something ive noticed...thoughts?

[tkav1980]

when i warm up to lift lets say on declines...ill do 135 for 10,225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 2..then my worksets at 365. the 225 actually feels heavier than my workset does. does anyone have an explaination for this?

 

[terryd5150]

when i warm up to lift lets say on declines...ill do 135 for 10,225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 2..then my worksets at 365. the 225 actually feels heavier than my workset does. does anyone have an explaination for this?

The 225 lb lift represents a 90lb increase from the previous set.

All other sets only increased by 50 lbs.

Your body senses this larger percentage difference as more workload.

If you started warm-ups with 175 lbs I doubt you would experience that same perception.

 

[notsobig32]

I notice the same thing tkav. I have also noticed that when i do say the 135lb set that my form is 'shakier' than on my heavy set. I would be interested to see if anyone has a scientific explanation for this.

Another weird thing is i ripped my pec tendon and it feels tight if i am doing say incline dumbbells with the 70's. once i hit 100's and up, the tightness seems to disappear and i can focus on working chest. I don't get it.

 

[tkav1980]

thanks, it doesnt bother me or anything, just something wierd that i noticed.

 

[Baal]

My theory is it takes awhile for our body to start releasing sufficient glycogen to supply our fast twitch muscle fibers with energy.

Remember fast twitch muscles do not use oxygen, they use glycogen. Reactions using glycogen require anaerobic enzymes to produce power.

Lets look at the function of how a muscle contracts;

A muscle fiber contains many myofibrils which are basically proteins.

These proteins allow a muscle cell to contract.

They proteins contain two types of filaments. They are thick and thin filaments. A thick filament is surrounded by six thin filaments.

Inside the fiber is a membrane system called the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which stores and releases the calcium ions that trigger muscle contraction.

The thick and thin filaments do the actual work of a muscle, and the way they do this is pretty cool. Thick filaments are made of a protein called myosin...which we have already briefly touched on.

A thick filament is a shaft of myosin molecules arranged in a cylinder. Thin filaments are made of another protein called actin. Remember there are 6 thing filaments for every thick filament. This is how the cylinder works.

During contraction, the myosin thick filaments grab on to the actin thin filaments by forming a crossbridge. The thick filaments pull the thin filaments past them, making the sarcomere shorter. In a muscle fiber, the signal for contraction is synchronized over the entire fiber so that all of the myofibrils that make up the sarcomere shorten simultaneously.

Now that we briefly understand how muscles work, lets look at how they are supplied with energy.

ATP is the main source of energy for all muscle contraction. There are several chemical reactions that take place to produce ATP. When a muscle is used, a chemical reaction breaks down ATP to produce energy....this is also why creatine is so affective:

ATP + Actin + Myosin Actomyosin + Phosphate + ADP + Energy

This is the chemical reaction that produces energy, however, there is only enough ATP stored in the muscle cell for two or three slow twitch contractions, or one burst of power from a fast twitch contraction. More ATP must be created.

Main point
Our body ATP levels after every lift is affected. As we increase in weight our body must adjust. What you maybe experience is increasing in weight to fast. Give yourself some extra time between warm up sets and I'm willing to bet this phenomenon will no longer occur.

 

[Hellbilly]

Interesting! I noticed these same things as well (example: 225 feeling heavier than work set, 135 being 'shakier' form)

 

[tkav1980]

awesome info BAAL

 

[loganb_football]

Neural adaptation... First of all your are raising the load quite a bit. Warming up the muscle provides two things, one is well warming up the muscle. The second is kind of priming your nervous system. Your body is shocked by such an increase in the load. You'll notice that if you do 225 for more sets the load becomes much easier to handle.

 

[Pekkerwood]

Do you also notice how incredibly light the weights feel if you rep out a set after your work set by dropping down?

It is kind of amazing how hard the 275 is compared to the 365 and amazing how light the 275 is afterwords.

I've often thought "I'm in trouble" on my work set because of how the previous set went only to do just fine. Interesting to see light shed on this phenomenon.

 

[tkav1980]

Neural adaptation... First of all your are raising the load quite a bit. Warming up the muscle provides two things, one is well warming up the muscle. The second is kind of priming your nervous system. Your body is shocked by such an increase in the load. You'll notice that if you do 225 for more sets the load becomes much easier to handle.

true, because the next jump of 50 lbs is quite easy. my goal is just to get the muscle warm and still have 100% in the tank for the actual work. alot of great responses in this thread, thank all of you.

 

[Baal]

Neural adaptation... First of all your are raising the load quite a bit. Warming up the muscle provides two things, one is well warming up the muscle. The second is kind of priming your nervous system. Your body is shocked by such an increase in the load. You'll notice that if you do 225 for more sets the load becomes much easier to handle.

haha that was a great summary of what I posted.

 

[j8282]

Kinda the same thing in cardio. Say your on an eliptical and jump to 30% resistance it will be tough as hell but if you gradually move up to that in say 10 increments not so bad. If that makes sense at all

 

[loganb_football]

haha that was a great summary of what I posted.

In a sense yes... But I think it is more than just a chemical reaction. I don't thinking all nerves are firing when beginning an exercise. As your body becomes more efficient, and weight loads increase, your body can handle heavier loads with more control, and efficiency. In essence there is more going on than just nervous system, there is also a chemical reaction as you've pointed out.

Pekkerwood has brought up a point in his post as well. Many powerlifters will do 3 board presses, floor presses, etc. To get the body acclimated to higher weights. If a powerlifter 3 board pressed 500 pounds and then later came back to bench 315 a few minutes later it would seem a lot lighter. In my experience I either increased the reps with a lighter weight after a higher load, or increased the force applied when a used a load heavier than the previous amount (loads that are miniscule increments when applying more weight will not have much if any effect). I know this is not exactly what pekkerwood was talking about, but really both actions are the same.

 

[saudades]

In a sense yes... But I think it is more than just a chemical reaction. I don't thinking all nerves are firing when beginning an exercise. As your body becomes more efficient, and weight loads increase, your body can handle heavier loads with more control, and efficiency. In essence there is more going on than just nervous system, there is also a chemical reaction as you've pointed out.

I would agree, both chemical and neural recruitment. Once these occur, the weight doesn't feel so shaky anymore.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

i sometimes throw a med ball for a bit before pressing... chucking it in an increasingly explosive manner. def makes the warmup sets with the iron alot easier

 

[7_Deadly_Sins]

I've noticed that too on squats, I use to do 135x10 225x8, now I do 135x10, 185x8, 225x6-8, feels light as 225.

 

[mikeyt869]

i know this is kinda off but my knees ache untill i get heavy weight on them, seems like it should be the opposite! I start at 135,185,225,275,then my first work set is 315 at 315 and up they dont bother...weird!

 

[GoneForFuckingEver8]

agreed. i notice that sometimes my first 'heavy' set feels more difficult than my second heavy set (same weight for heavy). sometimes i am actually able to squeeze out 1 or 2 more reps on my second heavy set.

 

[RINO]

Probably just focusing on the 225 more. Form is perfect 2 I bet.

 

[the_warrior]

I experience the same thing, especially on leg movements. I think it has to do with where your head is at. During the warmup, you're probably not focusing to hard, you haven't pumped yourself out, and in general, there is no pressure to perform. Once you arrivate our your work set, all of these factors are reversed. The difference is particularly acute if you do a high intensity routine.

This explanation can also go some ways in explaining why form can feel a bit shaky.