Hypercontraction Training: Review by Jonathan Lawson

It's billed as the "Training Discovery of the Decade" in the ad, and after giving it my own in-the-gym test, I can say that the statement isn't far off the mark. I put on 15 pounds in four weeks without much effort using the routine on the "Hypercontraction Training" video. While my gain wasn't all muscle, I can tell that most of it is because my arms are already larger than ever and holding their vascularity.

To be frank, when I started this Hypercontraction routine, I was coming off a contest diet, so my body was in a state of depletion. Nevertheless, 15 pounds in a few weeks is a solid testament to this new method's effectiveness. And what makes it even more impressive is that, as I said, none of my workouts has been that hard. I've essentially been coasting, but that's part of the appeal of Hypercontraction Training-you don't have to go all out all the time to get the best gains possible. As the headline on the ad says, "It Makes Muscle Growth Almost Too Easy."

I wouldn't actually say it makes it easy. You do have to go heavy on the power exercises in the routine. On the stretch movements, however you must make an effort to keep intensity at a medium level to get the best results and avoid injury. These are the exercises that stretch the target muscle. They are the keys to creating a state of hyperactivation. By starting each bodypart routine with a stretch exercise, you "prime the target muscle for superstimulation.

"Hypercontraction Training is a hybrid of Steve Holman's Position-of-Flexion mass-boosting system, so here's his explanation of why Hypercontraction Training is so effective, even when your intensity isn't all out:

"The reason Hypercontraction stimulates so much hypertrophy is threefold:

1.By using the stretch exercise first in any bodypart routine, you put the target muscle in a state of emergency immediately. This is due to the prestretch that occurs from your very first rep.

2.You keep your intensity at a medium level during this stretch exercise to get the most out of the prestretch reflex and also to get that often-neglected target-muscle warmup. Most bodybuilders are very haphazard about warming up a bodypart prior to their intense sets, which hampers their gains. Studies indicate that a warm muscle can contract up to 20 percent better than a cold muscle, and these preliminary stretch sets force you to get that extra 20 percent of stimulation at every workout, whether you like it or not.

3.By following the stretch movement with the appropriate exercises, you train the target through its full range of motion. This ensures inordinate hypertrophy and full, complete development in every major muscle group.

"The stretch exercises are called Prestretch Triggers on the tape, and when you do them first, you see why. You really feel the muscle fibers firing. To make the Prestretch-Trigger exercises even more effective, the tape suggests you include a set of Double-Impact reps, or 1 1/4s.

For example, you do a couple of light warmups sets to get the target area used to the stretch position, then follow with a straight set and then a Double-Impact set, doing a quarter rep at the point of stretch prior to each full rep. Now the target bodypart is completely warmed up and in a state of Hypercontraction, so you follow the Prestretch Trigger sets with exercises that kick some serious mass. With the right follow-up exercises you initiate a growth response you can actually feel.

You may think that doing the prestretch exercise first is going to hamper your strength on the power exercise that follows, but think again. I set a personal record in the squat, doing 10 reps with the poundage I'd been using for five reps for six months. I was amazed.

As I said, I've seen some exceptional size and strength increases the past few weeks using this method. It's one of the best routines I've ever tried. I'm going to continue using it the next few months so I can push my muscle weight to new levels. It's already happening, and I'm sure I'll get even better gains with Hypercontraction once I shift into a serious-training phase. Who know? Maybe I can add another 15 pounds of solid muscle and 50 pounds to my squat.

Pros: A complete five-day Hypercontraction-Training routine (each workout is less than an hour, but you can feel them working); live-action demonstrations of every exercise--by some truly massive bodybuilders--plus tips on how to get the most growth stimulation from each movement; and rapid-fire video segments of each workout day that will get you stoked MTV-style. This is absolutely the best bodybuilding-training video I've ever seen.

Cons: It's a full hour, so you may have to hit the fast-forward button a few times. Also, Hypercontraction Training creates some unusual soreness in the target muscles; go easy in the beginning.

Hypercontraction Training

When you choose the right exercises in the gym and do them in the right order, you can stimulate muscle-size increases with only a few sets—your workouts last less than an hour and you train each bodypart only once a week.

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