Cumulative repetitions

Edited by: Francesco Currò

Analyzing - objectively - the various "metabolic situations" necessary to induce the mechanisms of muscle growth, we come across a clear contradiction: the spread of training techniques is not directly proportional to their effectiveness.

In other words, raging - at times sent on by inexplicable fashions, sometimes driven by targeted advertising campaigns - multiple training methods to say the least "wretched" and - mysteriously - are almost unknown techniques rather interesting for hypertrophy / hyperplasia .

One of these undeservedly "extinct" techniques is that of cumulative repetitions .

The cumulative repetitions - in a sense - are based on the same principle as the Rest-Pause and one of the possible ways (perhaps the classic one) of applying this technique is as follows:

• load the tool with 75% of the ceiling (in practice it is the load that, pulling at the limit, should allow us to perform 8-9 repetitions)
• carry out with this load a single repetition and rest for about 10 seconds;
• always carry out two repetitions with the same load and rest for about 10 seconds;
• always carry out three repetitions with the same load and rest for about 10 seconds;
• always carry out four repetitions with the same load and rest for about 10 seconds;
• and so on.

In practice, it is necessary to continue to increase each time one unit the repetitions to be performed and the series ends (but remember this point, because in a few lines I will indicate how to go even further) when this is no longer possible.

If, for example, we succeed in executing 6 cycles successfully and fail the seventh cycle where we were able to complete only 4 repetitions (and not the 7 repetitions), in the end - thanks to the rest intervals of 10 seconds - we will have done well 25 repetitions with a weight that, in a traditional series, would have allowed us no more than 9 repetitions.

But for what purpose?

Well, apparently, one of the most appropriate ways to increase the size of the muscles is to use up the phosphate pool and to do it mainly on the white fibers, which are the most easily over-developed.

To do this it is necessary to use a substantial load (65-85% of the ceiling) and at the same time perform a good number of repetitions (around 12-15).

All this, with the series performed in the traditional manner, is not very simple (if not impossible) to be obtained, since the accumulation of lactic acid would cause the blockage of muscle contraction before inducing the aforementioned cell exhaustion [ see diagram].

From these considerations, we can understand how the technique of cumulative repetitions can be considered as a "new" powerful weapon in the search for hypertrophy, because - thanks to 10-second pauses - it seems designed specifically to circumvent (or, at least, delay ) the limit of the blockage of the contraction caused by the lactic acid and moreover, it allows to use loads large enough to activate the rapid motor units.

The intensity of the technique is truly remarkable, so my advice is not to exaggerate with this type of "prolonged series": I think that only one series is ideal and that, in any case, it is better not to go beyond the two.

An interesting topic to analyze is the one related to the exercises to choose. The first rule is always that of orienting oneself towards the "basic" exercises, but sometimes, especially when we come up with such intense techniques, it may happen that the muscles to give up first are those of support and not (thus making the training unsuccessful) those that we want to train. An immediate solution could be to resort to isolation exercises, which however often have the limitation of not allowing the use of large loads.

One way to effectively apply the cumulative repetition technique also to "basic" exercises can be to perform what I call the " cumulative repetition technique to alternate exercises ", which consists of alternating a basic exercise and an isolation exercise in the scope of the same series. To better explain the concept, here is a practical example for chest training (load both tools with 75% of the ceiling):

• Bench presses → 1 repetition and rest of 10 seconds
• Crosses on a bench → 2 repetitions and 10 seconds rest
• Bench presses → 3 repetitions and 10 seconds rest
• Crosses on bench → 4 repetitions and rest of 10 seconds
• Bench presses → 5 repetitions and 10 seconds rest
• Crosses on bench → 6 repetitions and rest of 10 seconds

And so on until we can increase the repetitions compared to the immediately preceding sequence.

The final touch

It should be noted, however, that the production of lactic acid is to be avoided at the beginning and during the series, but it is to be sought at the end, as it can stimulate the endogenous secretion of GH. To do this, we can add 1-2 series in Stripping to the final mini-sequence (the one we couldn't complete).

But be careful:

• Have the common sense to adopt this final "coup de grace" only in the last series (if you performed two) of cumulative repetitions
• The "coup de grace" cannot be used - with compound exercises - if afterwards you have to train another synergistic muscular section to the exercise you are performing: for example if you are training the pectorals and immediately afterwards you are going to train the triceps; in this case, to get around the problem, you can perform the "coup de grace" with an isolation exercise. In other words, referring to the previous scheme of "cumulative repetitions for alternate exercises ", you can add the two series in Stripping by adopting the exercise of crosses on bench and not that of bench presses.
• Use this procedure only after you have become "experts" on cumulative repetitions.

Clarifications on rest breaks and equipment loads:

• in the examples I have indicated 10 seconds for the rest between the sequences of repetitions, but obviously it is not "law written" on the rock. Especially in large muscle groups it is not a bad idea to try to increase this rest period a little (even up to 20-25 seconds).
• in the examples I indicated 75% of the ceiling, but obviously this too is not "mandatory". The useful range goes, approximately, from 65 to 85%, so try from time to time to vary the percentage of the ceiling to look for the one that best suits your characteristics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Renato Manno: " Physiology of sports training ", Zanichelli, Bologna, 1989

Angelo Giorno: " Body-Building DuemilaUno ", TRAM srl, Florence, 2000

Francesco Currò Francesco Currò, teacher of ASI / CONI, teacher of the Accademia del Fitness, athletic trainer and personal trainer, is the author of the new book " Full Body ", of the e-book " The Training " and of the book on "Multiple Frequency Systems" . For more information you can write to the email address, visit the websites //web.infinito.it/utenti/x/x_shadow/ or //digilander.libero.it/francescocurro/ or call the following number: 349 / 23.333.23.