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Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

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HOW TO MILK YOUR TRAINING CYCLES DRY OF GAINS<br />

the resistance at the highest point you can get to, which will not be far into<br />

the rep if you have gone to the limit in the complete reps. Maintain the static<br />

hold for as long as you can, and then fight like hell to stop gravity pulling<br />

the bar down. You will then have reached isometric failure. en resist the<br />

eccentric as if your life depended on it.<br />

15.22 If you have strong and competent spotters, and are really up to the absolute<br />

limit of intensity, then have your spotters lift the resistance for you so that<br />

you can resist another eccentric. Continue this procedure for another eccentric<br />

or two or three, until you cannot control the descent. (Control means<br />

that you can take at least four seconds to lower the resistance.) Your spotters<br />

must be super vigilant and ready to take the resistance from you as soon as<br />

you can no longer control its descent. is final stint of “paralytic” training<br />

will take you to eccentric failure.<br />

15.23 Do this properly and you will have trained to utter failure. Supply the necessary<br />

factors for recuperation, and this to-utter-failure training of just one set<br />

for an exercise at the end of a cycle may help you to get more growth mileage<br />

out of the cycle. But if you have not cut back your sets and/or training<br />

frequency, and have not boosted your diet, rest and sleep, the intensity hike<br />

will wipe you out, overtrain you, and cause you to lose strength.<br />

15.24 For this intensity hike do not go to eccentric failure on all the exercises in a<br />

given workout. Isometric failure is enough for most exercises, and perhaps<br />

more than enough. Only go to eccentric failure for one or at most two exercises<br />

per workout, varying which exercises you select from week to week.<br />

Do not go to eccentric failure for any given exercise more than once every<br />

four weeks. Use a less severe training intensity the other times you train the<br />

exercise.<br />

RULE #10<br />

Cut back a little, get some momentum going again, have<br />

some coasting weeks as well, and then forge on<br />

15.25 When you have applied rules 1–8 (and perhaps #9 too), and you cannot add<br />

a single pound to any exercise, you could try back cycling to get some gaining<br />

momentum going again. Take a few days extra rest and then cut back<br />

5–10% in all your top sets. Drop the to-absolute-failure training if you were<br />

implementing rule #9. Take 3–4 weeks to inch back to where you were, and<br />

then forge on to a few weeks of new poundage territory. en, to drag it out<br />

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