Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

254 Elite Physique
strategies to make the exercise more challenging because, as mentioned earlier,
your calves must be burning or pumped when you reach failure on the 30th
repetition. Once you can perform more than 30 full range of motion one-leg calf
raises, or any other HFT exercise, do one of the following:
• Squeeze the peak contraction of the last 10 repetitions for 1 to 3 seconds.
• Perform a 10- to 30-second negative on the last one or two repetitions.
• Perform a 5- to 10-second peak contraction squeeze at the beginning or end
of the set, or both.
You can use any combination of the aforementioned strategies to increase the
intensity of a set. Finally, it’s important to understand that strength gains are
not linear. Much like a stock can fluctuate day to day, what matters is that the
overall trend is upward. Some days you’ll need the aforementioned strategies to
reach muscle failure on the 30th repetition; other times you’ll just need to blast
through the repetitions and hope to reach 30. But your overall performance will
drastically improve over the weeks and months, just like any good investment.
Peak Contraction Squeezes
Peak contraction squeezes (PCSs) are relatively new to my HFT plans. These
intense isometric contractions have augmented my patients’ results ever since I
implemented them. In this section we cover how to get the most out of this simple
addition to your plan that you can do anywhere, anytime.
When performing a PCS, you squeeze an intense peak contraction of the
targeted muscle group for 6 seconds, three times per day. This improves your
mind–muscle connection by improving neural drive through the cortical motor
pathway (Fisher et al. 2016). That carries over to your ability to recruit more
motor units, and thereby stimulate more growth, in your sets of 30 repetitions.
Furthermore, professional bodybuilders extol the virtues of intense contractions
during their posing routines to improve muscle hardness and overall definition.
As is the case with sets of the HFT exercises, it’s ideal to spread the three PCS
exercises as evenly as possible throughout the day. For example, if your two sets
of the HFT exercise are performed at 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., you could do the
three PCSs at, say, 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., or any interval around that
time frame. The key is to just spread out the three squeezes and do them six days
per week. You should always have one day of complete rest, meaning no HFT
exercise, no PCSs, and no full-body training.
Also, perform the PCSs one limb at a time: 6 seconds on the right, then 6 seconds
on the left, or just one side if that’s all you need to target (e.g., rehabilitation
after surgery). Squeeze and hold the PCS with around 8 out of 10 effort. A 10 out
of 10 effort usually results in excessive tension elsewhere in the body, which is
not recommended.
Most guys already know how to intensely squeeze their biceps. They’ve been
doing it ever since puberty. Other muscle groups, such as the latissimus dorsi
(lats) or hamstrings, might not be so easy for someone without a background
in competitive bodybuilding. Therefore, we finish out this chapter by covering
guidelines for the PCS exercises.