give you mine, a few years ago steroids saved my life. I was being arrested for illegal possession of prescription steroids, and thanks to all the added strength and aggression form years of use I was able to beat up the 3 cops and get away.


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## Unsivilized (Jun 17, 2005)

sarcasm?


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## Flex (Jun 17, 2005)

Tough Old Man said:
			
		

> Funny thing as i fit into that group of the older dudes. Now saying that, i tore the left rotator cuff recently. soI have had to change to a shit load of ligther weights. I really feel that it is giving more size and strength then all the heavier weights have done for me. Flex has a point




Dude, I'm tellin' ya, try goin' lighter and really just focusing on peak contraction and keepin' stress on the desired muscle your workin' on the negative....Works wonders


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