the resistance at the highest point you can get to, which will not be far into
the rep if you have gone to the limit in the complete reps. Maintain the static
hold for as long as you can, and then fight like hell to stop gravity pulling
the bar down. You will then have reached isometric failure. en resist the
eccentric as if your life depended on it.. If you have strong and competent spotters, and are really up to the absolute
limit of intensity, then have your spotters lift the resistance for you so that
you can resist another eccentric. Continue this procedure for another eccen-
tric or two or three, until you cannot control the descent. (Control means
that you can take at least four seconds to lower the resistance.) Your spotters
must be super vigilant and ready to take the resistance from you as soon as
you can no longer control its descent. is final stint of “paralytic” training
will take you to eccentric failure.. Do this properly and you will have trained to utter failure. Supply the neces-
sary factors for recuperation, and this to-utter-failure training of just one set
for an exercise at the end of a cycle may help you to get more growth mile-
age out of the cycle. But if you have not cut back your sets and/or training
frequency, and have not boosted your diet, rest and sleep, the intensity hike
will wipe you out, overtrain you, and cause you to lose strength.. For this intensity hike do not go to eccentric failure on all the exercises in a
given workout. Isometric failure is enough for most exercises, and perhaps
more than enough. Only go to eccentric failure for one or at most two exer-
cises per workout, varying which exercises you select from week to week.
Do not go to eccentric failure for any given exercise more than once every
four weeks. Use a less severe training intensity the other times you train the
exercise.RULE
Cut back a little, get some momentum going again, have
some coasting weeks as well, and then forge on
. When you have applied rules – (and perhaps too), and you cannot add
a single pound to any exercise, you could try back cycling to get some gain-
ing momentum going again. Take a few days extra rest and then cut back
– in all your top sets. Drop the to-absolute-failure training if you were
implementing rule . Take – weeks to inch back to where you were, and
then forge on to a few weeks of new poundage territory. en, to drag it out