Mike ODonnell
05-05-2007, 11:19 AM
Found this interesting...
My first lesson in the power of isometric contractions was during a lab experiment in which I was the subject. I was having my arterial blood flow measured (by Doppler Ultrasound) during a bunch of different muscle contractions in order to demonstrate the different effect of each.
In order to add to the impact of what occurred, a visual display of blood flow traced across a computer monitor (much like an ECG), while the swishing wave sound of blood was amplified through a set of speakers.
As the blood flowed through my artery, everything seemed normal as indicated by the rhythmic waves on the monitor and resulting wave-like sounds. When I lightly contracted my biceps, the blood flow decreased in amplitude. Not only did the size of the waves on the monitor diminish, but the sound became less audible. But when I relaxed the muscle, the blood flow waves didn't just return to normal, they came back much larger than before. This is due to the slight metabolite buildup that had happened.
What really stood out to me occurred when I maximally contracted my biceps: the wave became a flatline and the sound stopped. This flatline had essentially indicated the (temporary) death of blood flow.
I was instructed to hold this for 25 seconds and then relax. When I finally did, the normal wave pattern had become a huge surge of blood -- the visual representation of which filled up the entire screen. The sound was like an enormous wave was crashing overhead. This is exactly what we're trying to achieve with ramp contractions.
from http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1555945
So increased blood flow should mean increased repair of muscles, less recovery time needed and overall and increase in muscle mass/strength....so looks like playing around with this on off days could be a good recovery technique??...or at least something I need to do before hitting the bar...
My first lesson in the power of isometric contractions was during a lab experiment in which I was the subject. I was having my arterial blood flow measured (by Doppler Ultrasound) during a bunch of different muscle contractions in order to demonstrate the different effect of each.
In order to add to the impact of what occurred, a visual display of blood flow traced across a computer monitor (much like an ECG), while the swishing wave sound of blood was amplified through a set of speakers.
As the blood flowed through my artery, everything seemed normal as indicated by the rhythmic waves on the monitor and resulting wave-like sounds. When I lightly contracted my biceps, the blood flow decreased in amplitude. Not only did the size of the waves on the monitor diminish, but the sound became less audible. But when I relaxed the muscle, the blood flow waves didn't just return to normal, they came back much larger than before. This is due to the slight metabolite buildup that had happened.
What really stood out to me occurred when I maximally contracted my biceps: the wave became a flatline and the sound stopped. This flatline had essentially indicated the (temporary) death of blood flow.
I was instructed to hold this for 25 seconds and then relax. When I finally did, the normal wave pattern had become a huge surge of blood -- the visual representation of which filled up the entire screen. The sound was like an enormous wave was crashing overhead. This is exactly what we're trying to achieve with ramp contractions.
from http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1555945
So increased blood flow should mean increased repair of muscles, less recovery time needed and overall and increase in muscle mass/strength....so looks like playing around with this on off days could be a good recovery technique??...or at least something I need to do before hitting the bar...