Stretch Muscle Gains - Stevenson

??? NOVEMBER | emusclemag.com emusclemag.com | NOVEMBER ???

Today’s hottest bodybuilding training systems

like Doggcrapp and FST-7 consist of an

aggressive stretching component designed to

elongate the muscle fascia. Here’s how they

work and how you can apply the techniques

to supercharge your own muscle growth.By Scott W. Stevenson, PhD, LAc

Photos of IFBB Pros Con Demetriou and Steve Namat

at Powerhouse Gym (Downtown), Tampa, FL, by Rick Schaff

stretchyourmusclegains

emusclemag.com | NOVEMBER 227

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YYou’ve rehearsed today’s workout in your head all morning long. How will that first, telltale warm-up set feel? Just the thought of those clanging plates when you’re squatting gets your palms a little sweaty. Occasionally, you test your arm, diagnosing the achy elbow that’s been giving you trouble for a few weeks. When you finally arrive at the gym,ignited by the adrenaline that’s beenbuilding all day, you make a beeline forthe weights. Striding past the stretch-ingarea,youbarelynoticetheyogaclassslowlyfillinginasusual.Yourmissionto-dayisclear,andveryfarfromcreatingtheslender, sleek and flexible physique liketheyogainstructoryoujustpassedby.Af-terall,it’snosecretthatweighttraining,notstretching,istheway—dareyousay—theonlywaytodevelopthepowerfulphysiqueyou’vebeenworkingsohardfor.

Stretching OutSide the BOxLet’s examine that notion and stretchoutsidetheboxabit, ifyouwill.Whatif I told you that men who didn’t juststretch,butprioritizedit intheirtrain-ingbuiltsomeofthemostimpressivelymuscular and powerful physiques ofall time? Even six-time Mr. Olympia

DorianYates,thealpha-maleamongtheIFBB’s first generation of “mass mon-sters,” is shown stretching extensivelyin his training video, “Blood & Guts.”TomPlatz,creatorofperhapsthemostimpressivesetoflegsofalltime,empha-sizedstretchinginhistrainingandwasrenowned for squatting Olympic style— ass to the grass. (It’s also probablynotacoincidencethat thesemenwere

considered two of the hardest-trainingbodybuildersofalltime.)Well-respect-edironguruVinceGirondaemphasizedthat themaximumstretchportionwasthemostimportantpartofanexercise’srangeofmotion.1

Whilefewwouldarguethatworkingamusclethroughitsfullrangeofmotionwill help it grow, some have taken thisnotionevenfurther,arguingthataggres-

FaScial STreTcHing: WHo SaYS WHaT?FST-7 Parrillo SySTem DC exTreme

Extra Pump Sets 7 Sets None None

The Stretch Self Stretching

Deep, partner-assisted Weighted (extreme)

When Between sets Between sets/ post-workout

Post-workout

Focus on the Pump +++++ +++++ +++

Loading Under Stretch ++ ++++ ++++++: means less emphasized; +++++: means highly emphasized

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Holding the bottom position of a dumbbell flye is one way to aggressively stretch the pectorals with weights.




sivestretchinginandofitselfmayfostergreater muscle size. Ohio-based body-building aficionado John Parrillo mayhavebeenthefirsttoformalizestretch-ingasapartofahypertrophy (muscle-building)regimen.Inhistrainingmanu-al,Parrillocallsstretchingthe“forgottenexercise,” explaining that fascial con-nectivetissuethatencasesmuscletissuemay in fact limit muscle growth, shapeand separation.2 (See “What Is MuscleFascia + Why Should It Be Stretched?”ontheright)Parrillogoessofarastosaythatstretchingisevenaneffectivesolu-tion for forcing unresponsive, stubbornmuscles to grow. He favors stretchingrepeatedly during a workout, betweensets,whenthemuscleisengorgedwithblood. Beyond enhancing muscle size,both Parrillo and Platz believe that bylimiting the inhibitory effects of whatare called the golgi tendon organs, ag-gressive stretching can even increasestrengthperse.2,3

Stretching their LimitSYoumayhaveheardoftwohighlypopu-larbodybuildingtrainingprogramstoday,

Doggcrapp Training (DC Training) andFST-7 (Fascia Stretch Training-Seven),whichbothusefascialstretchasatriggerfor muscle growth, though in substan-tially different ways. DC Training is anabbreviated, progressive overload-basedtrainingsysteminventedbyDanteTrudeland made popular by 202 Mr. OlympiaDavidHenryandtopNPCnationalcon-tender Dusty Hanshaw. Trudel’s focusonfasciacomesintheformof“ExtremeStretches,”performedbyheavilyloadingthejust-trained,pumpedmusclegroupinadeep-stretchposition,creatingafascialstretchgreaterthanwouldotherwisebepossibleandanexcruciatingbuild-upof

painfulmetaboliteslikelacticacid.TrudelgivescredittoParrilloforinitiatinghisin-terestinfascialstretching,andheweighsinheavilyonthescience,suggestingthat“undervariouscircumstances,astretchedmuscle under load has produced hy-perplasia [an increase in the number ofmusclefibers],increasedIGF-1,increasedMGF (two very potent growth factors),increasedproteinsynthesisandincreasedlong-termproductionofprostaglandinF2alpha,ananabolicstimulatorofmyofibergrowth.”4Aboveall,Trudelcitestwode-cadesofreal-worldevidenceintheformofthousandsoffeedbackemailsfromcli-entshe’strainedwiththismethod.

WHaT iS MuScle FaScia + WHY SHoulD iT Be STreTcHeD?Muscle fascia is the dense, fibrous network of connective tissue that surrounds and interweaves itself throughout the skeletal muscle of the body. It transmits force to muscular tendons, gives muscles their individual shape and contours, and defines the separation between muscles in a muscle group (e.g., between the four quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh). Although often attributed to the individual fibers themselves (which are too small to see individually with the naked eye), it’s actually the shape of muscle fascia that gives muscles the “striations” that are visible in contest-lean bodybuilders. The fascia therefore can limit the size of the fiber growth in which they encapsulate the muscle fibers. Aggressive stretching of the muscle fascia may remove the physical, compressive limits placed on a muscle’s size (giving it room to grow), as well as foster muscle growth in and of itself (e.g., by triggering the local release of growth factors).20


The muscle fascia (called the epi-, peri-, and endomysium) bundles the muscle fibers together and

gives the muscle its characteristic three-dimensional structure.

STrUCTUre oF a SKeleTal mUSCle

Bone

Perimysium

Blood Vessel

Muscle Fiber

Fascicle

EpimysiumTendon

Endomysium

Illu

stra

tio

n b

y M

olly

Bo

rman

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In the case of FST-7, successfullyemployedbyIFBBprosPhilHeathandthree-timeMr.OlympiaJayCutler,HanyRambod’s training paradigm includes afascialstretchcomponentwithinamore“traditional” higher-volume bodybuild-ing-style workout. FST-7 appends sev-eral (typically seven) high-repetition,shortrest-interval(30–45seconds)setsto the normal training of each musclegroup,usuallyasafinishingmove.Ram-bod’sgoalis“tobringasmuchvitamins,minerals,aminoacids,oxygen,etc. intothe muscle, and also [to] stretch thefasciasurroundingittohelpencouragemaximalmusclegrowth.”5

Stretching fOr muScuLarityEvenifyou’renotaDCTrainingfanaticor FST-7 advocate, there’s good rea-son to include aggressive stretching inyourweight-trainingapproach.Thatis,of course, if you’d like to make greatergains in muscularity. However, howandwhenyoustretchis important,de-pendingonwhichapproachyoutaketobodybuildingtraining. LikeParrillo,withFST-7Rambodsug-gestsaggressivestretchingduringawork-out,betweensets,whenthemusclesarepumped.Becausethesekindsofstretcheslimit blood flow and trap metabolites,muscle perfusion rebounds after thestretch, furtherenhancing thepump.6,7,8(Ifyoudoubtthis,tryitduringyournexttraining session and you’ll quickly seewhat I mean.) Restricting blood flow inthisfashionmayevenhaveanergogeniceffect,improvingperformanceonthefol-lowing set.9, 10 Typically, Rambod’s pro-gramfinishesoffitsattackonamuscle’sthree-dimensionalnetworkoffasciawith“seven sets” to maximally engorge themuscle. If you subscribe to the “volumetraining”principleofmuscularoverload(multiple sets of multiple exercises) togenerate hypertrophy, Rambod’s tech-niquesarerightdownyouralley. Ontheotherhand,withDCTraining,Trudelsuggestsextremestretchingonlyafter training a given muscle, and forgood reason: Extensive stretching mayadversely affect your performance inthe weight room, reducing the weights

stretchyourmusclegains ligHT To aggreSSiVe STreTcHeS

de

LtO

idS

Qu

ad

ric

eP

S

tricePS

hamStringS

LatiSSimuS dOrSi

adductOrS

Pull arm across body, hand facing up.

Place hand behind head with elbow up, push down on elbow.

Seated “Indian style,” press knees down with your hands or grasp ankles and press down with forearms/elbows.

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With a staggered stance, front forefoot pulled up (dorsiflexed), with an arched back, bring torso forward by bending at the hips.

Grab ankle and pull leg up and back toward glutes.

Grab horizontal bar, palms down and sit down into stretch.

or

Grasp vertical post, pronated with thumbs down. (Not pictured)

Holding a stable post, pull lat into stretch at desired angle.

ca

LVe

S

Standing on block or step with one foot or both, allow heel(s) to sink.

Unilateral pec stretch with stable post.

or

Stretch bilaterally: palms on doorframe, body falls forward. (Not pictured)

PectOraLS

BicePS



you can handle.11 Because a DC-styleextreme stretch is heavily loaded withactualweights(see“LighttoAggressiveStretchesforEachMuscleGroup”onp.232)andtypicallyheldaslongassafelytolerable,thetechniqueisoftenlikenedto “stretch overload” models of muscle

HeaVY/DeeP/BilaTeral

growth used in animal research. How-ever, these protocols involve a stimulusappliedaroundtheclock,afarcryfromevenamostimpressiveextremestretchthat lasts90–120seconds(whichis lessthan 0.1% of a 24-hour day). More rel-evant research, performed with people,

suggeststhatextremestretching,aswithDCtrainingingeneral, literallykicks inthefrontdoorofthemuscle-growthde-partment.Passive, lightstretching,evenfor long periods, does little for proteinanabolism, and low-intensity isometriccontractions(inwhichamuscledoesn’t

BicePS

LatiSSimuS dOrSi


Do Light stretch seated, with partner standing over you and manually assisting to deepen stretch.

or

Squat 3–4 inches and grasp pole behind head. Stand up to deepen stretch. (Not pictured)

tr

ice

PS Grasp horizontal bar, palms up, and

then sit down (not shown) into stretch.

deLtOidS

Lat pulldown stretch at the top of the range of motion. (Not pictured)

or

Supported T-bar stretch at bottom of the range of motion. (Not pictured)

Perform Light stretch with bar higher and/or sink down further.

or

Deepen Light stretch by extending arm back like a pec stretch, and “roll” elbow under to point at the floor (pronating hand). (Not pictured)

hamStringSPlace foot on waist-high surface (or higher if you can) and perform the Light stretch (keep your back arched).



HeaVY/DeeP/BilaTeral

actuallyshorten,suchaspushingagainstabuilding)onlymodestlyelevateproteinsynthesis.12 Extreme stretches, on theother hand, require heavy isometric ex-ertion in a deep-stretch position. Inter-estingly,researchpublishedafterTrudelfirstintroducedDCtrainingtothebody-building community demonstrates iso-metrictrainingat60%ofmaximalefforttotalingtwominutespersession(nearlyidentical to Trudel’s prescription) pro-duces impressive muscle growth.13 Ad-ditionally, extreme stretching occludesbloodflow(evidencedbysearingpain),which potentiates the stimulus of re-sistance exercise to produce hypertro-phy and release growth hormone.6, 7, 14, 15

Thus,ifyourtrainingstyleisprogressiveoverload-orientedlikeDC,whereaddingreps and/or weight day in and day out


Spread legs and do “the splits,” supporting yourself with hands on a bench or the floor.

or

At the most abducted position of the adductor machine, lean forward as if stretching hamstrings. (Not pictured)

adductOrS

Squatting underneath a waist-high Smith or secured barbell (like doing the limbo), hold the bar to support yourself and let your knees fall forward over your feet.

Qu

ad

ric

eP

S

Hold dumbbells and perform Light stretch.

ca

LVe

S

Partner pulls arms back (at hands) to stretch pecs.PectOraLS

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isyourpriorityandyou’reagluttonforpunishment, this kind of post-trainingstretching will probably suit you well.Whereasthe“sevensets”ofFST-7couldbelikenedtospreadingtheicingonyourworkoutcake,extremestretchingislikepouring a bucket of the sweet stuff ontopofyourconfection—itmaynotlookpretty,butitmakesfortastyresults.


loaDeD/eXTreMe/unilaTeral

emusclemag.com | NOVEMBER 239

Weighted pec-deck stretch; unilateral to focus stretch.

or

Flat, incline or decline dumbbell flye stretch; hold in the bottom position. (See page 228)

PectOraLS

Unilateral lat pulldown stretch: Angle arm overhead and add weight as desired.

or

Hang in pull-up position with loaded dip belt for added weight (use straps if needed). (Not pictured)

La

tiS

Sim

uS

dO

rS

i

Deep stretch (with safe back position) at bottom of range of motion for a stiff-legged deadlift. Not much load is needed here (no more than 135 pounds for most trainees).

hamStringSStretch at bottom of overhead dumbbell triceps extension.

tr

ice

PS

Place front of one ankle on pad (the pulldown thigh pad), squat down and drive hips forward.

QuadricePS

Unilateral handcuff stretch. Using a D-handle and your arm behind your back, the cable pulls hand (palm facing away from body) toward opposite shoulder blade.

BicePS

Squat deeply into a sideways lunge to stretch one adductor at a time.

or

Place foot on waist-high surface to your side and sink sideways as with stretch above. (Not pictured)

adductOrS

Calf stretch on standing or seated calf machine at bottom of range of motion.

ca

LVe

S

de

LtO

idS

Seated, reclining on incline bench, hold dumbbells at bottom of curl position, hands supinated.


STreTcHing For MuScle groWTH: aDDeD noTeS Move into stretches slowly, without bouncing, especially when doing weighted DC-style stretches.

Use a spotter for weighted stretches and stay in constant communication if your partner is assisting with your stretches. Have a safe “out” of every weighted stretch, including a partner to take over.

Terminate any stretches that cause joint or tendon pain or aggravate (or cause) injury.

Stretch “intuitively”: Find the particular stretch variation to target the intended muscle. Slight changes in joint angle and rotation can make or break a successful stretch. Also, note that fascial stretching intends to stretch fascia, rather than improve flexibility. For example, impressive lower back flexibility might allow you to place your palms flat on the floor while standing with straight knees without focusing the stretch on your hamstrings (where you intend it). An effective fascial stretch might not look impressive to the casual onlooker.

Employ contract-relax style PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) to deepen a stubborn stretch: After reaching a stretched position, actively contract the stretched muscle for 5–10 seconds, but without actually shortening the muscle (a partner can assist with these) and then further relax into a deeper stretch.16 Perform at least 2–3 contract-relax PNF cycles during each stretch.

Stretch immediately after training a muscle group, when the muscle’s volume is maximized via the muscle pump and the fascia is most expanded.

Maintain fascial restructuring with regular light stretching during the week, even on non-training days.

Find a qualified massage therapist who specializes in deep muscular fascial release. The poor man’s solution: Perform self-fascial release with a foam roller.

Check online for specific details on John Parrillo’s training prescriptions (www.parillo.com), Hany Rambod’s FST-7 (www.fst-7.com) and Dante Trudel’s DC Training (www.intensemuscle.com).


Stretching: the truthDirect studies examining how stretchingcan enhance gains from weight trainingarelacking,buttherearegoodreasonstobelieve fascial stretching, within a work-out and/or after weight training, can bebeneficial. See “Fascial Stretching: WhoSaysWhat?”onp.228foracomparativebreakdown of Rambod’s (FST-7), Tru-del’s (DC extreme stretches) and Par-rillo’s stretching prescriptions. Volume-oriented trainees would be best servedby Rambod’s or Parrillo’s approaches,whereasstrengthfanaticsmightfirsttrainheavyandthenstretchheavywithanex-treme-stretchprotocol.Eitherway,ifyouthought stretching was for lightweights,it’stimeyoupaidcloserattentiontowhatthetopbodybuildersaredoingtoadvancestaggeringdegreesofmusclegrowth.

Scott W. Stevenson, PhD, LAc, is an exercise physiologist, licensed acupuncturist and competitive bodybuilder residing in Tucson, AZ. He can be reached via www.ScottStevensonPhD.com.

References1. V. Gironda. 2010. www.ironguru.com. 6.15.10.2. J. Parrillo. ParrilloPerformanceTrainingManual. 2004. Parrillo Performance: Fairfield, OH.3. T. Platz. 2010.2008BackDayDVD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sopwNW1aTQA. 6.15.10.

BonUS PoinTS

• To maximize hydration and your pump, consume plenty of water before training and add glycerol (about 0.4 milliliters/pound or 3–4 ounces for a 200-pound bodybuilder) to your pre- and intra-workout regimen.17

• A pinch or two of salt, especially if your habitual sodium intake is low (but your blood pressure is normal) taken with water 15–30 minutes before training will help with thirst, vascularity and plasma volume. In particular, I prefer sea salt, which contains a multitude of electrolytes in addition to sodium.

• Also consume a carbohydrate/protein drink (about 3:1 ratio) before and during training to keep muscles full, glycogen levels high and enhance protein synthesis.19

• Use nitric-oxide supplements judiciously. Increasing NO production may increase blood flow to the trained muscle, but it could also improve metabolite clearance and prematurely terminate your pump.


4. D. Trudel. InterviewregardingDCTraining. June 2010. (Personal Communication)5. H. Rambod. 2008. WhatisFST-7? http://www.fst-7.com/. 6.1.10.6. K. K. McCully. Adv Exp Med Biol, 2010. 662: p. 317.7. T. Sadamoto, etal. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol, 1983. 51(3): p. 395.8. T. Osada, etal. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci, 2003. 22(6): p. 299.9. J. R. Libonati, etal. J Strength Cond Res, 2001. 15(3): p. 362.10. J. R. Libonati, etal. Cardiologia, 1998. 43(12): p. 1355.

11. E. C. Rubini, etal. Sports Med, 2007. 37(3): p. 213.12. J. R. Fowles, etal. Can J Appl Physiol, 2000. 25(3): p. 165.13. H. Kanehisa, etal. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2002. 87(2): p. 112.14. Y. Takarada, etal. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2002. 86(4): p. 308.15. Y. Takarada, etal. Jpn J Physiol, 2004. 54(6): p. 585.16. J. B. Feland and H. N. Marin. Br J Sports Med, 2004. 38(4): p. E18.17. D. R. Wagner. J Am Diet Assoc, 1999. 99(2): p. 207.18. N. S. Stachenfeld. Curr Sports Med Rep, 2008. 7(4 Suppl): p. S7.19. C. Kerksick, etal. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2008. 5: p. 17.20. G. Goldspink. J Anat, 1999. 194 (Pt 3): p. 323.

Stretching isn’t a component that’s

overlooked by serious bodybuilders.

While common stretches are

relatively pain free, aggressive stretching

can actually be quite painful.

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Stretch Muscle Gains - Stevenson