Relaxation as a Skill

Hi

I wasn't sure should I post this question here or would this be better of in Strenght- topic.

I would like to know can you intentionally train to relax opposite/ antagonist muscle groups. I ask this because as some of you may have red Pavel's writings, the rate you can relax your muscles after tensing them is one sign of your athletic ability. Coach has written that at the highest level of training you can not but to tense all your muscles at the same time. Doesn't this hinder ones potential in generating dynamic strenght? If your antagonist muscles are working at the same time while you are doing your push-ups, doesn't this make you less capable in this or any other exercise?

It is a sign of high level ability to relax all the muscles you don't need for the skill, yes. But in gymnastics (especially rings) you tend to need the full body tesion to do skills correct.

I don't think there's any contradictory statements here.

I was just thinking, how does gymnastics as Coach has presented it to us - as an way to increase practitioners strenght, work. If you are tensing all your muscles at the same time, what is the mechanism behind strenght increase? Muscle fiber's tension while working against antagonist muscles or tension while working against gravity? I am a very poor gymnast, so it is hard for me tell if I'm relaxed in some parts of my body while working on a new skill or am I tensing as a whole. I was just trying to get an insight from a more experienced athlete.

When you have increased your strenght to such an level that you can do for example 'manna', and then go back a few ladders and do easier excercises, can you stay more relaxed or are still tensing as an unit?

Kaard said:

I was just thinking, how does gymnastics as Coach has presented it to us - as an way to increase practitioners strenght, work. If you are tensing all your muscles at the same time, what is the mechanism behind strenght increase? Muscle fiber's tension while working against antagonist muscles or tension while working against gravity? I am a very poor gymnast, so it is hard for me tell if I'm relaxed in some parts of my body while working on a new skill or am I tensing as a whole. I was just trying to get an insight from a more experienced athlete.

When you have increased your strenght to such an level that you can do for example 'manna', and then go back a few ladders and do easier excercises, can you stay more relaxed or are still tensing as an unit?

Gripping hard allows stronger innervation of the upper limb muscles for example. The antagonist contracting during full body work is MAINLY in isometric movements, but can be present in dynamic movements (for example, pistols).

And yes, when you go back to easier exercises you can do it. It's like Usain Bolt being able to relax his face and other such muscles while he's sprinting if you watched any of the track and field videos. Facial muscles don't need to be contracted for any of this so if you're squeezing them then you know if an exercise is difficult vs. easy (we subconciously squeeze them when something is very difficult).

Don't worry about relaxing. It's a skill you learn as you get stronger. Don't fall into the trap of overthinking everything. Just workout.

Thanks Braindx for your reply, I think that wraps up this thread.

Muscle groups work in opposites, unless there is weight being put on a limb, it is impossible to activate all the muscles in an area. Try extending your leg completely strait and flexing the quads and hamstings at the same time, it is impossible. The quads want to straiten the leg and the hamstrings want to bend it. Unless you are utilizing a half lay I would say you never use your hamstrings on the rings. This being said, I doubt a gymnast ever reminds himself to relax his hamstrings before going on the rings, it is an effect of consistant training. If you are doing an exercise correctly, your body will learn what muscles to contract and what to relax without a thought. Going back to what braindx said, do not over think, just work out.