Static contraction for hypertrophy

[halluites]

since exercises like the front lever, back lever, iron cross, huamn flag etc. train the biceps static, is it really effective for stimulating hypertrophy? i master the front and back lever, and almost the iron cross too, but my muscles wont grow in size. its really bugging me. what am i doing wrong? ive been eating ekstra calories and extra protein lately for some weeks just to see if it helps, but nothing. should i just quit bodyweighttraining since my main goal is to get bigger? dont seem to work for me..

[Razz]

what to do.. It seems as though you need to do some research on why and how muscles grow. I'm guessing you are not performing only static movements? Besides that if you wanna gain size you need to eat more, the laws of physics have to be obeyed including the conservation of energy.. the amount of energy in kcal you put in have to be more than what you burn, if not there is no energy left to be stored in the form of muscle.

[Neal Winkler]

Hypertrophy occurs with all types of contractions: isometric (static), concentric, eccentric.

If you have not gained any weight at all, whether muscle or fat, then you are not eating enough. Even if you think you are, you are not.

[halluites]

Hypertrophy occurs with all types of contractions: isometric (static), concentric, eccentric.

If you have not gained any weight at all, whether muscle or fat, then you are not eating enough. Even if you think you are, you are not.

may be so. i do think i have done to few sets, or total number of reps, to stimulate hypertropy. i have now doubled the volume

[taedoju]

i have read somewhere that isometric training produces equall hyperthrophy to other kinds of training just like triangle choke wrote...so it is in your diet probably:)

[Joshua Naterman]

Hey, Halluites, when you've gotten as strong as you are, your body has reached the maximal strength it needs and is working more on endurance, which is more of a mitochondrial issue than anything else. You're not going to need any more structural changes in the muscle tissue you have unless you increase your bodyweight. Adding weight to your work can be good, especially for your levers, but perhaps you just need to do more specific bicep work if that's all you are looking for. Weighted chin ups or bodyweight bicep curls are both good calisthenic exercises to work on your biceps.

You can also go for the weights, they do make you grow more than bodyweight stuff does in certain areas.

[Longshanks]

Most bodybuilding articles seem to stress higher rep ranges than strength training (8-12 as supposed to 3-5). To be honest though I just found it very easy to over-train following bodybuilding principals and got much better results from static work. I do eat like a horse though! lol. They say plenty of milk is good for building muscle and getting extra calories into you. Just don't buy into all the rubbish advertising on bodybuilding sites about being able to put on 20 pounds in a month or two. I've found if you are naturally ectomorphic it can take a long time to put on muscle (6-8pounds of lean muscle a year at most). Just treat it as a marathon rather than a sprint, keep training & eating well and be patient.

[Joshua Naterman]

There is a little-known pro bodybuilder, Prince Naseem I think he is, but I could be mis-remembering that, who stated in an interview that if you expect to be a bodybuilder and not be on drugs, be prepared to put on 10 lbs or less of muscle each year, especially once you're at the weight the natural guys your height are at.

Keeping in mind how insanely huge these guys grow their muscles, far beyond what is useful or necessary, that was a refreshing bit of honesty that got completely ignored. If you follow set and rep schemes from bodybuilding magazines you are going to have to take a LOT of supplements and possibly steroids as well to get positive results. Every pro bodybuilder, even most of the ones in the 'natural' class, do the 'juice.' They'll admit to it privately.

The bodybuilders stress higher rep ranges and high volume because it depletes glycogen stores, and that forces the muscles to make room for more glycogen, resulting primarily in sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. That's why most bodybuilders, while very strong, have relatively low strength to body weight ratios compared to strength athletes.

[Gregor]

Extreme streching of elbows make growth of your biceps (isometric holds, not streching). If you exceeded "streching point for growth" in BL and FL (wich occours quickly in a low ranked BW exercises such as BL and FL), you need to proceed to iron cross, planche, maltese.

I guarantee you if you will do extra lean in planche leans, then your biceps will be "hurt".

In my own experiences, the biceps work the most in malteses when I have completly lock elbows (also in planches, leans). But before you can expect biceps hypertrophy you need alot of elbows pre-hab and conditioning and also be consistant and patient.

I've got all hypertrophy of my upper body only from BW exercises and was only by-product of training and not in any of my goals.

[Crimsoncross]

Sounds like halluites may be an ectomorph, a "hard gainer".

Are these things really true though? Ectomorph? Mesomorph? Or is it just some invention?

[Neal Winkler]

I think there is some truth to it.

There are genetic differences in p-ratios, energy balance feedback mechanisms, skeletal structure, ect. that can put people into the somatotype's more or less.

[Donald Lee]

Hypertrophy requires high tension + sufficient volume.

Isometrics have been shown to not stimulate hypertrophy at the same rate as dynamic strength training.

You should incorporate some general strength work, like Weighted Chinups.

You can estimate your maintenance calories by multiplying bodyweight by 15. Eat at least 500 calories above that to gain weight, or add 20-25%. If that doesn't work, you either have a really fast metabolism (so gains are really slow) or can't count calories, which means you just need to add even more calories. Nobody's metabolism (disclaimer: not including people with pathologies) can prevent weight gain or even prevent weight loss. The adaptive component of your metabolism is not that great. It can slow weight gain, but not prevent it. Also, some people move around more when eating more to burn off excess calories.

Eat 1-1.5 g/lb of LBM for protein.

How about you write down what your training and eating looks like, so we can give you some more specific recommendations, rather than generalities?