Muscle Tension Basics

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The ultimate Progressive Calisthenics Manual: goo.gl/IyTt3F
Podcast on iTunes & Stitcher.
Muscle tension is what makes or breaks the effectiveness of your workout. Understanding a few basic concepts can help you focus on what's most important and prevent distractions from a lot of fluff theories.

[@jackal117489]

This channel deserves more views, this guy gets right to the point

[@IgnacioCuaranta]

Yes it was clear. Understanding the relation between time under tension and muscle engagement has made a huge change in my training paradigma. Although I have to say that Calisthenics really is the best way to achieve it to a high degree.

[@WaltLQ]

Every individual that involves exercise in their life should hear this!

[@rfdc]

I remember reading years ago that Charles Atlas developed his Dynamic Tension idea to develop muscles looking at a Lion on a Zoo. He noticed the Lion's big musculature even though he didn't lifted any weights. So he figured out it was the tension and not necessarily lifting weights that caused muscle growing.

[@onceuponthecross1]

+J Smith he must have forgotten that lions have 10 times more free testosterone than humans lol

[@rfdc]

+onceuponthecross1 Hehehe. But still, I think he had a point.

[@onceuponthecross1]

J Smith true. i have found out that stretching and tensing the muscles helped me keep some good gains during periods when i couldn' t work out.

[@Riple101]

this is the truth. Can't believe your videos are not blowing up. I can imagine this isn't conventional news that sells. But wow, its so effective! Bottom effing line!

[@SanjuDotDance]

This is the biggest problem of you tube that we can like and subscribe only ones....you are greatest in Fitness and knowledge i have ever seen..thanx for this great info sir🙏🙏🙏

[@kkrish005]

this video of yours cleared all my doubts.... hats off to your efforts brother....

[@classicalvingtsunwatford3369]

Fantastic video using modern sports science to explain ancient methods - Chinese martial arts are founded on ‘Hard Qi Gong’ which are in essence isometrics and learning to increase tension in the muscles via a calm, laser-focussed mind at very specific angles and in very specific postures. You gave the best explanation! The more you can focus, the greater the contraction of the muscles ⚡️

[@kathydonato1782]

Matt, I LOVE your videos!!! You just make SENSE!!

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks Kathy, I find trying to make sense is a good thing in life :)

[@stonecold1647]

Damn dude I started listening to your videos. My gains increased. Ty so much. Keep the info coming

[@RedDeltaProject]

Sweet! So happy to help you on your journey keep it up!

[@sambitmohapatra6492]

why are you so extraordinary at explaining things 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@RedDeltaProject]

Simple, I've always struggled in school so I learned how to try to make things as simple and easy to learn as possible. I guess that somehow carried over to my videos.

[@sambitmohapatra6492]

and the best part is.. your concepts always help me understand not only my workout techniques but also every other stuff of my everyday life including my relationship 😇 or may be i am a bit better at correlating things 😛 but i will always be fit and live free no matter what 😎😊

[@Smikkelboy69]

Hi Matt, Great video you manage to explain in a easily understandable and well argued way.

[@WHBJr]

Your enthusiasm is infectious!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mhs21981]

Very interesting video and makes a lot of sense. Several years ago I went snowboarding and a lot of the time I was keeping the board on one edge, and using my right calf muscle to do this. It wasn't difficult to do but for 5-6 hours per day over 6 days it must have involved a lot of time under tension. To my surprise after the holiday, my right calf muscle was significantly bigger than the left. I say I was surprised, as first I always believed that to build muscle you had to lift heavy, and secondly because I didn't have that much recovery - I always thought muscles needed 48 hours to recover. The body is amazing at adapting to change.

[@bodwiser100]

Hits like button even before he starts talking

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thank you Rajat!

[@keytoadventure54]

Makes sense! Thanks for simplifying this. Your videos are really great. Thanks man!

[@demetri4583]

Damnn...yet another great video. Swear your vids are like muscle porn and i cant get enough. Keep em' coming! :)

[@peterpolizzi7417]

I like idea u say to not make it so complicated,I use dips and push ups with a few other exercises and u r right they could do amazing stuff when I stick to it going strong the 20 will b 8moths consistent.Thanks ur truth really helps😅

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks Peter Polizzi! You're spot on with consistency being the key, keep up the good work!

[@johnlozauskas778]

First the slide rule, then the reference to Wolfenstein or DukeNuck ‘em. What’s next IBM manual Type Writers? Which is how I learned to type. I think the recovery is the most overlooked portion of training. Dan Cable gave a great quote, “You have to work as hard at your recovery as you do your training.” Rock On!!

[@RedDeltaProject]

A great quote indeed. Very true

[@richardformersfg9420]

Dude, you are awesome. Keep posting!

[@thomasvogelsinger4007]

Great video

[@tevadevere895]

Next time someone asks me what type of training I do I'll tell them I LIFT SMALL CHILDREN!!! Soo gooooodddd but.... the police ever so often comes to pay a visit to see wtf Im doing to them small children ;D

[@regprofant6984]

I totally agree with you D.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks Reg!

[@krane15]

What you left out was the amount of growth is directly proportional to the amount of weight/time under tension.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Yep, these are all influences to that.

[@victormillward]

Brilliant!

[@mathiasgabrielsson5768]

Hey! I'm not really able to do 4 sets of 10 pronated grip pull ups yet, would you recommend i do them supinated until i am able to get more pronated? Or just stay with 6 reps of supinated? I'm going for hypertrophy as well as strength!

[@MarkOfM2020]

I love watching your videos and see how you expose all the truth everyone else wants to hide or sell... By the way, if I may ask, yesterday I had an awesome Pull day, really nailed it, progressed 2 reps since last time, but today I can't feel the mucle soreness in any mucle of my pulling chain...does it just mean I recovered quickly or do I need to add even more tension ? Cheers !

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Marko Majetić Don't worry too much about the muscle soreness thing. It's not a very reliable indicator of how effective a workout is. It's the progression in your tension that matters most.

[@MarkOfM2020]

+RedDeltaProject Got it ! Keep up the awesome work :)

[@DylanPerryFeatureAnimation]

RedDeltaProject how do we measure that progression?

[@jon636374]

Are slow-focused reps more energy efficient than faster reps? I hope that question makes sense

[@RedDeltaProject]

They might be in some ways and not so much in others. They do not require quite as much work from the muscle as moving faster does produce more tension even for a short time. However, even though there's less total tension it's more consistent and may be there for greater periods of time which uses up more total energy.

[@peterk3556]

RedDeltaProject I watch your videos since i start training and i love them they really come from heart . And i watched manny But one thing im not sure about You said tht building muscle for bodyweight training is changing the techniche or learn a new skil But if i lost all my muscle but keppt my streangth and skills how should they come back ? .

[@ConradoNiehues]

I can say that i passed through this. I trained with weights at gym for 3 years and a half. I put a lot of muscles and become strong and big (not that much but still big). Then i stopped eating the fucki* whole day and every 2-3 hours and start to eat less and just 4x a day and stopped training at gym. In a couple of months i lose almost all of my gains. But now i train with progressive calisthenics (1 year and a half) and i'm slowly but progressively getting new gains in strength and muscle building. Now i eat just 3x a day, i'm learning something new everyday (with Matt and Jeff from AthleanX) and i think it's the best kind of training i've ever done before. And my training's nowadays has much less volume and less time (around 30 minutes) x 50m-1h i spent before at gym. I think all you need to do is to just come back to your trainings, keep progressing and become better at what you do. Of course now it's more difficult to make gains as it was before but it doesn't mean you can't make gains, they only will come in a slower pace, but still will come.

[@incorectulpolitic]

@@ConradoNiehues do u notice any difference between 3 vs 6 meals per day? Performance/gains wise...

[@ConradoNiehues]

@@incorectulpolitic No, i'm still eating 3x per day but large meals. Gaining mass as well.

[@zhoudan4387]

Hi Matt. How long do you wait (or make your customers wait) to get back to training after you/they have been sick some days? Every time I get a cold or something I am never sure when to get back to training, and the days pass so fast.

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Giovanni I always encourage people to get back to it ASAP but to ease into a workout. Maybe just a single set of push ups, squat and rows to get the blood flowing.

[@rayohlinger1252]

I came back to this video after reading Anthony Arvanitakis book on push ups. He stated that it may not be necessary to do other types of push ups if you can learn to control the muscle tension. So, the standard push up with the mind muscle connection might be all that you need. Have you been able to generate that type of tension? Would this be considered a moving isometric or muscle braking? Just wanted to hear your thoughts.

[@RedDeltaProject]

yes exactly, keep in mind that muscle tension control applies to all exercise variations. it's not so much about doing an exercise a special way, but involving the muscles as much as possible with each rep.

[@theopap4672]

Hey Matt, in that regard (time x tension, which i totally agree) i want to ask if a static contraction where you put your maximum tension on the muscle under a certain amount of time would be as effective as a dynamic set of your maximum tension (for the same amount of time)? (effective for muscle growth)

[@RedDeltaProject]

I think either can work great both are good for time under tension. I think you might be best off with a bit of both. Do some dynamic sets and then have an isometric finisher.

[@theopap4672]

i think so too is the ideal way although im tempted to use some maximum tension isometric only workouts for a while to see how it goes....thank you anyway! :D

[@bballstarcrazy8]

I just started a new routine where I basically just go all out on every set(Push ups, Pull Ups, Squats etc..). Even after I collapse, I immediately get back up to cause more tension. Every week I progressively increase the sets and decrease the rest time. I am just curious if this is an effective way to build muscle. I've heard a lot of guys that say doing push ups to a high level fatigue is a great way to build muscle and get stronger. However, I know Convict Conditioning and other sources say your better off progressing to harder variations instead of building reps for easier steps. Curious what your thoughts are. Thanks

[@NoName-gm4kq]

+Ronald Regan What Michael said plus time. Eventually when you get to, let`s say, 200 reps on each excersise it will become VERY time consuming. And you can`t spend that much time on training unless you`re a professional athlete

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Ronald Regan Yes, the replies below have got it. Adding volume can be effective but it only works for so long. After a bit you have that whole quality vs quantity thing going on and your workouts end up becoming more about just getting the work done as opposed to improving the quality of the exercise. That's why 2-4 sets can be an ideal fit for many people.

[@timothymorais3135]

So I need to do my push ups very slow so they are under tension as long as possible? I understand what you are saying Matt but I don't quite yet know how to use this information in practice. Sorry if my English is not good, I'm From Holland :)

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Timothy Morais Hello Tim! There are many ways you can increase the time under tension, you can go slow as you mentioned, do more reps, use a bigger range of motion and do more sets. It's more important to move smoothly than anything so the tension on your muscles is consistent through the your range of motion. If you're moving too fast you may be creating tension robbing momentum.

[@timothymorais3135]

Aaaaah I see! I've started working out last week and I'll try to increase the time under tension. Since my goal is to grow muscle mass. I do 3 sets. I can't do 3 sets of 8-12 reps of 'slow' push ups. So it would be better to do 3 sets of 8-12 of an easier push up (knee push ups) while doing them slower, right? I will try to do a little bit more every workout. This is basically the best way to gain mass with bodyweight excersise, right? I did some research and watched a lot of your videos! And this is what I basically found. Let me know or I get it right.

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Timothy Morais Yep, you're on the right track. No go kick butt and let me know how things are going in a few weeks.

[@timothymorais3135]

I will! Thanks a lot

[@Lortafant_of_Norway]

I have a question when it comes to tension. We talk a lot about putting tension in a muscle. But I notice when I do things like lying hamstring curls in TRX, my glutes does not fire very much. My hamstring and abs fire to keep my pelvic neutral and back flat. But I'm confused. Should I put tension in my glutes, just because?!. Just because it's always nice with more stability around my pelvic? Aslong as my form is fine, my glutes don't have to be rock hard during every leg exercise? Arh, this confused me a bit, haa.

[@RedDeltaProject]

You're right they don't have to be rock hard, but remember that tension controls how your body handles resistance. So if one muscle group sin't firing (like your glutes) then something else needs to handle the stress and this can lead to compensation. Sure, if your form is still fine then that's okay, if your goal is to use good form. But if your goal is to condition and develop muscle strength then the actual tension is the biggest key. Your muscles only care about tension, not form. So putting the tension where you want it is more important.

[@jojonini2986]

Alright but there are different types of muscle fiber so what is the optimal time under tension to use the biggest one ?(to get a maximal hypertrophy)

[@RedDeltaProject]

From what I understand, there's not really much point, or effect, in trying to focus on training one type of fiber of the other.

[@jojonini2986]

RedDeltaProject Okay thanks

[@spikeadam6653]

Man! you have freaked me out in 5:57 !

[@teongjihperng3180]

Will increase the tension increase strength as well?

[@RedDeltaProject]

For sure, as strength is simply the amount of tension you have in your muscles. More tension = more strength.

[@teongjihperng3180]

I really appreciate it. Hope you have a nice day!!!!

[@shubhamaggarwal184]

Lifting small children might give me gains but then my next workout would be in prison.

[@taruntariyal7835]

So if i do a bodyweight squat hold upto my full extent may be 1 mins and do a weighted squat hold for 30 seconds to my full extent, the effect will be same.. Great.

[@hofmanntile4817]

Good stuff 🖒🖒

[@RedDeltaProject]

Much thanks Mike!

[@MrTouchFish]

Might want to link directly to the podcast in description, if possible. I'm a fan of yours, would love to add these to the listening rotation at work. For others interested: www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-red-delta-project-podcast

[@RedDeltaProject]

+MrTouchFish Great idea, should have thought about that! Thanks so much!

[@rfdc]

Hey Matt, I think you might find this video interesting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3TCoYqkh6iBo5Y He does a kettlebell press without tensing his body and then he does the same thing creating tension in his whole body. The heart rate increases much more in the second scenario.

[@RedDeltaProject]

+J Smith This brings up a great point about the whole tension thing. In many ways tension will help, but it is possible to over kill it and it can hinder performance. This was always evident in the new white belts in Taekwon-Do who would spar with a ton of full body tension. They would be sweating and exhausted in no time while the more experienced students would stay loose and relaxed. Keep the tension high and all over the body is more key for strength lifts, but doing things of a more athletic nature certainly requires a mix of tension and relaxation.

[@rfdc]

RedDeltaProject Agreed. Keeping whole body tension is obviously more exhausting. Now that I think about it, I suppose that is why unconsciously (or consciously) we find ways to recruit less muscles to perform a given exercise.

[@jeffricky]

1:40

[@matthewwright4153]

Lift small children hahaha awesome Matt.

[@RedDeltaProject]

+Matthew Wright I know right, but seriously, when I was studying in Japan I used to lift the 3 and 5 year old in the host family I was staying with. Worked great!

[@Laufowler1980]

Wote Matt for President of Earth!

[@alikemaliltus]

Lift small children? Copy that.

[@leoawgowhat4383]

Old man pushups!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time under tension!!!!!! Why would you ever even try them????

[@leoawgowhat4383]

Oh wait YOU won't 🤪

[@leoawgowhat4383]

You said you wanted to meat the man that would show you ten pushups that were harder than 100consecutive🥺let me introduce you to my imaginary friend AwGo😁

[@Charapos]

he is like lex luthor from BvS

[@RedDeltaProject]

Yea, but unlike Lex I don't want to rule the world. Maybe half of it, but I'm not greedy :)

[@Robert-hf5xr]

Are you really that jacked

[@bobbob4067]

If all exercises are the same why do they produce different results in shape and endurance Not very informative video. We all know exercice is good for us.

[@RedDeltaProject]

They aren't the same, but they are much more similar than we often think. For example, I would bet anything you wouldn't be able to tell the shape of the physique from someone who does push-ups against someone who does dips. Both work the same muscles. But that specificity principle does of course apply to functional goals, like that endurance you mentioned. So yea, no exercise can do the exact, same thing as another.