POSITIONS OF FLEXION

Positions of Flexion is a mass-training protocol based on maximum fiber activation through synergy, the myotatic reflex, peak contraction and full range of motion. Key POF Terms Midrange position = Synergy - Training the target muscle as part of a team of muscle structures. For example, you train your chest with synergy from your shoulders and triceps when you do bench presses; you train your quads with help from your glutes and lower back when you squat. Synergy allows you to cultivate tremendous power because muscles work most efficiently as part of a team. POF midrange movements all have synergy. Examples midrange-position exercises include: squats (quads), stiff-legged deadlifts (hamstrings: also a stretch movement), front pulldowns (lats), behind-the-neck pulldowns (midback), dumbbell presses (delts), bench presses (chest), barbell curls or close-grip undergrip pulldowns (biceps), lying extensions or close-grip bench presses (triceps), kneeups (abdominals). Stretch position = Myotatic Reflex - Training the target bodypart at its maximal point of elongation, for example overhead extensions for the triceps, can force what's known as the myotatic reflex. Here is how this phenomenon is defined in the book Explosive Power by Health For Life:The stretch reflex originates deep inside each muscle fiber with a structure called the muscle spindle. The muscle spindle is a complex construction of muscle protein, fluid and nervous system receptors. Within this structure is a special type of muscle fiber that does not have the contractile qualities normally associated with muscle. These special fibers, called intrafusal fibers, are wrapped with nerve cells that relay information from muscle to the central nervous system. When a muscle is stretched quickly, the tension in the intrafusal fibers stimulates these nerve cells, sending messages out to the central nervous system at great speed. In response, the central nervous system triggers a muscle reflex that generates a fast and powerful contraction. This myotatic, or stretch, reflex is a protective mechanism that provides an extra burst of strength to resist force encountered suddenly. When the reflex is triggered, a very large proportion of the muscle's fibers suddenly contract. If stretch position exercises are performed correctly, they have the potential to activate more fibers in the target muscle, which can translate into faster development. They can also stretch the fascia, or fiber encasements, so that fiber growth isn't constricted, which can speed hypertrophy. Examples stretch-position exercises include sissy squats (quads), stiff-legged deadlifts (hamstrings; also a midrange movement), donkey calf raises (calves), pullovers (lats), close-grip cable rows (midback), incline one-arm lateral raises (delts), dumbbell flyes (chest), incline dumbbell curls (biceps), overhead extensions (triceps), full-range crunches (abdominals; also contracted exercise).

Contracted position = Peak Contraction - Training the target bodypart at the point of complete contraction with resistance. Example: leg extensions for the frontal thighs. This is the best way to finish off a target muscle after as many fibers as possible have been activated with the midrange- and stretch-position movements. Example contracted-position exercises include: leg extensions (quads), leg curls (hamstrings), standing calf raises (calves), stiff-arm pulldowns or pullover machine (lats), Bent-arm bent-over rows (midback), lateral raises (delts), cable flyes or pec deck (chest), concentration curls or double-biceps cable curls (biceps), one-arm pushdowns or kickbacks (triceps), full-range crunches (abdominals). Specific Examples For example, overhead extensions train triceps in the full-stretch position. Kickbacks work the triceps at complete contraction. All that's left is the midrange position, which you train with close-grip bench presses and synergy from your front delts. Take the chest as another example. Cable crossovers (or Nautilus flyes) train the pecs' from full stretch to complete contraction, with resistance in the contracted position. Add flat bench presses to train the pecs with other muscle groups (synergy in the midrange position) and you have a great POF pec-building routine. To understand why this multi-exercise, full-range-of-motion focus produces almost complete target-muscle stimulation, you must first understand how muscles contract.Here's a quote from Jaci VanHeest, renowned exercise physiologist at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado that helps explain this phenomenon: Muscles contract when tiny levers on myosin, a muscle protein, fit into grooves on actin, another protein, and push it forward exactly like a ratchet wrench. But myosin can latch onto actin in any of several positions, not all of them ideal. Only when the myosin heads are in the right register can the muscle have the optimal tension. But optimizing every actin-myosin pairing is less an achievable goal than a Platonic ideal. (Newsweek, July 22, 1996: "How High? How Fast?") Obviously, you need more than one exercise to optimize as many actin-myosin pairings in the target muscle as possible, and full ROM training like POF is the logical answer to this optimization. Standard POF and Its Variations There is a logical exercise order that you should use when training with POF. During a standard POF routine you first train the target muscle with the help of other muscle groups in the midrange position. This muscle teamwork allows you to get the majority of the muscle fibers. Next you train the target at its full-stretch position to activate the myotatic reflex and reserve muscle fibers. Last, you train the target in the contracted

position to finish it off with peak contraction to squeeze the last bit of effort from the fibers. This complete range-of-motion-training approach allows you to get the fullest development possible. Variations include Compound Aftershock, which is using the stretch position movement as the first exercise in a superset with a midrange movement. For example, pullovers prior to pulldowns. This has the potential to pre-exhaust the muscle and may activate reserve fibers prior to the big midrange, or teamwork, movement. Isolation Aftershock is using the stretch-position movement as part of a superset with the contracted-position exercise to get a similar fiber-activation effect. For example, doing overhead triceps extensions supersetted with kickbacks. Supersetting is an important step up the ladder of intensity. In fact, new research states the muscle burn lowers the pH of the blood, which in turn stimulates more growth hormone release. Hypercontraction Training is an advanced POF method that places the stretch-position movement first in a bodypart routine, to not only warmup the target muscle, but also to put it in a state of emergency from the very first rep. Basic POF The fundamental concept of POF is correct exercise choice. You want to choose the movements that together take the target muscle through its full range of motion-from full stretch to complete contraction, plus you want to work the muscle with synergy.. This may take two or three movements, depending on the exercises you choose. Here's a sample quad routine: Midrange position: squats (synergy from glutes and lower back; do 2 light warmup sets first), 2-3 x 7-9 Stretch position: sissy squats (quick twitch out of the bottom), 2 x 10 Contracted position: leg extensions (hold for a count at the top to emphasize peak contraction), 1-2 x 7-9 Hamstrings, on the other hand, only require two exercises for full-range training to take place: Midrange and stretch position: stiff-legged deadlifts (synergy from glutes and lower back; do 2 light warmup sets first), 2-3 x 7-9 Contracted position: leg curls (hold for a count at the top to emphasize peak contraction), 1-2 x 7-9 You can develop your own POF routines for other bodyparts by taking an exercise from each of the example sections above and doing the same set-rep scheme as the quad routine. For complete POF routines and variations, as well as more complete descriptions on how and why this mass-building protocol works, see the following books and videos: 1. Home Gym Handbook: Has a chapter on POF training in a home gym with a complete routine ($14.95)

2. Mass-Training Tactics: 2 Standard POF routines; 2 POF Pre-exhaustion routines ($14.95) 3. Critical Mass: The POF manual, 130 pages, 150 photos, many routines and variations ($19.95) 4. POF Update 1: Compound Aftershock: More advanced variations of POF, including Compound Aftershock, Isolation Aftershock and Double-Impact training ($14.95) 5. 10-Week Size Surge: step-by-step two-phase training approach, POF in the second phase, with complete diet, training tips and explanations. A weight-gain manual. ($9.95) 6. Fat to Muscle: routine is a five-day POF routine, training each bodypart directly once per week and indirectly once per week.Diets included along with fat-burning tips ($9.95) 7. "Hypercontraction Training" video: advanced stretch-position-first POF protocol; includes Double-Impact training ($24.95) 8. Critical Mass video series: "Critical Arms," "Critical Chest & Delts" and "Critical Legs & Back"