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Why Powertec
Fitness Leverage Equipment?
Reprinted from IRON MAN
Magazine, April 2001
LEVERAGE YOUR MASS
How you can push harder
to pack on muscle faster
By Ken Domzalski
The word leverage has numerous
meanings in everyday life,
such as "influence," "power"
and "authority." In the
strength-training industry
it's associated primarily
with weight-training machines.
A Brief History
Although levers have been
used in weight training
for many years-the T-bar
apparatus is essentially
a lever arm built into a
basic frame structure-it
wasn't until the early 1980s
that the first full line
of leverage machines was
developed. It consisted
of approximately 10 machines
that simulated mainly compound
exercises, such as bench
presses, squats and dips.
The machines were developed
for the gym market and were
popularized in places like
Gold's Gyms and Bally's
health clubs. A number of
NFL teams were the first
to use them.
The initial results were
extremely positive. Over
the next few years a number
of commercial strength-equipment
companies also released
lines of leverage machines,
and soon hundreds of gyms
were incorporating them
into their facilities. For
almost 20 years such machines
have only been available
in commercial gyms. Fortunately,
they're now becoming readily
available for home use.
Before leverage machines
were introduced, there were
two traditional methods
of strength training. The
most common was barbells
and dumbbells, otherwise
known as free weights, and
the other was conventional
weight-stack machines, which
moved via cables, belts,
pulleys and cams. Both types
of equipment can successfully
produce gains in strength
and muscular development,
but they also have their
limitations. Free-weight
exercises, while providing
a natural, free-form type
of resistance, can also
cause an uncontrolled, at
times even sloppy, exercise
performance through the
full range of motion. While
you can progress and grow
using barbells and dumbbells,
the lack of control, balance
and stability can be wasteful
and even dangerous, especially
if you're using heavy weights
without assistance. Another
pitfall with free-weight
training is the fact that,
if you're working out alone,
you can't push the muscle
to true failure, which can
only occur on the last few
heavy repetitions of a set.
In order for real growth
to take place, you need
to work to that type of
maximum level on each set.
If you don't have a spotter,
chances are you won't attempt
the last one or two key
repetitions needed for growth.
If you do and you fail,
you may become trapped by
the barbell, which can be
a serious situation, as
I'm sure many of you have
discovered.
While the conventional machine
solves some of those problems,
it also has shortcomings.
The traditional machines
used in the circuit-training
area of gyms or in typical
multi station home gyms
generally incorporate a
pin-selected weight stack
as the resistance, which
is driven by a cable-and-pulley
operation. Some machines
also use a cam or tension
arc device. They all tend
to limit you because they
follow a predetermined,
sometimes restricted range
of motion that can vary
in terms of function and
resistance. In addition,
any type of cable or belt-driven
machine is going to cause
some friction and drag that
takes away from the natural
feel of pure resistance
you experience with free
weights, which can limit
your gains.
Creating the Perfect Training
Tool
The first step in the development
of leverage machines was
to pick the most effective
free-weight exercises. A
frame-and-bench structure
was engineered to put the
user into the correct position,
and a lever arm with a fulcrum
was built into the frame.
The lever arm had a certain
length, and the pivot was
set at a particular height
in order to duplicate the
precise arc, or range of
motion, that you work through
with the barbell. Weight
plates were then loaded
near the hand grips to re-create
the same natural resistance
you experience with a barbell
or dumbbell. There are no
cables, pulleys, cams or
friction. The result is
quite simple and basic:
The lever arm replaces the
barbell while ensuring control
and safety. It's the perfect
combination of free weight
and machine.
Faster Gains With Leverage
Leverage machines have successfully
produced accelerated gains
in overall muscular size
and strength. They can do
that because they provide
the same natural gravity
forces as a barbell or dumbbell.
That type of raw, pure resistance
is the most effective means
of force against the muscle.
We know free-weight training
works, but, as discussed
above, it has limitations.
Leverage machines, because
they safely control the
exercise at all times, allow
you to push the muscle to
total failure. That's the
reason leverage is the superior
form of anaerobic strength
training and why thousands
of bodybuilders and pro
athletes use these machines
every day.
Until recently, you could
only find leverage machines
at your gym.
Three factors are involved
in gaining strength and
size with leverage machines.
One is the workout itself,
the second is proper nutrition,
and the third is rest. All
are equally important. Proper
nutrition feeds and energizes
your body to work and grow.
The body needs ample rest
between workouts for muscle
tissue to recover and rebuild.
That leaves the workout.
So the question is, How
often and how much should
you train? Bodybuilders
are bombarded with thousands
of routines, most of which
only add to the confusion.
The fact is, training for
strength and size is very
simple and always has been.
You don't need hours in
the gym and multiple sets
upon multiple sets to get
results. You actually need
very little. Quality, not
quantity, is the key. Research
has proven that a very brief,
20-to-30-minute workout
with maximum effort and
at least 48 to 72 hours
between sessions will produce
substantial gains in muscular
strength, which produces
growth. It takes only a
handful of basic exercise
and one set to failure.
That is where leverage machines
offer an advantage. It's
truly difficult for most
people to push to failure
with other methods. Leverage
machines allow you to work
to your maximum.
Guidelines
1) Perform two to three
sessions per week with a
minimum of 48 to 72 hours
between workouts.
2) Choose only one to two
exercises per muscle group.
3) Perform only one set
per exercise and work each
set to failure.
4) Perform six to 10 repetitions
per set. When you reach
10, increase the weight
for your next workout, which
should take you back to
six reps.
5) Use the following eight-second
rep count: two-second positive,
two-second hold in the contracted
position, four-second negative.
6) Use the following routines,
switching from one to the
other every so often.
Choose one of the following
warm up exercises to begin
each session and do 20 repetitions
at a faster pace: squats,
chest presses or lat pulldowns.
Take one week off from training
every two months to allow
your muscles the full recovery
necessary for continued
growth and progress.
Total-Body Routine
Take at least three days'
rest between workouts.
1) Leverage squats (thighs,
hamstrings, buttocks)
2) Leverage leg extensions
or leg curls (thighs, hamstrings)
3) Leverage calf raises
(calves)
4) Leverage chest presses
or flyes (pectorals)
5) Leverage dips (triceps,
pectorals)
6) Leverage shoulder presses
(deltoids)
7) Leverage shrugs (traps,
deltoids, back)
8) Leverage lat pulldowns,
rows (back)
9) Leverage arm curls (biceps,
forearms)
10) Leverage crunches (abdominals)
Split-Body Routine
Take two to three days'
rest between workouts.
Session 1
1) Leverage chest presses
2) Leverage flyes
3) Leverage dips
4) Leverage shoulder presses
Session 2
1) Leverage squats
2) Leverage leg extensions
3) Leverage leg curls
4) Leverage crunches
Session 3
1) Leverage shrugs
2) Leverage lat pulldowns
3) Leverage rows
4) Leverage arm curls
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