The Turnaround
14 June 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The turnaround, in progressive resistance lexicon, refers to that split second where descent becomes ascent; where eccentric becomes concentric, that exact instant in time where the lowering becomes raising or pull becomes push. A lot can happen in that exact instant and what occurs should be predetermined by the athlete before the set actually begins though in-flight adjustments as a set unfolds are to be expected and the earmark of a champion. There are two turnarounds per repetition. The length of the rep stroke need be predetermined (choose one: purposefully exaggerated, purposefully normal, purposefully shortened) and how the turnaround is handled needs careful consideration. Generally speaking there are three things that can happen at the turnaround: the weight can touch and go, the weight can be bounced, or be the weight can be stopped or paused.
The touch and go turnaround is by far the most common. As the name suggests, when the weight touches the body or the floor or arrives at a dead-hang stop, the athlete uses a slight rebound to get the weight moving the other direction. The second method of dealing with the turnaround is the bounce. This is a more violent and dramatic version of the touch and go and its popularity derives from the fact that a skillful bouncer can heave or jerk up significantly more poundage in the same exercise than his touch and go counterpart.
The third turnaround variation is the pause or dead-stop. As the name implies the poundage is purposefully paused when eccentric is about to become concentric. The touch and go style is quite common and considered the norm by progressive resistance exercise users. The bounce style is dangerous and foolhardy and a sure invitation for serious injury in what surely will be a very short weight training career. The pause or dead-stop is, in my opinion, the highest form of the art, particularly when combined with an exaggerated range of motion.
Generally speaking, before each and every set you should ask yourself what range-of-motion am I going to use on the reps? Secondly ask yourself am I going to use a normal, touch and go turnaround or shall I pause the poundage? If so, how long shall the pause last? Bouncing is not a viable training strategy. A properly performed touch and go turnaround is characterized by a smooth and delicate reversal. The savvy trainee begins putting the eccentric brakes on the poundage before it reaches the end of the rep path. When the turnaround is reached the braking effect is already applied to such a degree that there is nary a rattle, clank or sound on the part of the apparatus as its trajectory is reversed. Whereas the Neanderthals bounce style is characterized by noise and mayhem, the skilled touch and go lifter hardly makes a sound as the bar touches the floor or chest.
Smooth turnaround transitions are the hallmark of an experienced lifter. If, for example, you decided to perform a set of dumbbell bench presses, first select the poundage and the repetition target. If you decided to use a normal range of motion with a pause for a set of eight reps the procedure would run as follows: synchronize inhalation with the lowering of the bells to the chest; at the bottommost position, hold the bells still for a full one-second count before exploding the weight to lockout. At completion of the rep, lock the elbows out totally and contract the pecs, triceps and deltoids hard. Exhibit total control at lockout and forcibly exhale any remaining air. Unlock the elbows and lower in a precise arc that slows perceptibly as the weight approaches the chest. This braking effect should amplify as the poundage approaches touchdown and turnaround.
This purposefully slowing has a terrific muscle-building, strength-infusing effect and need be incorporated and practiced consistently. Inhale mightily while lowering the weight, as if you were attempting to suck all the air out of the room. Inhale in a way that is syncopated and synchronized with the resistance being lowered. At the bottommost position prior to pushing, every muscle is totally tight and flexed; this loaded, cocked position provides the ultimate push-platform. If the weight is to be paused, for how long? A one-second pause is fairly standard but periodically long pauses can be used to infuse stale workouts with freshness and variety. In 1966, 195-pound Texan Ronnie Ray held 405-pounds on his chest in the bench press for 30-seconds before firing it to lockout. It had been predetermined that after the pause, the lifter would drive the weight upward to lockout as quickly and explosively as possible. Rep speed could also be purposefully slowed to elicit a different muscular effect. In our example the athlete has decided to use compensatory acceleration and push the poundage as fast as possible over the first 7/8th of the rep stroke. The athletes air is exhaled in perfect synchronization with the push. The final lockout ends with locked elbows and a final forced exhalation of any remaining oxygen. That constitutes a single repetition.
String a series of perfect repetitions together like pearls on a strand and you create the perfect set. Accumulate perfects sets and obtain the perfect workout. Acquire a significant number of perfect workouts and you trigger a total and complete physical transformation. What could be simpler to grasp? According to the fortune cookie, The longest journey begins with a single step. The long journey to physical transformation begins with a single perfect repetition. So lets get to perfect repping
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