Cheating (adopting cheats or cheating) means "to cheat" or "cheating'.
It is an extremely common and widespread practice in the "field of" HIT (high intensity training), which concerns many sports (eg powerlifting), fitness activities (eg crossfit) and bodybuilding. Therefore, those disciplines that make extensive use of force seem more interested.
For Joe Weider, the first to talk about cheating, cheating would be a sort of training technique to be associated with the goal of muscle failure (at least concentric, not technical).
Fundamental if applied to muscle failure work, with cheating it would be possible to "close" the sets even in conditions of apparent incapacity.
Ultimately, it is a method to instantly "unload" the effort of the exhausted muscles, to the advantage of the number of reps and therefore of the volume of high intensity training.
Exercises with free weights are more prevalent, recommended to work more on strength, rather than those with isokinetic machines, instead used above all to focus on the quality of the stimulus.
Many readers will ask "why" to write about such a seemingly obvious topic; after all, there are precise guidelines to be respected on "how" to perform the exercises and, if you transgress them, it is common opinion that you "inevitably" make a mistake.
The reason is that cheats are not always to be considered as a counterproductive act; sometimes, changing the execution of an exercise "naturally" becomes a real necessity to end the series or round.
in fact, the "cheatters" are those who use tricks not allowed by the rules to increase the performance in the game - in the form of algorithmic commands and codes. For example, in the "shooter" categories, cheating that increases the damaging potential of weapons or that optimize the trajectory of bullets by guiding them to the areas of greatest vulnerability are very common.
Similarly, in the realm of the gym there are various tricks that contribute to making the gesture more effective in moving the load, but at the same time less "sensible" for the ultimate goal of muscle development or specific strength.
Attention! We are not talking about doping - as it would be more logical to deduce - even if the use of illegal substances is undoubtedly a convenient "shortcut".
But why do bodybuilders and weightlifters generally cheat? Let's find out.
forced) are to be considered cheating.At least two fundamental considerations must therefore be made immediately:
- On the one hand, working with "at least" concentric muscle failure, it is unlikely to be able to maintain total technical correctness until the last rep.
Note: before the concentric failure we have, in fact, the so-called technical failure. This is defined as the "inability to maintain" an impeccable execution from every point of view; it represents the insurmountable limit for a workout defined as a buffer.
- On the other hand, the use of cheats can mask a wrong calculation of the overloads; the desire to improve, or the desire to appear stronger than what one is in the eyes of those present, often and willingly pollute the applicability of the "new" training schedule.
Ergo: cheating is used to deal with unreasonable load progressions because they are inadequately high and therefore, in practice, unrealistic.
However, if they interest "so often" and "so many people", there must be a reason.
The attempt by bodybuilders to increase their performance is indeed completely understandable - but not always useful.
Only by increasing the expression of strength does it become possible to increase hypertrophy (increase in the transverse section of the muscle) - or at least in natural subjects.
So where is the fine line between natural compensation and the counterproductive attitude of the cheatter?
It depends…
(range of movement, precisely) is a must of what some define (with a sarcastic tone) "gym animal" (typical, but almost always mediocre, frequenter of the environment).We know that the rom is nothing more than the articular excursion in its specific functionality. We emphasize "specific" because the articular mobility, given above all by the stiffness of the capsule and other tissues or related structures, can vary greatly from individual to individual.
Therefore, if it is true that muscle contraction, through tendon insertion, can move one or more bones overcoming resistance thanks to a lever, it is also true that each angular degree of the (moment) requires different commitment.
The more unfavorable the lever, the more force it requires; we are talking about the maximum muscle extension and relative joint width - elevated rom.
This is why a very common cheating is to work for a very short time and therefore move loads exceeding one's potential. Among the exercises most affected by this cheat we remember:
- Squat, in which the cheatter does not reach the parallel, transforming it not even in a half, but in 1/3 of a squat;
- Bench press, in which the cheatter does not touch the chest with the barbell;
- Pull-up, in which the cheatter never stops fully extending his arms in an eccentric phase and does not even reach the height of the bar with his forehead;
We could list many others.
Ballistic rebound
This cheating, in addition to partially nullifying the training effect, is also potentially dangerous.
It consists in reducing the control of resistance in the eccentric phase, letting the joint, possibly other anatomical structures (muscles and tendons) brake, and exploiting the myotatic reflex (stretching) and the expression of elastic force.
Obviously, by doing so the cost in terms of strength is drastically reduced (saving creatine phosphate and producing less lactic acid) and one can "conserve" oneself for concentric expression.
There is no need to specify how risky it can be to unload the weight on the cartilages, muscles and tendons; especially in the two most critical exercises such as the squat (in which many bounce on the knees in maximum squat) and the flat bench press ( in which the barbell tends to bounce off the sternum).
Time Under Tension abbreviated
The abbreviated TUT (time under tension) is also a fairly common cheating. It consists in shortening the time of muscle tension, whether it is concentric, isometric or eccentric phase.
The time of tension, as we all know, is an essential training parameter. The high tension times, in concentric and / or isometric and / or concentric phase have a certain importance in specific strength training for hypertrophy.
On the other hand, medium or in any case lower tuts are required in the expression of maximal concentric force.
What is obvious is that as the tension time increases, so does the execution effort. The more time we spend, the higher the energy cost of the series.
However, it is precisely this stimulus, especially in the eccentric phase, that contributes most to the growth of the muscle bundles in the transverse section.
Many bodybuilders periodize the year by inserting specific high tut meso-cycles with an emphasis on eccentric and isometric rests.
But then why cheat?
Simply because working at high levels leads to very high local fatigue. Whoever lifts weights would like to see the loads increase, while increasing the all they decrease inexorably compared to the periods of pure strength.
Then, obviously, at each periodization we should try to increase in any case compared to the past. However, progress is often more modest than hoped for.
Postural compensation
Each exercise has its own.
Postural compensation consists in "using the body by making it tilt, by means of adjustments starting from the core, in order to reduce fatigue in the most demanding joint moments.
In this case, the cheat consists in involving the core of the body (abdominal girdle and support of the rachis) to lighten the work of the peripheries.
As difficult as it is to explain, it is actually extremely intuitive. The most indicative examples are above all the executions of the curls with alternating dumbbells, of the lateral raises and of the rowers.
Have you ever seen a "really" heavy rower run? Or lat machine prone pull-ups in which the subject is forced to lean back at 45 °? Or an alternating curl with a hammer handle and dumbbells so heavy they seem impossible to move?
Good. If you look at the torso and shoulders of the bodybuilder in question, you will notice that they will be anything but immobile.
Usually, this cheating consists of meeting the overload, thus facilitating the closing action of each rep. This is the main reason why many exercises require very different overloads depending on whether they are performed while sitting (poorly compensated) or standing (very compensated).
Have the spotter train instead of themselves
Heavy multi-joint exercises take place in works to failure, such as forced labor.
The best example is always that of the flat bench press.
Often, trying to work with higher loads than normal, our spotter is "forced" to help us progressively in the last rep, when instead his presence should be a simple safety, or at least a help to the last repetition.
Dilation of recovery times
"What do you want 10-15 seconds to be?". In reality, a few seconds can make a real difference.
Especially in the phases of metabolic-oriented training, therefore of short resistance to strength - when the production of lactic acid is "stellar" - the passive recoveries between the sets are really low (even 60 "" or less).
The difficulty is precisely that of resuming the set without having completely regenerated. Obviously, this requires having to "suffer" and not a little.
Extending the recovery per set by 15 "" which would normally be 60 "", and assuming a high volume of training - for example over 20 total sets per muscle group - will extend the regeneration potential by about 300 "" (5 minutes) , or 25% more!
, putting all the muscles involved in the same step; this works for the bodybuilder, but not for the weightlifter.Let's take the example of the heavy rower with a prone or neutral grip barbell again. The goal is to stimulate the large muscles of the back (grand dorsal, rotisserie, trapezius), but to do this requires a massive intervention also of the flexors. of the forearm.
It being understood that the bulk of the work will be done by the brachialis, then by the biceps, the closure of the elbow will also take place thanks to the brachioradialis.
On the high reps, "all the saints help". On low reps at very high intensity percentages, you immediately realize that, while the back could "move mountains", the flexors soon begin to "creak." This is where postural compensation comes into play, facilitating the last degrees of flexion of the humerus and of the forearm by means of trunk oscillations.
For incomplete Roma, the same argument may apply, but the execution is always really bad and ineffective. Moreover, it has been shown that those who constantly train with incomplete ROM have a lower growth potential than those who more often stretch the muscle spindles to the maximum.
But then, when can it be useful? On some "special" occasions. Let's think, for example, of those who complain of a significant functional limit. Performing one exercise in the same way as the others would therefore be impossible.
That is why, if the joint mobility and muscle flexibility protocols (mandatory, in this case) have not yet had the desired effect, it may be a good idea to limit the ROM during some exercises - but not indefinitely and in any case not as a replacement. corrective work.
Typical examples are:
- a stiffness of the ankles with regard to the full squat;
- a retraction of the pectoral minor for the execution of a pull-up;
- stiffness of the extensor of the thigh on the practice of deadlift with straight legs or the good-morning etc.
