• 👋Hello, please SIGN-UP FOR A FREE account and become a member of our community!
    You will then be able to start threads, post comments and send messages to other members. Thanks!
  • 💪Check Out IronMag Labs Andro Hard® - Powered by R-Andro & Epi-Andro! 💊
  • 👉Check Out Platinum Pharms🌽Corn Hole Sale!🌽

Squeezing Is Overrated

Montego

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
23,743
Reaction score
13,334
Points
113
Get Shredded!
Yep. Squeezing the muscle is overrated.

I don't mean getting the muscle to move the weight, I mean squeezing at peak contraction is for pussies who are scared of progressive overload.

Convince me otherwise.
 
Yep. Squeezing the muscle is overrated.

I don't mean getting the muscle to move the weight, I mean squeezing at peak contraction is for pussies who are scared of progressive overload.

Convince me otherwise.

Do it beacause mike ohearn said so.......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
come on monty.. its like saying you shouldnt practice posing.. squeezing and and holding def gives the muscle a harder /denser look
if you are lean..
 
Yep. Squeezing the muscle is overrated.

I don't mean getting the muscle to move the weight, I mean squeezing at peak contraction is for pussies who are scared of progressive overload.

Convince me otherwise.
You're overrated!

Lol I don't have any real argument. I do like squeezing my muscle at the top of my movements though. I haven't been heavy because of my old injuries so I gotta make up for it as best I can elsewhere. A couple blasts down the road when my connective tissues are stronger I'll be trying the progressive overload program you've been doing. I've been following along to learn as much as I can. Do you have any reference materials or any key words for me to Google that'll point me in the right direction? I've been wanting to learn more about it so I can try it in the future.
 
Just like people say lockouts are bad too.
 
On real talk I don't squeeze on every exercise except for bicep's and Tricep's you gotta feel the squeeze on skull crusher's 💯

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
 
The soap 'slipped' a lot when you showered, didn't it? :coffee:
 
IML Gear Cream!
Do it beacause mike ohearn said so.......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Omg..... If you're gonna pick an argument don't involve a huge liar lol.
come on monty.. its like saying you shouldnt practice posing.. squeezing and and holding def gives the muscle a harder /denser look
if you are lean..
Ok. MAYBE it does, but doesn't moving heavy weights (while targeting the muscle) have the same effect? It's all about tension.....
 
You're overrated!

Lol I don't have any real argument. I do like squeezing my muscle at the top of my movements though. I haven't been heavy because of my old injuries so I gotta make up for it as best I can elsewhere. A couple blasts down the road when my connective tissues are stronger I'll be trying the progressive overload program you've been doing. I've been following along to learn as much as I can. Do you have any reference materials or any key words for me to Google that'll point me in the right direction? I've been wanting to learn more about it so I can try it in the future.
It's a very simple argument but I'm gonna watch this play out some first 😜
 
Omg..... If you're gonna pick an argument don't involve a huge liar lol.

Ok. MAYBE it does, but doesn't moving heavy weights (while targeting the muscle) have the same effect? It's all about tension.....

yes time under tension is huge,, a lot of guys dont know how to train like that..
 
There is more than one way to skin a cat, I know guys who are fucking jacked and never lift heavy always go for the pump. I also know guys who lift heavy as hell and don't even look like they lift... Then I know guys who lift heavy and are jacked and guys who lift light and look like shit haha. I prefer a mix of the 2
 
There is more than one way to skin a cat, I know guys who are fucking jacked and never lift heavy always go for the pump. I also know guys who lift heavy as hell and don't even look like they lift... Then I know guys who lift heavy and are jacked and guys who lift light and look like shit haha. I prefer a mix of the 2
Yes there is ,you don't have to lift heavy to get big,it's all about proper form.It's not quantity its quality!

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
 
Assuming equal volume and intensity I seriously doubt you'll find any empirical evidence that shows that "squeezing the muscle" at peak contraction will confer significantly better results than not doing so. If intensity and volume are not the same, then I think either of those variables will make more of a difference as to what sort of results you get than "peak contraction".

Overall, I think that most studies have shown that volume is the single biggest determinant of hypertrophy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You have to make sweeeet love to them weights man...

I try and do both.
 
I only squeeze on certain body parts/movements...i use it to help determine full contraction. Say on a curl, supinating it and squeezing helps me feel the full contraction...I'm doing the work anyways so i might as well make sure I'm getting full range.
 
Get Shredded!
The soap 'slipped' a lot when you showered, didn't it? :coffee:
Unless you've been to the pen,and survived it,don't comment about dropping the soap,you don't know shit about it? I've been there done it💯

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
 
Unless you've been to the pen,and survived it,don't comment about dropping the soap,you don't know shit about it? I've been there done it

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk

Dropped the soap? I could tell from your bow legged gait :coffee:.
 
PM me if you really want to know lil punk,I don't play games 45is your max

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
 
So let's say everything we're doing here is with proper form so the target muscle is doing the work.

So, we know that progressive overload/periodization is one of, if not the most effective ways to build muscle. Progressive overload and metabolic stress are two that will come into play in our discussion here.

Progressive overload can be tracked. You can log each increase in weight or reps and judge progress over time.

In much the same way, you could track the amount of metabolic stress you induce on the muscle but from a TUT perspective as your tempo from week to week should not vary while your reps or weights increase. (this comes with the proper form mentioned earlier)

Now. Tell me how you progress squeezing...... You cannot judge the amount of force you are applying during peak contraction so, how would you judge progression over time?

Also if squeezing is the emphasis then, you will surely overexert the muscle in the contracted position and thus, lose strength through the eccentric portion of the lift as well as during the concentric. One important factor of your rom is that it is full, so you are stressing as many muscle fibers as possible and this cannot be achieved if the peak contraction is the focus.

By losing strength throughout the range of motion, you will DECREASE time under tension for more muscle fibers overall since you cannot support the heavy loading for an extended period of time due to "squeezing".

Now the argument has been made that lighter weights and squeezing makes guys big just like heavy weight. I think the term "light " is highly individual but, you will not see a guy benching 135lbs that's huge because he is squeezing the muscle.
 
So let's say everything we're doing here is with proper form so the target muscle is doing the work.

So, we know that progressive overload/periodization is one of, if not the most effective ways to build muscle. Progressive overload and metabolic stress are two that will come into play in our discussion here.

Progressive overload can be tracked. You can log each increase in weight or reps and judge progress over time.

In much the same way, you could track the amount of metabolic stress you induce on the muscle but from a TUT perspective as your tempo from week to week should not vary while your reps or weights increase. (this comes with the proper form mentioned earlier)

Now. Tell me how you progress squeezing...... You cannot judge the amount of force you are applying during peak contraction so, how would you judge progression over time?

Also if squeezing is the emphasis then, you will surely overexert the muscle in the contracted position and thus, lose strength through the eccentric portion of the lift as well as during the concentric. One important factor of your rom is that it is full, so you are stressing as many muscle fibers as possible and this cannot be achieved if the peak contraction is the focus.

By losing strength throughout the range of motion, you will DECREASE time under tension for more muscle fibers overall since you cannot support the heavy loading for an extended period of time due to "squeezing".

Now the argument has been made that lighter weights and squeezing makes guys big just like heavy weight. I think the term "light " is highly individual but, you will not see a guy benching 135lbs that's huge because he is squeezing the muscle.

In this case you wouldn't quantify squeezing, you would quantify RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion for each "squeezing" set. I don't think anyone is arguing you can get huge benching 135. What they are saying is that assuming an equal amount of volume and an equal amount of relative (not absolute, which is why I think your TUT argument might not apply) intensity, "squeezing the muscle" can help you build muscle. The critical thing to remember to make this comparison fair is that volume and intensity must be identical between the two methods so that this difference is the only variable being tested.

You seem to be describing a scenario in which, for example, two identical lifters have 315 on the bar. One of them does an all out max effort set and does 10 reps, but the other focuses on squeezing the muscle and only gets 7. According to your position, if I am understanding it correctly, this means less TUT and so less gains for the second lifter.

I don't think this is an apt comparison since they are not performing the same volume. I think a better example is: Two identical lifters bench 3x10. Each of them are at RPE 10 (maximum exertion, could not possibly get another rep) for each set. Lifter 1 benches 275 for these 3x10 and does straight max effort sets. Lifter 2 benches 225 for his 3x10, but does those reps slowly squeezing the muscle and focusing on a peak contraction.

In the second example I seriously doubt that there will be much of a difference in hypertrophy between the two, because the intensity, as measured by RPE, and volume are identical.
 
In this case you wouldn't quantify squeezing, you would quantify RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion for each "squeezing" set. I don't think anyone is arguing you can get huge benching 135. What they are saying is that assuming an equal amount of volume and an equal amount of relative (not absolute, which is why I think your TUT argument might not apply) intensity, "squeezing the muscle" can help you build muscle. The critical thing to remember to make this comparison fair is that volume and intensity must be identical between the two methods so that this difference is the only variable being tested.

You seem to be describing a scenario in which, for example, two identical lifters have 315 on the bar. One of them does an all out max effort set and does 10 reps, but the other focuses on squeezing the muscle and only gets 7. According to your position, if I am understanding it correctly, this means less TUT and so less gains for the second lifter.

I don't think this is an apt comparison since they are not performing the same volume. I think a better example is: Two identical lifters bench 3x10. Each of them are at RPE 10 (maximum exertion, could not possibly get another rep) for each set. Lifter 1 benches 275 for these 3x10 and does straight max effort sets. Lifter 2 benches 225 for his 3x10, but does those reps slowly squeezing the muscle and focusing on a peak contraction.

In the second example I seriously doubt that there will be much of a difference in hypertrophy between the two, because the intensity, as measured by RPE, and volume are identical.

The amount of metabolic stress/muscle damage from the guy pressing 315x10 will still be more then that of the 275lbs if TUT is the same because the amount of force needed to slow the weight on the eccentric portion of the lift. I can't remember the term.

It's the same reasoning as to why Branch Warren is huge (genetics aside) despite terrible form. The amount of force needed to stop the weight comes into play.
 
The amount of metabolic stress/muscle damage from the guy pressing 315x10 will still be more then that of the 275lbs if TUT is the same because the amount of force needed to slow the weight on the eccentric portion of the lift. I can't remember the term.

It's the same reasoning as to why Branch Warren is huge (genetics aside) despite terrible form. The amount of force needed to stop the weight comes into play.

Disagree. Weight is relative to the lifter. I may be exerting just as much force at 275 as you at 315. If youre physically stronger then me then your 315 could very realistically be the same as my 275
 
Back
Top